Hope in the Highlands

6

The guards sent a massive-sized man down into the pit to fight Kaji. She figured she had speed on her side, so the instant his body finally healed, she lunged toward him. Kicking out his knee, she stayed low and jammed both fists into his privates and then his stomach. His legs collapsed and he doubled over, so Kaji slipped around behind him and grabbed a rock.

Just as she prepared to slam it against the back of his head, his hand came up and grabbed her wrist and twisted it. Kaji screamed as it cracked and a searing pain throbbed in her entire arm. He brought his good knee up and slammed it against her stomach.

All the air inside her lungs whooshed out in a giant gasp, but the man didn't stop. He picked her up and Kaji was too distracted to do anything other than thrash. Her strength was no match against his.

With a single, smooth move, he threw her down onto his good knee and broke her back. A wave of excruciating pain exploded through her entire body and ripped her mind into blackness.

*****

Ashric didn't remember being dragged from the cell. He woke up and every inch of his body throbbed and sweat coated him in thick layers. His stomach twisted and he felt like throwing up, but he bit his lip. Gritting his teeth, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to sit up. The iron bars on his cell were open and he realized he had been placed back in his own.

Where's Kaji? That single thought consumed him and it gave him the strength to push his body. Ignoring the flare of pain and burning on his skin, Ashric sat up. Panting, he used the cracked stones behind him to help prop himself up. When he finally reached his feet, he leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

Limping down the hall with one hand on the stones beside him, Ashric made his way around the corner and down the hall. Ther leaned against the wall in his typical place, watching the prisoners mingle with each other down below the balcony.

"Where is she?" Ashric's voice was hoarse; barely a whisper. Clearing his throat, Ashric moved so that he stood directly in Ther's face. "Where is Kaji?"

Ther grinned and pointed a thumb down the chamber to the right. He knew that could only mean one thing: the pits. "She's had to fight big, tough guys all week. Still stuck down there. Last guy broke her back." Ther chuckled and Ashric's skin itched to punch him. That would do him no good. Getting himself placed back in isolation wouldn't help Kaji.

Ashric growled and darted down the chamber. His muscles and skin screamed in protest, but he ignored them and thought only of Kaji. Kaji. Her name was a mantra in his mind, filling his body with strength and determination. Their people believed that the Holy Father placed a man and woman in each other's lives for a reason; to be each other's hope and strength and support. That was what Kaji was to Ashric, what she meant. She was everything to him. His world. He would not let his world come crashing down around him.

Ashric stood in the circular chamber overlooking the pits. He had no idea where they ended. All he had were rumors that whatever rune was down there healed a person's wounds. Kaji was down there, his precious Kaji.

Holy Father, you will not lead me into death, Ashric thought.

"What are you doing?" Ther shouted after him. Guards and prisoners all rushed down the corridor to see what Ashric was doing.

Taking a deep breath, Ashric stepped off the edge and down into the unknown.

*****

Kaji's back began to heal itself. Bones formed back together as the muscles and tissue shifted and slipped back into their proper places. The rune's magic sped up Kaji's body's natural healing process and in doing so, created a mind-blowing amount of pain. Her jumbled thoughts became lost in a dreamless limbo, just the emptiness of being asleep while she was also in a lot of pain.

"... I'm... here," Ashric's voice murmured. Groans and screams reached Kaji's ears, but she didn't know if they were his or hers.

Kaji closed her eyes as she sobbed in agony. Now she was hallucinating Ashric. "Ashric! I wish you were here!"

"I am!" Strong arms wrapped her in a warm embrace. Kaji closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of being in his arms again. How could this be a dream? It felt so real. Oh, how Kaji so desperately wanted it to be real.

Yet her body was simply too injured. Her mind blanked back out and she was lost to the world...