“So what you thinking, Will?” scar-face asked.
“I’m thinking maybe we should clear the brush and let them ride through.”
“What? Why? There’s five of us and just two of them,” flat-nose pointed out.
“But they’re Riyria.”
“So what?”
“So, my associates up north—they ain’t stupid, and they told everyone never to touch these two. And my associates ain’t exactly the squeamish types. If they say to avoid them, there’s a good reason.”
Flat-nose looked at them again with a critical eye. “Okay, but how do you know these two guys are them? You just gonna take their word for it?”
Will nodded toward Hadrian. “Look at the swords he’s carrying. A man wearing one—maybe he knows how to use it, maybe not. A man carries two—he probably don’t know nothing about swords, but he wants you to think he does. But a man carrying three swords—that’s a lot of weight. No one’s gonna haul that much steel around unless he makes a living using them.”
Hadrian drew two swords from his sides in a single elegant motion. He flipped one around, letting it spin against his palm once. “Need to get a new grip on this one. It’s starting to fray again.” He looked at Will. “Shall we get on with this? I believe you were about to rob us.”
The thieves shot uncertain glances to each other.
“Will?” the girl asked. She was still holding the bow taut but looked decidedly less confident.
“Let’s clear the brush out of their way and let them pass,” Will said.
“You sure?” Hadrian asked. “This nice man with the busted nose seems to have his heart set on getting a sword.”
“That’s okay,” flat-nose said, looking up at Hadrian’s blades as the moonlight glinted off the mirrored steel.
“Well, if you’re sure.”
All five nodded and Hadrian sheathed his weapons.
Will planted his sword in the dirt and waved the others over as he hurried to clear the barricade of branches blocking the roadway.
“You know, you’re doing this all wrong,” Royce told them.
The thieves stopped and looked up, concerned.
Royce shook his head. “Not clearing the brush—the robbery. You picked a nice spot. I’ll give you that. But you should have come at us from both sides.”
“And, William—it is William, isn’t it?” Hadrian asked.
The man winced and nodded.
“Yeah, William, most people are right-handed, so those coming in close should approach from the left. That would’ve put us at a disadvantage, having to swing across our bodies at you. Those with bows should be on our right.”
“And why just one bow?” Royce asked. “She could have only hit one of us.”
“Couldn’t even have done that,” Hadrian said. “Did you notice how long she held the bow bent? Either she’s incredibly strong—which I doubt—or that’s a homemade greenwood bow with barely enough power to toss the arrow a few feet. Her part was just for show. I doubt she’s ever launched an arrow.”
“Have too,” the girl said. “I’m a fine marksman.”
Hadrian shook his head at her with a smile. “You had your forefinger on top of the shaft, dear. If you had released, the feathers on the arrow would have brushed your finger and the shot would have gone anywhere but where you wanted it to.”
Royce nodded. “Invest in crossbows. Next time stay hidden and just put a couple bolts into each of your targets’ chests. All this talking is just stupid.”
“Royce!” Hadrian admonished.
“What? You’re always saying I should be nicer to people. I’m trying to be helpful.”
“Don’t listen to him. If you do want some advice, try building a better barricade.”
“Yeah, drop a tree across the road next time,” Royce said. Waving a hand toward the branches, he added, “This is just pathetic. And cover your faces for Maribor’s sake. Warric isn’t that big of a kingdom and people might remember you. Sure Ballentyne isn’t likely to bother tracking you down for a few petty highway robberies, but you’re gonna walk into a tavern one day and get a knife in your back.” Royce turned to William. “You were in the Crimson Hand, right?”
Will looked startled. “No one said nothing about that.” He stopped pulling on the branch he was working on.
“Didn’t need to. The Hand requires all guild members to get that stupid tattoo on their necks.” Royce turned to Hadrian. “It’s supposed to make them look tough, but all it really does is make it easy to identify them as thieves for the rest of their lives. Painting a red hand on everyone is pretty stupid when you think about it.”
“That tattoo is supposed to be a hand?” Hadrian asked. “I thought it was a little red chicken. But now that you mention it, a hand does make more sense.”
Royce looked back at Will and tilted his head to one side. “Does kinda look like a chicken.”
Will clamped a palm over his neck.
After the last of the brush was cleared, William asked, “Who are you, really? What exactly is Riyria? The Hand never told me. They just said to keep clear.”
“We’re nobody special,” Hadrian replied. “Just a couple of travelers enjoying a ride on a cool autumn’s night.”
“But seriously,” Royce said. “You need to listen to us if you’re going to keep doing this. After all, we’re going to take your advice.”
“What advice?”
