Page 34 of Heart of the Hunted
Most of the ogres weighed more than a tonne, and Taredd had seen first-hand what a Human looked like after one had sat on them. It wasn't a pretty sight.
"Well, you're heavy enough to limit my breathing," she said, trying in vein to push him off her.
"If I was limiting your breathing, then you wouldn't be talking now, would you?" he said.
"Smart arse," she mumbled.
"Why, thank you," he said smugly.
"That wasn't a compliment," she said adamantly. "Just get off me, already."
"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "I can't do that because you'll try to run away."
"Well, of course,” she said. “I'm not just going to stand still and let you kill me, am I? Why would I make it easier on you?"
"I'm not going to kill you." That got her attention, and she instantly stopped struggling.
"Why not?" she asked, perplexed.
"Because then I'd have to carry you," he said honestly.
Yeah, on hindsight he probably shouldn't have told her that because as soon as the last word left his mouth, she started struggling to get away from him again.
"Just stop already," he told her. "You're not going to get me off you like that."
"Well, I'm certainly not going to go anywhere with you willingly," she said. "If that's what you think, then you're sorely mistaken."
"That's exactly what I think, and that's exactly what's going to happen,” he told her. “Whether you like it or not."
Stopping again, she asked: "Why?"
"Why what?" he asked.
"Why do you need me to go with you?” she asked. “Why aren't you going to kill me straight away like your kind normally does?"
"Because..."
"Because what?" she prompted when he didn't continue.
Taredd wasn't sure if to tell her the truth, or to lie to her. Either way, he didn't think she was going to like the answer, so he decided on the truth.
"Because I have a bet going with my friends," he told her blatantly.
"What? Is it on who's a better killer?" she asked sarcastically.
"No, it's nothing like that," he said.
"Then like what?" she asked.
"Who can catch a Human the quickest." Saying it out loud like that made it sound pretty stupid, but what else could he say? It was something to do to pass the time, and at the end of the day it wasn't even his idea.
"Congratulations to you if you're the winner. I would clap but... my hands are kinda stuck at the moment,” she said sarcastically.
"Oh, it will be me," he said confidently.
"Big headed or what."
Taredd couldn't see her face from this position, but he could just imagine that she was rolling her eyes when she said that.
