On The Menu

By K. L. Sparks

It is love at first sight but neither of them know or understand the feelings coursing through their bodies.

Sods, an olden orc among orcs meets the brothel guard Gita, a power enhance stocky black woman while sheltering from a deadly storm. Unknown to either of them, they both occupy each others thoughts.

Due to unfortunate events these two find themselves traveling together and getting to know one another. But not everyone is happy to see a human and an orc together, and not everything is as it seems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. L. Sparks
• Release date: Apr 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201417482

Book preview

Chapter 1: Sods

Humans are weak and controlling, orcs are brutish and lecherous, elves are elegant and blessed, and the dwarfs are stingy and unfortunate. I find it amazing how the world stereotypes, things are never as they seem. I’ve met dwarfs with hearts kinder than saints, elves, nastier than the gods of death, and humans more elegant than the deadliest monsters.

I am orc. I am not a human, but I am no animal either. To some, I am just a beast. A myth is alive only in stories. Seeing is believing you see. Not that I or any of my kind would mind at all. Most of us prefer to keep a low profile, off others’ tongues and in the shadows. Humans, especially, we have a history with them. There are things that we orcs could not possibly be proud of. Though, there is a rouge element among a few of us that actually is not only proud of the past atrocities but also takes pride in doing nasty things now and then: hence our reputation.

My brothers and sisters are changing, living a life with less violence, less death, less bloodless hatred with other races, and we do our part by keeping the peace. But by nature, we can't be completely tamed. Aggression is a part of our being. Though it is not part of our personality, Belligerence can be suppressed for some time, though not eliminated.

My job is to deal with those who oppose our time of change. I neither hate nor love my job. My pack stands behind me, along with the sun, as I chant the words of our God for our fallen brother. His blood stains my blade, and his death is on my hands, but I will still pray for his safe return, for he fought with honor and lived for what he believed in. Liked by none, he was still an orc, and I respect him for that.

The wind chills my face, and I am alerted to the weather; there is a storm coming. I looked at the fallen orc one last time; his blood stained the ground, and his head was nearly torn from his body. I turned to my pack and commanded them to leave.

We survive as best as we can in this global peace; still, we travel in a pack as much as possible. We like to avoid crossing paths with humans when we are solo. They have not forgotten or forgiven, and they are opportunists. We do not trust them, and they do not trust us; it's a crude dance, but it works for us.

Sods, storms gonna catch us, Kaden grunted.

I echoed him but said nothing knowing his words were true. I didn’t want to overthink it, considering we were far from orc friendly lands. I looked to the sky and scrutinized the clouds; from the light blue hues dancing about, I knew that there was a slight chance that there could be an ethereal in the storm. I didn’t want to get caught in that, not even for a second. Ethereal, natures mana sought organic material, and its rain could shred even the skin off a dragon.

Options?

There is an establishment not too far; considering their business, they might welcome us, Kaden spoke, and a few of the orcs grunted.

I glared at them, and they quieted immediately.

Or hopefully, they’ll take pay for our shelter, I added, nodding towards the pack and pointing towards the direction of the house. Move! I ordered.

It took some time, but we finally came across the establishment; I remembered the medium-sized shack of a building. The wooden shed looked as though it was on its last leg. The wood holding it together looked like it would crumble from breathing on it. It was a wonder how it was still holding together. There is a flurry of activities and sounds of music as we approach and several sounds of gasping. My sensitive ears can hear it all, the scurrying of footsteps and rushing and call of orcs. They know we are here.

A few of my pack groaned from the smell wafting from the building. I know from my nose that the place is a brothel where women sell themselves. Female flesh is potent and strong, and it clings to the crisp air like a deadly gas.

My pack and I sat outside for several moments, preparing ourselves to go in; we were unsure what to expect. Would we be welcomed? Would we be villanized? I did not want to cause any trouble.

When my pack and I finally decided to step inside the building, the building's interior surprised me. The furnishing wasn’t much to look at, looking as though they were donated piece by piece, but the space inside was much larger than the building appeared. I assumed that it was a dimension spell on the building. I grunted in approval, knowing if the place could afford a dimension spell, it no doubt had a protection spell to protect it from the ethereal rain. Or any rain considering the state of this building’s external.

There were maybe fifteen or so humans, most of them females, staring at us. The place reeked