Royce gave a gentle kick to his horse and started forward on the road again. “We’re going to visit the Earl of Chadwick, but don’t worry—we won’t mention you.”
BY STAN NICHOLLS
“Gladiators” Game Book No. 1
Tom and Jerry: The Movie
Cool Zool
Strange Invaders
Spider-man: The Hobgoblin
The Nightshade Chronicles
The Book of Shadows
Shadow of the Sorcerer
A Gathering of Shadows
Fade to Black
Dark Skies: The Awakening
Orcs
Orcs: Bad Blood
Orcs: Army of Shadows
Orcs: Inferno
The Dreamtime Trilogy
The Covenant Rising
The Righteous Blade
The Diamond Isle
Nonfiction
Wordsmiths of Wonder: Fifty Interviews with Writers of the Fantastic
Ken and Me
Gerry Anderson: The Authorized Biography
Graphic novels (as adaptor)
David Gemmell’s Legend
David Gemmell’s Wolf in Shadow
Praise for ORCS
“With grand scale world building, labyrinthine plotlines, extensive backstory and pedal-to-the-metal action, Nicholls captures adventure fantasy at its very best.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Stan Nicholls takes his well-deserved place beside Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin as a modern star of fantasy.”
—The Independent
“Incorporating wall to wall action with undercurrents of dark humor, Bodyguard of Lightning is a gritty, fast-paced novel with a neat twist. The heroes are orcs—though you wouldn’t want to meet any of them on a dark night!”
—David Gemmell
“Weirdly charming, fast-moving and freaky, Bodyguard of Lightning is the most fun you’re ever likely to have with a warband of orcs. Remember, buy now or beg for mercy later…”
—Tad Williams
“A neat idea and Stan Nicholls pulls it off with great panache… enough weird sex to keep the tabloids outraged for weeks. You’ll never feel the same about Lord of the Rings.”
—Jon Courtenay Grimwood, SFX
“A warning: if you don’t wish to become addicted to the most impressive new fantasy sequence in many a moon, you should avoid Bodyguard of Lightning.”
—Genre Hotline/LineOne Science Fiction Zone
“Stan Nicholls tries to correct the bad p
ress authors such as Tolkien have given to orcs. Nicholls tells his tale briskly and entertainingly… If you like lots of hacking and slashing, Bodyguard of Lightning is for you!”
—Starburst
“Bodyguard of Lightning is naturally full of fighting, blood-letting and double-crossing. Nicholls has created a fast-paced adventure.”
—The Mentor
“In the fantasy field, Stan Nicholls’ Legion of Thunder demonstrates a truly coruscating imagination in its outrageous narrative.”
—Publishing News Books of the Year 1999
“Nicholls knows how to describe a battle in gritty detail, in such a way that it grabs your interest and yet still appears as unglamorous and unromantic as it should. A strange tale of magic, fantastic creatures and mythical elder races that warps your expectations.”
—The SF Site
“Warriors of the Tempest is, above all, a wonderful piece of storytelling; fast-paced with plenty of hairpin twists, crammed with loads of juicy battles and properly bad baddies, racing towards a carefully set-up conclusion that’s both exciting and genuinely moving…. Underlying all the fun and games are a core of skillfully drawn, fully realized characters who engage your sympathy from the start and never let go…. Sweet and sour orc, a feast for the most jaded fantasy-lover’s palate.”
—Tom Holt, SFX magazine
“The prose flows smoothly and the story is exciting…”
—Science Fiction Chronicle
“Breathless and ruthless, menacing and fun. Easy to read and totally engaging.”
—The Alien Online
“Stan Nicholls’ excellent Orcs sequence… is a welcome counterblast to the anti-orc onslaught due with the film launch of The Lord of the Rings.”
—The Guardian
“Now’s your chance to catch up with one of the most unusual writers in the genre. And it’s particularly wonderful not to have to put your brain to bed while reading Nicholls—unlike many of his writing peers, there’s a real intelligence always at work here. Not that we don’t get the requisite rip-roaring action and colorful world-building—along with some cutting humor.”
—Tiscali SF Zone
“It is an excellent adventure read. A good adventure story with plenty of action, humorous and well-crafted. Thoroughly recommended.”
—SF Crowsnest
Contents
Welcome
Dedication
Into the Fire
Five Years Earlier
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue I
Epilogue II
Extras
Meet the Author
A Preview of Theft of Swords
By Stan Nicholls
Praise for ORCS
Copyright
Copyright
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2012 by Stan Nicholls
English translation copyright © 2007 by Danusia Stok
Excerpt from Theft of Swords copyright © 2011 by Michael Sullivan
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First e-book edition: April 2012
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ISBN 978-0-316-13480-4