'Thank you, Gretchen. You bring great honor to your clan,' he said and turned back to me. 'Get her home. She isn't a warrior, but she performed like one tonight. MHI will always be in her clan's debt. There is a little road just north of the compound. Follow it. She'll show you the way. Don't get jumpy if they get weird on you, remember they're our friends.'
The group dispersed to their tasks. I grabbed Julie by the arm. 'Wait.' I didn't know what to say, but I needed to say something.
She turned around, great dark circles under her eyes. 'What? What is it, Owen?'
'I'm sorry about your parents, and I'm sorry about Grant…'
She raised her hand and cut me off. 'No. No you're not.'
'No, I…' I stammered.
'You wanted Grant dead, didn't you?' she snapped. 'Well, looks like you got your wish.' She spun and walked away.
The compound was not that far away from the Shackleford home. We took Grant's car. The interior was immaculate and the XM stations were all preprogrammed for classical music. At least I could hear again; Gretchen's purple goo had worked well. Trip and Holly were in the back seat, and Gretchen rode up front. I passed the lane leading to the compound, and slowed down as Gretchen pointed out a tiny path cloaked in trees and moss. The narrow road was so overgrown with vegetation that the headlights only cut a small swath before us.
'This is it?' I asked her. She nodded, a movement barely perceptible beneath her robes. It was just after 3:00 a.m. but she was still wearing her mirrored shades. The Mercedes bumped through the foliage, and the undercarriage scraped as we dipped into the deep ruts. I rolled down the window. The chirping of insects was rhythmic and strong. A trio of cow skulls had been tied around a tree with leather cord. I knew that it was a sign that we were on Skippy's property. 'I love what you've done with the place.'
Gretchen clicked approvingly. We continued down the lane, deeper and deeper into the dark woods. Though the compound was only a few miles away, we seemed totally isolated from the world. The trees here were tall and the forest primeval. Glowing eyes reflected back at us as raccoons scurried away.
'This is kind of creepy,' Trip said.
'It isn't so bad,' I answered. Then something huge sprinted across the road through the headlights. It was massive and covered in black fur, and it was gone in an instant. 'What the hell was that?' I shouted as I stomped on the brakes. The Mercedes halted on the packed dirt, leaving us in a cloud of red dust. I rolled up the window without thinking.
'Deer?' asked Holly.
'That wasn't no damn deer,' I said. It had looked more like a scurvy bear crossed with a lion. Maybe I had not been getting enough sleep. Gretchen said something unintelligible and made shooing motions for me to continue onward. Apparently, whatever the animal had been, it was of no serious concern to her.
Flickering lights appeared in the distance. Campfires. Big ones. We slowly rolled forward until we saw the structures of a tiny community. Perhaps village would be the best word. The little houses were clustered tightly together into a rough semicircle. Surprisingly enough the homes looked nice and well cared for, despite the strange decorations of skins, bones, hides, antlers and feathers that decorated all of them. The fires emanated from large basins that had been set at the compass points around the village. There was a central area between the homes, with what appeared to be some sort of shrine or religious stage.
A black-clad figure appeared in the headlights and waved as we approached. I recognized Skippy from his gait. Other figures appeared from the homes, all of them shorter than average, and several squat ones that must have been children. Many of them were hurriedly pulling on their masks or hoods. I parked the car next to some older-model pickup trucks. Before I had even shut the engine off Gretchen had bailed out of the vehicle and went running toward her husband. He picked her up and swung her around as they joyfully embraced. Several of the others joined them in a massive group hug.
I stepped out of the car. The air smelled of delicious roasting meat. The sounds that I first thought were angry noises, actually were laughter coming from the reunited tribe. Some of the children began to play a game, running and chasing after each other. Skippy left the group when he saw me. Many of them studied us curiously from behind their tinted goggles or mirrored shades.
'Noble One… Thank… you… bringing… Grtxschnns… Gret chen… Home.' He bowed down until his balaclava touched the ground. I bowed back.
