Separated
The blows were brutal and unexpected. Juda cried out in pain from the beating, when another one came from behind her, striking her between the shoulder blades. The pounding knocked her onto the ground, driving her face into the dirt.
The guy grabbed her by the hair at the back of her head and jerked her sideways. The booted foot that came down narrowly missed colliding with her cheek and eye, crushing it and snuffing out her life.
“Hold!”
The boot came down again, and this time the edge of the hard sole struck her forehead, right at her hairline. She whimpered from the agony slicing through her brain when the voice of authority boomed again.
“I said hold!”
She heard a loud thump, and the person who’d been beating on her abruptly stopped. Someone reached down, grabbed her by the front of her blouse, and lifted her until she was upright. Rough hands slammed her backwards against the rock wall. Her head connected with the roughened stone. Bright spots flashed behind her eyes. After another few seconds, something warm trickled down her neck.
Dimly, she was aware of the strip of skin that had been peeled away from her forehead. It dangled below her eyebrow. Blood flowed over the bridge of her nose. She closed her eyes as the two men moved a short distance away. They spoke in low tones to prevent her from overhearing, but she could tell the one who’d abused her was getting a dressing down from his master.
Lifting her face, she tried to focus on the men. One of them she didn’t recognize. The other…
The argument ended, and Goen strode toward her. Juda averted her face, squeezing her eyes shut again as she prepared herself for another blow. He stopped in front of her and bent over.
“Listen to me,” the man ordered. “Where is Cayn?”
“I do not know,” she weakly responded.
He backhanded her, striking the corner of her mouth and cheek, and sending her flying sideways. With her arms bound behind her, she couldn’t avoid hitting the ground again.
“Where is Cayn?” Goen bellowed.
“I do not know!” she answered between sobs.
“She knows,” a second voice growled.
Goen grunted. “Or perhaps she does not.” He dropped onto one knee. The leather leggings nearly touched her nose. “When did he leave?”
“Ye-yesterday.”
“Why did he abandon you?”
“H-he did not…” She paused, realizing that Goen could be speaking the truth. Cayn had left without letting her know beforehand that he might be gone when she awakened. He’d never done that before. What if he had abandoned her? There could be no other explanation. “I do not know why,” she weakly confessed.
Goen laughed at her confession. It was an ugly sound she would never forget.
“He left you to save his own skin. He does not care for you. All he cares about is himself. You are…expendable.”
“If I am expendable, why do you beat me? If you know he abandoned me, why do you beat me?” she managed to ask, keeping her head bowed. In her heart, she prayed Cayn hadn’t left her at Goen’s mercy. There had to be a good reason why he’d left while she slept.
Goen moved away. She took the chance that he wasn’t about to strike her again and slowly raised her face to see where he’d gone. He’d returned to where the other man stood. They resumed talking, their backs to her.
She may never have the opportunity again.
Moving as quietly as possible, she managed to get to her feet. A head start. That’s all she needed was a head start.
She took off running as fast as she could. Her vision blurred and pain pulsed behind her eyes as she aimed for a thicket not too far away. She needed to be at least a dozen steps away from them before she exited, or else one or both of them could be swept up inside her energy.
Someone yelled when they discovered her missing. Judging by the sound, she knew she was far enough away. At the same time she burst through the foliage. Taking a deep breath, she launched herself into the time vortex and let it sweep her away.
Juda jerked awake. Instinctively, she reached for the closest thing to ground herself, and her hands found the thin blanket. Her heart was pounding, and she felt like she was still falling through the years.
She lay there on her pallet and waited for her body to calm. Her eyes riveted on the curtainless window on the other side of the room where faint moonlight poured across the floor, stopping short of reaching where she’d been sleeping. A shiver went through her, and she pulled the blanket tighter around her.
