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“Keep your eyes open,” I order the other demons. “If you notice something, inform me. Everything counts.”
The demons nod as we begin to emerge from what feels like a cellar. I’m thankful for my body size at the moment, as I’m able to bend and escape through a small trap door above me.
As we continue on, I can’t help but give thought to my growing sense of displeasure. I have no one to discuss my desires with. The other berserker demons seem to have all given into their fates as violent soldiers and performers. No one wants to reach for something more, seemingly, to defy the odds that are embarrassingly low in expectation.
No one in the realm where I was born knows, but I taught myself to read once my parents went to the other pasture known as death. I wanted to know more about my kind, other kinds, and even kids that live and thrive on different planets. To do so would be frowned upon by demons higher in the hierarchy and even laughed out of the only place I call home … the arena.
I sighed and shoved these sensations aside for the time being. I will find this ancient artifact, return it to the King, and be on my way. I will find a way to satisfy these strange longings that not even my own kind can comprehend.
FOUR
TESSA
The sweat is dripping from me, causing my clothes to stick to my body as I work in the field. My neighbors are working across from me on their own farm. I can hear them singing or talking softly while I work alone and in silence. It’s not a bad life; it could definitely be worse, but most of us want something more for ourselves than to working for the orcs our whole lives.
My hands sting as I pull the weeds. The soil slips between my fingers as the sun beats down on me. I've been at this since dawn and still haven't finished. By now, the sun is high overhead, and I think about stopping and going inside. My eyes are starting to get heavy, and I just want to lay down for a nap. But I won't. No way am I letting anyone catch me slacking off.
Fear motivates everyone around here, causing me to feel sorry for them. Not because they're scared of the orcs but because they let fear control their lives.
I can see it in their faces when the orcs come around. Their eyes widen, and they become pale and shake, not wanting to look at the orcs as they walk through the village.
The sun beats down on my head as sweat runs down my back, leaving dark streaks against the fabric of my shirt. My hair is pulled up so that I can see where I'm working without getting dirt in it.
My neighbor walked up beside me and asked, "Hey, what do you think about the knight? Is he really coming?"
"Who knows," I said, turning to face him. He looks tired. His eyes are bloodshot, and his skin is flushed, almost sickly looking.
"I hope he’s real. Then maybe my children won't have to do this anymore."
He wiped the sweat from his brow, revealing a patchy beard that hadn't been tended to in some time. When he spoke again, it sounded like he had a sore throat.
"Do you really think the knights are gonna save us? We've been farming for generations, and there's never been any help. All they've brought is death and destruction, then angered the remaining orcs."
"Maybe these knights will end things once and for all. I only hope they’re strong enough."
The man nodded, and I turned away from him to keep working. I wandered back to check on the rest of my seedlings, wondering about the man and why he didn’t just take his family and leave.
It's hot today, and I feel tired. I wish I had some water to drink. I look around for the river, but I’m a fair distance away. I guess I'll have to wait a while to fill my water jug.
I heard a loud thud behind me, and I jumped, startled. I spun around to see the man staring at me wide-eyed. I felt a sudden sense of dread wash through my body. I looked around me and didn’t see anything odd. Everything was quiet except for the sound of birds chirping in the trees above us. I looked back at the man, who still seemed frozen.
Something's wrong! I looked over my shoulder at the field that stretched out behind me. Something isn't right, but I don’t know what. I finished my work and headed to the village to see if anything had happened there before heading to the house.
I passed by a group of kids playing in the dirt with sticks and stones. One of them caught my attention and pointed with his stick at another child who was digging a hole in the ground.
"Look, it's the knight!"
The kid looked up and saw me walking past. He put his hand over the hole and covered it back up. I wondered if they were just messing with me because it was hot and I was sweaty. I walked on, shaking my head.
When I reached the edge of the village, I heard someone calling my name. I looked back, but I didn't see anyone. A moment later, I heard it again, louder this time.
"Tessa! Tessa!"
I turned my head and saw a young village girl running out of the trees toward me. She tripped and fell as she got closer. I knelt down and picked her up, holding her in my arms.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine."
