Page 7 of Scaled Hearts

It’s been so long since I was awake that I don’t know what to make of this incessant thrum beneath my skin, this strange sensation that urges me awake. Something in our world is changing.

Something is happening. The magic around the island is shifting. It tingles in my skin, makes my gums itch and my body feel restless.

I don’t know what’s going on but I do know that sleeping, despite the allure, is no longer the right path.

I haven’t been awake in decades, content to slumber my existence away while hoping that one day I would wake up, free and happy once more.

But perhaps that is no longer the right choice. Perhaps it is time for me to rise once again.

It is time for me to wake up.

3

Kelly

Istared at my sister in shock. “What...what...” I can’t even get the words out. I don’t know what happened here but I know that I can’t let Kara take the blame, or get in trouble with the orc guards. I swallow my questions and slip into protective-sister mode.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” I say, plucking the pickaxe from her hands. Kara is tiny. No one will believe that she had anything to do with this. No one was going to even suspect her if I play my cards right.

“You’re going to run and clean yourself up at the well, then you’ll join the other workers in a different part of the mine,” I say, pushing her towards the entrance of this sector. “Be quiet, and pretend you’ve been there all day.”

“But what are you going to do?” Kara asks, eyes wide. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

My lips tighten into a thin line. “I’m going to take care of this,” I tell her. “Go, hurry!”

She gives me one last look as she leaves, her body trembling.

This is my fault. If I could have only lied better. I should have told the orc that questioned me that she was bleeding and throwing up. If only I had done a better job, Kara wouldn’t be in this mess.

As the older sister, it’s my job to watch out for her. Our parents worked themselves to death in these mines and I don’t want the same fate for my sister. I need to protect her. So I’m going to clean up this mess and find someone else to blame.

The orcs are stupid, oafish creatures. Their only interest is in mining the hidium and beating their workers down with their selfish cruelty. I can convince them that I stumbled upon the scene by accident, that I was able to talk to one of the villagers before they died and found out what happened.

They’d probably believe me, the dullards.

Squaring my shoulders, I walk over and press the pickaxe into the hands of one of the slain men. I close his stiffening fingers around the axe, ensuring some of the blood drips onto his hands. I step back, making sure that the position is right.

Next, I scan the area. I spot what I’m looking for and pick up a second axe, closing my eyes for a moment to take a deep breath. Wincing, I bring the axe down hard on the dead man’s head, sinking it into his skull. It’s a clumsy job and anyone looking closely would have questions but it’s the best I can do.

I wipe the blood on my hands off on another villager and stand near the entrance, examining the scene. I feel nausea rising in my stomach.

I turn, racing to the front of the mines, finding an orc overseer in Sector 2.

“There’s been an incident!” I yell, trying to look upset. “Half a dozen workers are dead in Sector 8!”

“Show us,” the overseer grunts, motioning over one of the guards who comes lumbering up. “Lead the way.”

I lead the two orcs deeper into the mine, into Sector 8 where the bodies are all laid out, blood everywhere. My stomach rolls at the sight.

“See?” I point it out. “One of the men was dying when I found him. I managed to get him to tell me what happened. It’s all because of Flint Lightshot. I heard it from the dying man myself. Flint started this fight and killed them all before fleeing!”

Whether my lies are believable or not, the orcs are too direct and unsophisticated to question me. They believe me straight away and turn to talk to each other. “Lightshot is a tempermental one,” the guard nods.

“He’s had those outbursts,” the Overseer agrees. The two men confer for a brief moment longer before the Overseer turns back to me.

“He’ll be punished for this,” the Overseer says to me. “Now get back to work.”

I don’t need to be told twice before I’m scurrying off to keep an eye on Kara in her sector. She’s chosen Sector 3, where she has a few friends from the village.