secure than the ones that Kehrsyn had used. Kehrsyn had to smile. There were no good holds to be offered by rough-hewn, poorly assembled, thinly cut, rain-slicked wood.
She waited until the guard looked up again, then said, “I have a large rock up here that I could drop on you, and it’s a long fall back to the ground. If you give up now, your head and back will stay in one piece.”
The guard nodded almost imperceptibly and began scanning the wall for a safe way back down.
The elder guard thrust the tip of his khopesh under the younger guard’s armored skirt and growled, “It takes more than a few bones to make a man, Pupface.”
Kehrsyn saw the younger guard grow rigid, his face twitching in a rictus of fear and pain. His breathing grew in speed and volume. He looked back at Kehrsyn and his eyes narrowed in pleading desperation. He began to climb again.
Kehrsyn wondered if he was deliberately trying to climb slowly enough to give her a chance to escape before she’d have to drop a rock on him. Not that she had one, but bluffs were the most effective when they played right into someone’s fears.
“Well, then,” she said, “I’ll just wait until you’re almost up to drop it on you. I can wait.” She waved at the elder guard. “Will you be next, or does your protégé have more manliness than you?”
“You may act brave, you murdering thief,” he spat, “but we’ll see what happens when we catch you.”
“Yeah, you’re plenty brave to force someone to climb something when you haven’t got the guts to do it yourself. I’ll bet when you were in his position, you just climbed back down and let them cut yours right off, am I right?”
“You little—
arrrggh!
” bellowed the elder guard. “Come on, Pupface, she’s only got one rock up there!”
As Kehrsyn had hoped, the elder guard started to climb also.
With the two guards climbing after her, Kehrsyn’s confidence grew again. She had feared that they would circumvent her escape if she fled across the rooftops, but she’d managed to coax them into taking the hard route: difficult climbs and long jumps in armor. Kehrsyn saw that there was one more story to both the wooden structure and the much older stone building against which it leaned. She climbed up the wooden wall and clambered onto the roof of the stone building.
It was one of the huge, ancient structures of Messemprar, one that had, millennia ago, been someone’s palatial home. Since it was in the poorer section of town, Kehrsyn surmised that it had likely been subdivided again and again, and served to house a wide variety of families and businesses. She saw empty clotheslines and rubbish scattered over the large, flat roof, along with a large fire pit and several trapdoors that led into the monolithic building. Not that that was any help. Those who lived in that part of town would be plenty happy to turn in a fugitive for a reward. For that matter, in these dark days,
anyone
in town would. Rewards meant gold, and gold meant food.
Kehrsyn moved across the rooftop, scouting out theperimeter of the roof. Two sides fronted on large thoroughfares, ancient streets wide enough for eight chariots to ride abreast. The third side looked dangerous, a long jump reliant on the undependable footing of recent construction. The fourth side looked like it had a reasonable jump, one that was only foolhardy as opposed to downright suicidal. She located a likely landing spot, then stepped back to get a good running jump. Behind her, she heard the cursing of the older guard rising from the alley like a stench, followed by a triumphant cry from the one called Pupface.
Kehrsyn untied her scabbard from her belt and pulled her bag’s strap from her shoulder. She took a deep breath, steeled her mind to her task, then began to run. Her ears heard Pupface call out for her to stop, but her mind paid no heed. She leaped from the rooftop across the narrow side street, holding her arms out to the side and
She waited until the guard looked up again, then said, “I have a large rock up here that I could drop on you, and it’s a long fall back to the ground. If you give up now, your head and back will stay in one piece.”
The guard nodded almost imperceptibly and began scanning the wall for a safe way back down.
The elder guard thrust the tip of his khopesh under the younger guard’s armored skirt and growled, “It takes more than a few bones to make a man, Pupface.”
Kehrsyn saw the younger guard grow rigid, his face twitching in a rictus of fear and pain. His breathing grew in speed and volume. He looked back at Kehrsyn and his eyes narrowed in pleading desperation. He began to climb again.
Kehrsyn wondered if he was deliberately trying to climb slowly enough to give her a chance to escape before she’d have to drop a rock on him. Not that she had one, but bluffs were the most effective when they played right into someone’s fears.
“Well, then,” she said, “I’ll just wait until you’re almost up to drop it on you. I can wait.” She waved at the elder guard. “Will you be next, or does your protégé have more manliness than you?”
“You may act brave, you murdering thief,” he spat, “but we’ll see what happens when we catch you.”
“Yeah, you’re plenty brave to force someone to climb something when you haven’t got the guts to do it yourself. I’ll bet when you were in his position, you just climbed back down and let them cut yours right off, am I right?”
“You little—
arrrggh!
” bellowed the elder guard. “Come on, Pupface, she’s only got one rock up there!”
As Kehrsyn had hoped, the elder guard started to climb also.
With the two guards climbing after her, Kehrsyn’s confidence grew again. She had feared that they would circumvent her escape if she fled across the rooftops, but she’d managed to coax them into taking the hard route: difficult climbs and long jumps in armor. Kehrsyn saw that there was one more story to both the wooden structure and the much older stone building against which it leaned. She climbed up the wooden wall and clambered onto the roof of the stone building.
It was one of the huge, ancient structures of Messemprar, one that had, millennia ago, been someone’s palatial home. Since it was in the poorer section of town, Kehrsyn surmised that it had likely been subdivided again and again, and served to house a wide variety of families and businesses. She saw empty clotheslines and rubbish scattered over the large, flat roof, along with a large fire pit and several trapdoors that led into the monolithic building. Not that that was any help. Those who lived in that part of town would be plenty happy to turn in a fugitive for a reward. For that matter, in these dark days,
anyone
in town would. Rewards meant gold, and gold meant food.
Kehrsyn moved across the rooftop, scouting out theperimeter of the roof. Two sides fronted on large thoroughfares, ancient streets wide enough for eight chariots to ride abreast. The third side looked dangerous, a long jump reliant on the undependable footing of recent construction. The fourth side looked like it had a reasonable jump, one that was only foolhardy as opposed to downright suicidal. She located a likely landing spot, then stepped back to get a good running jump. Behind her, she heard the cursing of the older guard rising from the alley like a stench, followed by a triumphant cry from the one called Pupface.
Kehrsyn untied her scabbard from her belt and pulled her bag’s strap from her shoulder. She took a deep breath, steeled her mind to her task, then began to run. Her ears heard Pupface call out for her to stop, but her mind paid no heed. She leaped from the rooftop across the narrow side street, holding her arms out to the side and
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