Page 1 of Scaled Hearts

1

Kelly

“Brockhurst!”

I wince when my name is called.

The voice of Broswin, one of the orc guards, carries over the mine shaft. It reverberates loudly, making my ears ring even before I turn to face him. He stands with his morning star resting casually on his shoulder and leers at me.

I hate that thing. I much rather have the cat o’ nine tails whipping my back then have that hunk of metal scraping against my skin while he swings it full force. Broswin’s never been one to hold back when it comes to punishing us. Even if the crime is something as petty as tardiness.

His hand tightens on the hilt of it when I ask, “Yes, sir?”

“Where’s your sister? She’s late for her shift!”

I hold back another wince.

When I arrived for my shift early this morning, I’d made sure to keep a low profile when grabbing my stuff. Hoping that by doing so, I could avoid any unnecessary questions about my sister’s whereabouts.

Unfortunately with my luck, that wasn’t a success.

“She’s, um.” I shift the pickaxe in my hand, my fingers ache from holding it for so long. “She’s ill, sir.”

“Is she dying?”

“...No.”

“Is she bleeding? Throwing up her own insides?”

I want to sigh. I know exactly where this line of questioning is going. “No, sir.”

“Then get her over here or I’ll string you both up on the rack.”

My body shivers at the mention of that archaic torture device. I’ve only ever seen one person hung off of it before and even now, ten years later, I still can’t get the image of their body slowly tearing apart at the joints and those screams of agony out of my head.

“Yes, sir.” I tell Broswin and set my axe down next to my spot in the tunnel to mark it.

I move through the throng of humans that are now turning towards me while I pass through. I’m sure everyone’s curious about where my sister could be. It isn’t like her to skip out on her shifts like this. In fact, Kara’s never had a tardy day in her life, let alone a full on absence.

But today isn’t her fault. I made her stay home when we woke up this morning and she still had that nasty fever. The rash on her arm had only grown overnight, worrying me to the point where I’d forced her to stay in bed and rest all day while I went to our shift.

I told myself that as long as I could get through today without any hiccups, I would have enough money to purchase some salve for my sister’s rash from Old Agatha. Herbology medicine has never been my strong suit, but at this point, anything will help.

I ignore the pointed stare from Broswin and head out of the tunnel and into the wider part of the mine shaft. From here, I can feel the breeze coming into the caves from outside. It makes the entire mine shaft smell dank and musty, causing my nose to itch and my eyes to water.

I take the elevator up to the surface, my stomach lurching every time the excavator operator jerks the ropes to pull us up. I hate heights, especially when the ground below me seems near non-existent. As long as I’ve been working in this mine, I still have no clue how far it reaches to the bottom.

I breathe out a sigh of relief when we finally reach the surface and the gate onto the elevator parts for me to get off. Solid ground has never felt so good beneath my feet.

Heading out into the fresh air, I put my arm over my eyes to shield them from the bright sun.

It’s hot today, much hotter than it has been all week according to the calendar Kara and I have been keeping at home. While I hate being down in the mines because of the depressing darkness, I don’t mind the chill that comes with it. Especially on days like today.

I make my way to our hut, which is only about a seven minute walk from the mines. It’s one of the nicer things about getting a plot closer towards town. While we sacrificed the privacy that living out towards the outskirts provided, it gave us much easier access once wintertime hit.

I pull the latch back on the front door and push it inward, cool air breezes past me as I step inside. It’s much cooler in here than it is out there baking under the hot sun, giving me the much needed reprieve from it.

“Hey!” Kara says from over near the stove-set.

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