~

Chapter Fifteen

~

The temperature was a good forty degrees warmer as we trudged down into the high foothills. Of all the people to meet us, never suspected to meet Grandpa Klow way up here. Had to be a hundred miles from his ranch house. The marvelous odor of brazin’ venison, beans and bacon, biscuits, and coffee led me easily to his camp. Didn’t need no GPS coordinates.

I jogged up to Grandpa Klow and flung my arms around him. He harrumphed good. Not used to a lot of public displays of emotion, it seemed. Which is odd, ’cause we ogres are really into displayin’ emotion. Explains our unique grumbles, chortles, and growls. The occasional snort.

Not that I had ever been big on huggin’ before today.

Klow is a bit brawny considerin’ his line of bulls the last couple of generations. I noted he peered over my shoulder, so I began to introduce him to the mouthy hen. He surprised me.

“Good to see ya made it.”

“Ya know Nuel?” I asked.

Klow mumbled, “Why’re ya speakin’ Trollish?”

“Good to see ya again,” Nuel said.

So. When did they have an excuse to meet? I should get out and about more. The troll hen, Zia, is a good example of that. Such a sweet, pretty thin’.

“Love yar chaps,” Nuel said.

“Aw, these old thin’s?” He slapped his thigh. “Some reason ya can’t give an old bull a hug?”

She smiled the first time in maybe four days and stepped into his extended arms. Appeared he appreciated the contact with her, more. I hate my family. I’m not such a bad sort. Once a bull gets to know me. Never killed anyone. Never spread a rumor. Or caused a family scandal. Don’t talk much at hoedowns. Or overly imbibe.

“Yar lookin’ as fine as ever,” Klow told her, bangin’ on her back hard like she choked on a ten-pound trout. He didn’t thump me on the back.

“Just hiked down from the spa, up there a ways,” she told him.

Oh now, she acts all sweet, humorous, and sociable.

I walked to the fire and checked the grub. Let ’em act all friendly. I could eat. I dug into an open saddlebag and found what I needed, splashed out some of ’em beans into a plate, sliced off a good hunk of venison, snuggled my backside into the pine needles near the fire as I munched.

The horses roped off thirty feet away brought down my enthusiasm for life a bit. I guess we were up a bit too high and rugged for a four-by, but saddles never have been my favorite seat. Hard to code and put my genius into designs on a horse.

Klow prepped a platter for Nuel now, all gentlemanly. Certainly not bullish. A real bull would point the way and invite her to help herself. But not my Grandpa Klow.

A horse snorted, jerkin’ my attention that way. Yeah. I agree. The bull acted a little tetched. He couldn’t know her as well as he put on. His attitude toward her would be way different.

“Heard ya’re the genius that suggested to burn down those humans’ helicopters.” He didn’t look my way. But the implied insult pretty soundly indicated he meant me.

“I wanted to blow ’em up,” I said. But burnin’ ’em down wasn’t so bad. Reached the same goal.

He asked me again why I’m speakin’ Trollish. I wasn’t gonna answer him as long as he was bein’ mean to me. The bully.

“I tried to stop ’em,” Nuel bragged.

“What a foolish thin’ to do,” Klow said.

“That’s exactly what I told ’em,” Nuel said.

“No. Avoidin’ the inevitable. Good to finally push back on those folks some. So superior. Walkin’ onto our land and actin’ like we have to suck up to their belief systems. Their laws. My ancestors went to war to set ’em straight once—since the big kerfuffle. And I supported shuttin’ off the rail service North. I thought that would wake ’em up a bit. They just can’t learn a thin’.”

Nuel’s mouth hung open. Very cool. Keep goin’, Grandpa.

“I’m past my fightin’ days though,” Klow mumbled, rubbin’ a knee through his chaps. “Ya up to stickin’ a thumb in their eye?” He finally turned to look at me.

Not such a horrible bull. I answered him with a shrug. I’d rather be fixin’ Northern architecture. Stupid to set access up through apps and not the data. Any app can be hacked. Lot easier to lock down data. Once, at the source.

