"Just hang on," Xaphira said, moving toward the tree. "I'll be there to help."
A dog lunged out of the grass, leaping right at Xaphira. The older Matrell woman spun and sidestepped the hound, which struck against the wall with a yelp and dropped to its feet. Spinning, it charged her again just as another dog appeared. Xaphira kicked out in front of her, catching the first dog on the nose, then she raked her heel back and out to the side, catching the second dog across its muzzle. Both hounds yipped in pain and scurried back, out of range.
Emriana watched all of it in dismay as she felt her grip on Lobra beginning to slip. "Xaphira!" she cried out. Lobra, she thought, don't you dare start squirming now. "Xaphira, hurry!"
With the two dogs cowed, Emriana's aunt spun and leaped to the lowest branch of the tree and began to clamber up. Below, another dog appeared, barking frantically as it danced around the base of the tree, as though it had trapped a raccoon. The lights were close, and Emriana could almost see the faces of the men carrying the lanterns.
Xaphira landed on top of the wall right beside Emriana just as one of the younger girl's hands finally slipped. Her aunt reached down and grabbed at Lobra's hair, pulling the woman up to the sound of a muffled shriek. Little by little, the two of them hauled their prisoner to the top of the wall while the dogs bayed below.
Just as the first of the Pharaboldi House watch arrived, Emriana and Xaphira managed to slip over the other side, their prisoner still in tow.
By the time more men from the estate worked their way around to the lane on the outside of the wall, the three women were gone, and the first pink rays of dawn were just beginning to spread across the sky.
CHAPTER 9
"This way!" Pilos gasped, turning and sprinting through a gap in a thick hedge. Behind him, Quill, the three mercenaries, and the druid Edilus scurried after him. Pilos's lungs burned and he thought he would collapse soon from exhaustion. The other five men didn't seem badly winded, though the dwarf Grolo was huffing pretty hard as he charged along on his stumpy shorter legs.
I'm soft, Pilos realized. Temple life is too cushy.
When he could run no further, the young priest dropped in a heap among some ferns and plantain trees that created a dense tangle, shielding the world from view. Beside him, the others gathered around, and Pilos was at least thankful to see the men breathing hard, hands on hips or knees. They stood without speaking. Aside from a few distant and muffled shouts, no one seemed to be getting closer to their hidden location.
"I think we lost them," Adyan drawled in a quiet voice, twisting his head to look back through the foliage the way they had come. "I don't hear anyone anymore."
"Good," Pilos muttered, flopping onto his back. "Because if they were still back there, I'd have to surrender."
Don't you dare, Hetta said, displeasure radiating from the ring. Emriana needs you.
I know, Pilos answered. I wouldn't really. But I'm worn out.
"City folk don't know how to run," Edilus said, his scorn obvious. Pilos looked over at the druid and noted with displeasure that the woodsman was breathing easily, looking at the rest of them as though impatient for them to get moving.
"You're right," Horial said, speaking between hard breaths. "We're more civilized, and we've figured out how to use things like wheels."
That elicited a soft chuckle from some of the others, which only made the druid scowl more. Since he had met the strange woodsman, Pilos had not seen him smile. He wondered if Edilus was capable of it.
"We can't stay here," Horial said, rising to his full height. "They will find us. We have to get over the wall and out into the city."
Pilos groaned and sat up. "I can barely lift my feet, much less climb a wall. It has to be twenty feet high!"
"Maybe you have some trick up your sleeve that will get us over it," Horial suggested, looking askance at the young priest.
Pilos shrugged and shook his head. "I'm not a battle priest," he said, climbing slowly to his feet. "I served Mikolos personally before-" he stopped, feeling bitter. He took a deep breath. "The Grand Syndar rarely had a need to climb over palace walls," he finished, eliciting another chuckle from the mercenaries.
"There are trees," Quill said. "We might be able to climb one."
Grolo snorted. "Have you ever seen a dwarf climb a tree?" he asked gruffly, to which Quill shook his head. "There's a reason for that," the dwarf finished, giving the man a pointed stare.
Even Edilus cracked a hint of a smile. Then the druid said, "I have rope. If we can get to this wall and there are trees close by, I will get to the top and pull the rest of you over."
Pilos didn't feel it wise to point out that he hoped the guards would give them a sporting chance once they got to the wall. He figured they would work that part out once they got to it.
"Come on," Horial said, and Pilos climbed to his feet. "If they haven't figured out where we ducked out of sight yet, they will soon enough."
Together, the six men moved through the brush, trying to pass beneath the thick overgrowth that surrounded them without much noise. From time to time they heard a shout in the distance, guards who were coordinating with one another as they searched for the fugitives.
At one point, Horial and Adyan paused, giving each other a strange look. The six men had reached the bank of a small pond, the other side of which was open ground. In order to skirt the water, the group would have to move into the open, but that wasn't what concerned the two men. Pilos started to ask what was wrong, but they both shook it off and motioned for everyone to keep moving.
The six of them navigated the perimeter of the water and ducked back into the greenery, moving as quietly as they could. At one point, Edilus motioned for them all to freeze, then he slipped away, so silent as he disappeared that the young priest wasn't certain he was touching the ground at all.
They waited, no one moving, and heard a voice not far ahead of them. A second voice joined the first, and there was the sound of a conversation, though the discussion was muted enough that Pilos could not make it out. The longer they crouched in wait, the faster his heart beat.
Easy, Hetta said. You'll send yourself to an early grave fretting like that.
Pilos was too worried to answer the elderly woman.
Edilus returned, motioning for the rest of them to follow him. Pilos got to his feet and kept close behind the druid as he led them the rest of the way through the dense foliage. They reached the edge of the protective screen of greenery and saw that a peach orchard stood beyond, the ground open and more visible and the trees aligned in nice, even rows. No one seemed to be near, and the light of dawn was enough to reveal a wall on the far side.
"Sets of steps lead up to the top in various places along the wall," Edilus whispered to them, "and they are being watched by guards. But right there," he said, pointing toward the section that Pilos and the others could see, "the spot is vacant. No one watches. If we can get there without being seen, I can get to the top and we will be out."
"And if we can't get there without being seen?" Horial asked, eying the druid. "What then?"
"Then we fight," the druid answered.
For a moment, no one said anything, then Horial shrugged. "Sounds like a plan to me."
Making sure that all six of them were ready, Edilus stepped out of the undergrowth and moved into the orchard. The druid crept from tree to tree, looking in every direction, watching for guards. The rest of the men trailed out behind him, using the trees for cover as he did. Dew coated the coarse grass growing in the orchard, glistening in the early morning light.