Page 46 of Orc's Bargain
Then I see his face—or what’s left of it—and my legs nearly buckle.
Gror.
My little brother. The boy I raised after our mother died. The young man who smiled too easily, laughed too loudly, who used to sneak me extra portions of bread when our relatives weren’t looking.
He walks forward, but contract-script covers every inch of his skin. The words crawl across his face like living things, filling his eyes with endlessly flowing terms, replacing his warm brown gaze with something empty and calculating. His body moves with the same unnatural fluidity as the Ledger Master.
He’s wearing the same clothes he had on when I last saw him. Before the contract. Before all of this. The shirt I mended for him last month. The boots I saved three months to buy.
“Gror.” His name tears out of me. “Gror, it’s me. It’s Ivy.”
No recognition flickers in those contract-filled eyes. No spark of the brother I raised, the boy who used to dream too big. He stares at me with the same emptiness as the enforcers lining the walls.
“He can hear you.” The Ledger Master’s voice is pleasant. Conversational. “He’s still in there, buried beneath the contracts. He remembers you, loves you, screams your name every moment of every day.” The smile sharpens. “He just can’t do anything about it.”
Rage floods through me—hot and bright, burning away the fear. “What did you do to him?”
“I made him useful.” The Ledger Master circles us slowly, contracts rustling in his wake. “He came to me after I archivedhim. Begged to be of service. Offered anything—“ The word drips with mockery. “—to save his sister from the debt he’d caused.”
“You lie. You manipulated him.”
“I gave him exactly what he asked for. A way to help you. A purpose.” The Ledger Master stops in front of my transformed brother, one hand reaching up to cup Gror’s chin. “He’s my new enforcer now. My newest weapon. Completely obedient. Utterly loyal.” Those parchment-pale eyes find mine. “And his first assignment is bringing you to me.”
Gror moves.
Fast—faster than human. The contracts covering his body flare with sudden light as he lunges toward me, hands reaching for my throat. I stumble backward, the sigil on my palm blazing in response, my gift screaming warnings I can barely process.
Rathok intercepts.
His axes stay sheathed—he’s not fighting to kill, not this enemy—but his body becomes a barrier between me and my brother. He catches Gror’s wrists, muscles straining against the unnatural strength of the contracts, forcing my brother back step by step.
“Ivalys, get back!” Rathok’s voice is strained. “He’s stronger than he looks?—“
Gror breaks one hand free. His fist connects with Rathok’s jaw—a blow that would shatter human bone, that sends the massive orc staggering. Blood sprays from Rathok’s split lip. He recovers, catches Gror again, but he’s barely holding on. The contracts on my brother’s skin are rewriting themselves, adjusting, making him faster and stronger with every passing second.
“I won’t kill him.” Rathok’s voice is strained, but certain. “I won’t hurt your brother, Ivalys. No matter what.”
The words hit me somewhere deep. Even now. Even in this. He’s thinking of me. Protecting what matters to me.
“Stop!” I scream. “Both of you, stop!”
The Ledger Master laughs.
“Such love. Such desperation. This is why I chose your brother, you know. Because I knew you’d never be able to hurt him. Never be able to fight back against your own flesh and blood.” He gestures, a casual wave. “And now?—“
The floor beneath Rathok dissolves.
One moment he’s there—struggling with my brother, muscles straining, holding the line between Gror and me. The next, the polished bone beneath his feet simply opens, contracts unraveling to reveal a pit of absolute blackness.
“RATHOK!”
He falls.
I lunge for him—reaching, stretching, my fingers brushing his as he drops into the void. Our eyes meet for one frozen instant. Fear in his gaze. Fury. And something else—something that looks like an apology. Like a promise.
Come back to me. Find the contract. End this. Come back.
Then he’s gone.