Klow waved a knobby hand at Nuel. “Get somethin’ in ya.” She still sat, mouth hangin’ open, at a loss, maybe. “We have a good six hour ride.”

“To where?” I asked.

“I’m gonna escort ya to a troll rail head about forty miles southeast of here,” he said.

I mumbled that I didn’t know there’s any rail head near here. He asked, not expectin’ an answer, how I thought the trolls got their ore south.

South? He didn’t say north. I thought the humans had a monopoly on the Range minin’. A smile spread across my face and a couple barbecue beans spurted out. Our tusks do pull at our lips a bit.

“Ya’ll take a detour south a few hours before ya catch a line headin’ east,” Klow said.

“There’s an eastern rail line?” Nuel gushed. “Since when?”

Klow smiled big enough a tusk could have gotten hung up in his upper lip. That’s an exaggeration. His tusks are more likely to put out his eyes. The bull is a giant’s giant.

“And to where?” I asked. “The mountain range near the coast is impassable.”

Klow actually laughed. “’Em orcs and goblins been trenchin’ a tunnel through it the past three years. Got a passel of dwarfs workin’ with ’em. Lordy, they’re natural engineers. A while back those folks completed a highway over what they’ve named Orc Pass, to haul goods by truck.”

“How?” Nuel sputtered. “I’ve never heard anythin’ about that.”

Klow’s grin turned more smirk. “Ya think ’em orcs wanted humans to know they were connectin’ the South with the rest of this hemisphere? To cut the humans out of the continent’s shipping? They’re wily folk.”

“This is gonna change thin’s,” Nuel muttered.

“Ya think?” I asked.

Klow walked over to me and struck me on the shoulder hard—I almost dropped my plate. “It’s a world changer.”

“Incredible they could keep this secret.” Nuel appeared a little numb. But only a guess. “This is huge.”

Meh. I just looked forward to finishin’ my food so I could text Zia.

~

Nuel

~

Klow looked so cute in his hat, chaps, jeans, leather vest, and pointy boots. He wore business casual when he met Ike on the Plain, and came across so—normal. Easy to forget he runs the largest cattle ranch in the world. Chairs the board of Ogre Industries.

There was an odd vibe goin’ on between Kriz and his grandfather. A standoffishness which seemed to embarrass both of ’em. Each worked hard not to catch the other’s eye.

Though much smaller in stature than his grandpa, Kriz favored him. Especially the green eyes, blond dreads. Of course the elder’s rustled with a lot of gray and silver from his chest up.

The growlin’ edged entertaining, but I couldn’t wait to get a bite to eat. Thankfully Klow noted his grandling was already eatin’, and prepared me a snack. He dipped out a gallon of beans for me that sang with onions, chilies, bacon, and sorghum, and a good rack of venison ribs.

I nestled into the pine needles with Kriz, thankful for food, to have survived the prior two nights’ cold and hunger. Missin’ meals has to be a number one horror for us ogres.

Klow started explainin’ what was comin’ up, and my world exploded. Reality stretched.

Whoosh.

No way all this occurred without it hittin’ the Northern papers, the networks. How didn’t it? This is conspiracy so deep. So huge. Why hadn’t Ike been more open with me?

If I weren’t sittin’ here, consumed inside the conspiracy, I wouldn’t have an idea it existed still.

No wonder Ike’s so busy. He’s been manipulatin’ the continent as though it’s his very own little toy. A monopoly set, laid out with real currency, live participants. He conspired with the other giants in a manner that had never occurred before. Yet the Troll Council acted so— How did he and Klow—Bliar had to know too. No wonder he wasn’t very intimidated to stick a finger in a few humans’ eyes.

This could all go so awry.

Couldn’t it?

My chest tightened.

And why am I gettin’ in the middle of it?

At least Kriz was unaware, too.

Lordy, Klow came ’cross a bit arrogant. And the humans up North think they are so smart and superior. They aren’t gonna let this pass by without a battle. A sadness wrapped around me.