'Thank you, Skippy. Gretchen saved our lives tonight. She healed our many wounds. And her faith and bravery turned away a Master vampire. If it wasn't for her, many Hunters would have died.'
'She… brings honor… to clan?' He rose and spoke loudly in his language. There were some gasps of astonishment as they stepped away from Gretchen, and then bowed to her. I could not see her features, but by her mannerisms, I was guessing that she was slightly embarrassed by the display. After a few seconds they rose and went back to their merry greetings. Finally Gretchen was able to break away and approach us, the rest of the tribe following closely behind her, until finally the whole group was assembled quietly in front of the three of us.
Gretchen pointed at Trip, and said something to the others. There was much oohing and ahhing, and then they bowed toward him. Skippy's people were big on the bowing.
'Uh… what's going on?' he asked, running one hand through his dreads nervously.
'Dark Hunter… you fought… gub mint… agents… to protect Gret chen?' When he said government, the tribe booed.
'I guess,' he answered.
'Agents beat you…' He pointed at Trip's face. 'For protect her?'
'Yes. Really, it was no big deal… I-'
Skippy cut him off. He turned back to the tribe and loudly proclaimed: 'Smrslal! Smrslal Aiee!' then to us, 'Dark skin Hunter, Brother of War Chief, and… Girl. Bring great honor. My clan… you one with… us. With honor… No need for hide.'
Skippy reached up and removed his glasses, revealing bright yellow eyes sunk deep into grayish-green tissue. He carefully folded and put the shades in a pocket, and began to remove his balaclava. One by one, the others did so as well. Even the little children removed their hoods, some needing the help of their mothers.
We had gained the trust and respect of the tribe. Honoring us as equals, they revealed their true selves. Their skin was bumpy, mottled, mostly green, some gray and some brown. They were either bald, or some with wispy white hair. Their lower jaws protruded, and tusklike teeth stuck past their lips. Most of their noses were squat, though some were raised up more like snouts. The eyes were yellow or pale blue, set under thick bone ridges and short foreheads. Their ears were long and pointy, and most if not all of them had facial piercings of bone or gold.
'Holy shit,' Holly mumbled.
'Orcs,' Trip said in awe. 'I don't believe it.'
Skippy's pointed teeth ground together above his wide jaw, in what I believed was a smile. His yellow eyes twinkled as he clapped his hands above his head. 'Urks! Yes. Clan of Gnrlwz, fist of North. Spear of… Doom. Now clan of… M H I. Harb Anger… give us home. Give us work. Now are family. Join us… eat meat… dance.' He pointed at one of the others, who immediately turned and ran for what I thought was a shrine. The younger orc knelt and fiddled with something on the backside of the edifice, and massive hidden speakers started blaring. Metal. The orcs were playing heavy metal.
'JBL. Kick Ass… Sound system,' Skippy grunted at us. 'Come! Party!' The entire tribe began to either bang their heads, dance wildly, or jump up and down with their hands extended above their heads, pointer and pinky fingers extended in the devil horns of classic rock. The children formed a mosh pit and began to slam each other about. The mothers looked on approvingly.
'Skippy, I wish that we could,' I shouted back over the sounds of Static X. 'But we have a mission. We need to fly to Natchy Bottom in the morning.' The orcs danced. Giant wolves howled in the nearby forest. Of course, that explained the thing that had crossed the headlights. You can't have orcs without wargs.
Skippy nodded. 'Skip understand. I be there… Together… crush foes. Must take… care of clan… Then come. To fly into battle.' He bowed again. I returned the honor. 'Thank you… Noble One.'
'Great honor, Skippy. Thank you.' We parted. I returned to the car.
Holly climbed into the front seat. Trip stood transfixed at the rear door, staring at the clan in wonder, as some of the giant wolves wandered out of the treeline and into the light of the fires. Little green children ran to
