Bound to Sanctum

Chapter 1

        On her hands and knees, Kathrine balanced on a steel cylinder and stretched for a sparkling watch several feet below. From what she could see, the face was smashed and the hands stopped ticking long ago, but if it was silver, it was worth the effort. She calculated the risk with care before going for it. One wrong move, one slip of the wrist and she could fall to her death, impaled on the jagged, metal thorns shielding the silver trinket, but if it was easy to obtain, someone else would have found it, leaving her with a tougher hunt and longer trek from the civilized part of the hills.

         Just as she felt she could reach it, she stretched just a tiny bit more, but shifted back as soon as she felt the cylinder lean and her balance dwindle. She gasped and grasped the cylinder with both hands, holding on for dear life. Breathing heavy, she cursed, wiping the sweat on her face with a stained sleeve. When the sudden fear subsided, she reached down again, imagining the others’ reaction when they saw her strutting around with it on her wrist. Her fingers twitched. Just… another inch…

          “Kat!”

          The voice came from behind. She exhaled as she straightened up and glanced over her shoulder. Vera was a distant shadow in the white morning mist that blanketed the hills. Her friend picked a path towards her over the vicarious landscape. “You have to come quick!” 

        “What’s wrong?” Kathrine asked. On her toes, she spun around to face the opposite direction.

        “Patrol’s out for Jonas. They want his head!”

        Partially relieved to leave the watch for another time, Kathrine stood, carefully angling her feet with her arms out for balance. “What’s he gotten himself into?”

        Vera climbed up a pile of rubbish and stood looking down at her. “They caught him cursing the Headmaster. We have to help him.”

        Kathrine edged her way to the end of the cylinder. Her spear was waiting for her, leaning against the pipe. It was a simple weapon, a rod two and a quarter inches thick with a sharpened end, but it won her a couple of fights in the past so she stuck with it. Taking Vera’s outstretched hand, she tested a foot hole and left the cylinder. “Where is he?”

        “Hiding, last I heard,” Vera informed her. “But they were close to cornering him. Scotcher’s gone for his weapons and said we’d better meet him.”

        “No time,” Kathirine said and motioned toward the inhabited portion of the hills with the tip of her spear. “Lead the way.”

        They flew through the landscape like only a native could. Bouncing from structure to structure. Finding foot holes where none existed. Dodging sharp dangers with grace. Lifting and pulling each other over high ledges. Crawling under what they couldn’t get over. There was always a way like there was always a place to hide.

        Sliding from a pile of junk, they entered the footpaths. The walls of rustic waste undulated on both sides, making it impossible to see what was on the other side. The hills were truely eerie on mornings like this when the white mists flooded the excavated paths like a ghostly river and left a cool tingly sensation on her skin when she ran through it. Swam more like it in some places where their sight extended no more than a few feet.

        Coming to the end of the path, Vera slowed. “Hey, hold on.” she warned. “There’re close.”

        Kathrine ducked down, following Vera’s lead. “How many were there?”

        “Five,” Vera answered but Kathrine had know her long enough to catch the hint of uncertainty in her voice. Her friend crept toward the edge of a heap, keeping her back near the wall. Beyond her was a fork in the road.