AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then Jagga’s voice broke the silence.
The young ukkur was laughing. At first it was just a chuckle, but it slowly grew and grew until his laughter echoed through the forest. Serenity was confused. Why would Jagga react that way to Hruk’s tragic tale?
Hruk was also confused, but he expressed his confusion in a more ukkur-like fashion.
With a roar, he sprang from the boulder and seized Jagga by the neck as if he meant to choke the life out of the younger ukkur. But Jagga just kept laughing.
“What do you think is so funny?” Hruk snarled.
Grodd came charging over, ready to defend his friend, but Jagga waved him off. The young ukkur was completely unperturbed.
“I thinkyou’refunny, you rotting fool.”
“You don’t believe my story?”
“Oh, I believe it. In fact, I’ve heard some of it before. But I don’t think you’re cursed. In fact, I think that’s the stupidest rotting thing I’ve ever heard.”
Serenity agreed, but she probably wouldn’t have said it like that. She sat silently, her eyes fixed on Hruk and Jagga.
“What do you mean you’ve heard some of it before?” Hruk asked. His voice was still harsh, but his curiosity was obviously piqued. “I’ve never told that story to anyone before today.”
Jagga grinned.
“That old ukkur named Throlf. The one with the gray mane and beard. Was his nose crooked? Slanted to the left from a fist fight when he was young.”
Hruk’s eyes widened. He said nothing.
Jagga continued. “And a big scar across his chest shaped like this.” He traced a reverse S. “Where the nith whipped him with the nettle whip when he was a slave.”
“How do you know that?”
Jagga pointed to his right ear. “And the bottom half of his earlobe was missing. Bitten off by a young abolith if memory serves.”
“How do you know that?“
“Because Throlf told me himself,” Jagga said. “I knew him. Me and Grodd both. Throlf was the one who helped us after we escaped. He taught us the ways of the wilderness, just as he taught you. We lived with him until his death.”
“But…”
“Throlf didn’t die in that river, Hruk. Throlf was a tough old bastard, you know that. He told us about it one time. He got swept gods know how far down that frigid river, but he finally got out and lived. He told us all kinds of things about his life, and I remember him telling me about a young dark-haired ukkur who was the strongest warrior he had ever known. He was proud of you, Hruk.”
Hruk let go of Jagga’s neck. He stumbled backward and sat down on the boulder beside Serenity in a daze.
“How…how did he die?”
Jagga shrugged. “Old age. One morning he just didn’t wake up, that’s all. Probably would have preferred to die fighting the nith.”
“Throlf…” Hruk murmured.
Serenity moved closer to the dark ukkur and placed a tentative hand on Hruk’s shoulder. He did not move away.
“So you see,” Jagga said. “Your so-called curse didn’t kill old Throlf.”
Hruk looked at him in a daze.
Serenity bit her lip. She wanted to say something to him, but she wasn’t sure if she should. After a moment of hesitation, she went for it, and put the translator device on his ear. He looked at her with his darkly smoldering eyes.
“I don’t believe in curses,” she said. “But I do believe in fate. Think about it, Hruk. If you had never met Throlf, then the two of you never would have ended up on that frozen river that day. And if Throlf had not been swept away by the river, he would never have encountered Jagga and Grodd. They might not have survived without his help.”
