Gold to Dust

Chapter Six

Six

The skin of Tamshie's wrists constantly stung, chafed completely raw to reveal nothing but pink and purpling flesh beneath the iron of her fetters. Her steps on the solid ground rippled along her back, reverberating shocks of pain that echoed and cried even after she stopped to breathe. When she did rest, she was yanked back into step, tearing her arms forward and stretching the sensitive wound on her back. She cried out every time.

The sun fell behind the tall rock formations, resting at the peak of a rock before falling away. She had seen the sun rise twice and fall once since she'd awoken. She tried not to think of Ellegra. All Tamshie could remember of that night was watching men fight, her and Ellegra running, and her body crashing to the ground with her friend hovering over her.

Tamshie didn't speak a lick of Asaanish, but she knew enough to know that her captors were not part of a royal guard. They didn't dress in the same uniforms as the men who had barged into the fight. These were different. Instead of formal raiment of blue and gold, they were dressed in baggy clothes made mostly of patched cloths and laced rags, their faces entirely covered with black kerchiefs that didn't even reveal their eyes. When they spoke, the cloth moved, billowing and contracting with their breaths. Even with the sheets over their eyes, she felt they were staring at her. "Svanna," they called her. Then they reached out, pulling on her fiery tangles, caressing the nape of her neck and the swollen flesh of her cheek. If she'd had the energy, she would have moved, recoiled away from their touch or even fought back. If she'd had the will, she would have tried to escape. But how far would she get before they found her? A foot? A mile? And how would she ever get back to Ellegra, assuming her friend was even still alive? Each question brought up more that she didn't have answers to and didn't want. Instead, she kept her head bowed and followed behind the leading horseman, her chains rattling with every footfall.

❂

Tamshie collapsed an hour later, but her body was left to drag through the sand and occasional rock. Her head hung in a way that would startle most people should they have seen— but not these people.

When the sun rose and fell through another day, the men halted and let their horses drink, resting slightly before continuing again. The tallest man reached up to the saddle's horn and untied Tamshie's chains, dropping them to the ground. She didn't move.

They drank and ate dried meat. Then, tying her irons back around the horn, they mounted their beasts and resumed the walk. Still, Tamshie lay limp. One man pointed out the brown blood crusting on the back of her shirt. Another pointed to her wrists and the blood dripping from her manacles. The others ignored these discoveries and continued on.

❂

She woke to the bright red light of a fire's glow and the smell of musk and something that smelled like herbal tea. Tamshie lay on her back on the hard ground, despite the thick fur she was spread out on. Her ears hurt, her body ached, and her eyes burned with the tears welling in them. Her eyes landed on a fire before shying away from its glare. She turned to survey her surroundings, her gaze darting from corner to crevice of the room, seeking something to help her figure out where she was.

A figure stepped into her view, hair dragging long against her hips.

A choked sob broke from her throat. Tamshie reached out for her. "Ellegra," she cried, sniffling. The figure came closer. Her sobs stopped. Her eyes broke wide.

The girl knelt next to her, placing a bowl of steaming water in her lap as she crossed her legs around it. Tamshie's shirt had been sliced down the back, a dressing already placed on it. The girl seized a tender wrist, dunking and wringing a cloth in the bowl before gingerly covering her wrists with the rag. She grabbed and dunked another, repeating it on the other. Tamshie watched her bend and crane over her, wiping away grime and chunked blood from her legs, arms, neck, and face. Her long plait dangled in her face, but Tamshie couldn't find it in her to care. It wasn't until the girl pushed a stray lock behind her misshapen ear that her body tensed.