closed down before they had a chance to reply.
After that, it was just a matter of waiting.
10
JENNA
All day I waited in the stinking heat. The small bottle of water they threw in to me had been the only thing that kept me from total dehydration. I couldn’t even leave the hut to relieve myself. All I could do was dig a small hole with a stone from the fire-pit and then cover it up once I was done. I’d suffered worse during my time with the renegades, but it was still revolting.
Fear ate at my gut. I didn’t like to think about what was going to happen to me when the master came. Every possibility I conjured was worse than the one before. I knew I would have been a total basket case if Kius hadn’t been able to clear a lot of the anxiety I’d been carrying from my time with the renegades. Now I was working with a partially cleaned slate and it was enough. Sort of.
Eventually the interminable day ended, and bit by bit the interior of the hut grew dark. I could hear activity outside. It sounded like something large was being moved into the center of the settlement. But what, I had no idea. The ‘why’ was even more impossible to guess.
When I heard the first scratching sounds outside the hut, I thought I was imagining it. Then, as it grew louder, and my other senses rushed in to fill the void created by the loss of my vision in the dark, I knew I heard something. Were the witches building fires around the hut? Was I going to be burned alive in here?
Panic clawed at my chest and choked off my airways. My head, which had finally stopped hurting, became light and wonky.
I crawled over to the spot directly opposite the door. It seemed to be the only place where the scratching was happening.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, keeping my voice low. Why, I had no idea.
“Jenna, are you all right?” came a soft voice on the other side of the wall.
My heart lifted and began to race. Someone had come for me?
“Yes… Who are you?” I answered.
“A friend. I’m digging you out.”
That’s all I needed to hear. I grabbed up the sharp rock I’d used to dig my make-shift toilet and began digging on my side of the wall. Adrenalin and hope gave me the strength I’d thought I’d lost.
By the time my side of the hole broke through to his side, my hands were bloody and raw. But I was triumphant. Unfortunately, breaking through was only the beginning. The hole had to be made big enough for me to crawl through.
More time passed in silent digging. I wanted to ask who was helping me and how we’d get away, but silence was crucial if we were to escape undetected. Yes, there was more noise going on at the village center, but that didn’t mean some passing witch might not hear us talking. The digging itself might be enough to draw attention. So, we worked in silence.
The sweat streamed off me in rivulets. The temperature might be dropping, but it would be a while before the heat of the day abated, I was sure. And digging was hard, sweaty work.
Finally, after what felt like hours, but was probably no more than thirty minutes, the hole was big enough for me to squeeze through. I put my hands over my head and slowly dived under the wall, hoping my rescuer would pull me out from the other side. I didn’t think my legs were strong enough to push me through.
Strong, narrow hands took hold of mine. Just the contact lifted my spirits. It felt so good to touch this rescuer. It reminded me of… No, I couldn’t allow myself to think about Rian. I couldn’t afford to waste what little water was left in my body on tears.
As I wriggled, the hands hauled on my arms, pulling me slowly—agonizingly slowly—through the hole. At one point, I was caught by one of the sticks in the wall. It tore at my dress, the ripping sound deafening to my ears. The pulling stopped immediately and hands began feeling around my torso for the stick that had caught me.
I was face-to-face, shoulder-to-shoulder, with the person digging me out. I couldn’t see much of him in the darkness. He was wearing dark clothing and a mask over his face. But I was sure he was a male,