Brands

Part 5

He groaned as he awoke from his slumber. Dried blood stuck to his cheek and his mind spun from the pain in the back of his head. His vision was blurry and his mouth was dry. He let his body go limp again as he was too weak to sit up. He went in and out of consciousness for most of the day. Having finally regained his wits he saw that the shackles in front of him were empty.
Panic gripped him like a vice. He sat up straight and his head darted around looking for any sign of the woman. He tried to turn his head back further, but the chains stopped him. Just then a high pitched scream echoed from the farthest corner of the cave. His heart raced faster than ever as he desperately pulled against his chains. More screams echoed through the cave and he could hear faint chuckles coming from the guards. He pulled as hard as he could, but to no avail.
The shackles cut deep into his already scarred wrists and his muscles burned as they clenched up. Soon the screams stopped and his heart fell. Dread overwhelmed him as did confusion. Why was he feeling this way over someone he had just met? Was there more to her than he realized? These thoughts filled his mind as he slumped down, feeling drained physically and emotionally. He heard footsteps and something dragging across the ground. Turning his head he saw two of the guards dragging the woman's body back to the cage.
They opened the small door and tossed her inside with a loud thump. He suppressed a growl that had grown in his throat as he watched them chain her back up. Once they left his anger subsided some what and he turned his attention to the woman. Her upper body was now almost completely covered in the strange tattoos. Very little skin shown in between the markings.
He sat in silence as he waited for her to wake up. A strange feeling of excitement flowed through him. He was finally going to learn about the tattooed lady.