Slavers of the Savage Catacombs by Jon F Merz

Author:Jon F Merz [Merz, Jon F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, General, Historical
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2015-01-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Her clothes were tattered, and grime streaked her face, but Ran thought she still looked beautiful. She kept her head bowed as she worked, and Ran wished he could call to her. Even from this distance he could see that her once proud demeanor seemed nearly broken. Still, she couldn’t have been here too long. And if she knew that Ran was here, it might help lift her spirits.

Ran took a chance and called to Bagyo. “This cart has a broken wheel.”

At the sound of his voice, Cassandra looked up. Her eyes were momentarily dull until she spotted him. Then he saw a gleam come into them and just the hint of a grin.

Bagyo crashed into him from behind, sending him sprawling. “Get up!”

Ran turned and saw the beast standing over him. He pointed at the cart. “One of the wheels. I think it’s broken.”

Bagyo turned his attention to the cart and easily turned it over. He shook his head. “Nothing wrong with wheel.”

Ran leaned forward and got slapped for doing so. He tasted a bit of blood and shook his head. “It wasn’t moving properly. I only thought that I should tell you—”

“You work now,” said Bagyo. “Interrupt me again and you get whip.” He turned and thundered off.

Ran watched him go and then risked another look at Cassandra as he wiped the blood from his face. She smiled at him and then went back to working. She had seen him, though, and Ran felt better about the encounter as he returned to where Kuva still hammered.

Kuva frowned when he saw Ran. “You get yourself in trouble again with Bagyo?”

“It was worth it,” said Ran. “The woman I was searching for is here.”

Kuva put his pickax down. “She’s here? In the catacombs with us?”

“Yes,” said Ran. “Now it’s time to formulate a plan to get us all out of here.”

Kuva massaged his shoulder with his other hand. “That would be nice. I don’t know how much of this work I’m going to be able to endure without a better meal than the one we had last night. Honestly, the work doesn’t faze me much, but the lack of food certainly does.”

Ran stopped pushing the cart and took up the pickax. “Let me have some time at it now. You’ve been working for a while.”

“Fine with me,” said Kuva. “Just be careful of your eyes. Tiny shards of rock fly off in all directions while you’re swinging that thing.”

“Understood.” Ran hefted the pickax and swung at the stone wall before him. Rock broke off and tumbled to the ground at his feet. Ran settled into a rhythm of swinging the pickax, drawing back and breathing in, and then out as he swung down again. The rate he swung at was almost hypnotic after a few minutes. Ran stripped his shirt off as it soaked with sweat. He felt the muscles of his back and shoulders working well. After days of captivity, the release of swinging the ax actually felt pretty good.

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