He made his decision and rose, planting the torch in a wall bracket. Swiftly he stripped off his leather leggings and knelt between the open legs, pushing his hands under her thighs to draw her on to him. Why not, he thought? Everyone else has had their pleasure. Why not me?
Why shouldn’t Owen Hunter have a little fun? His last sight was of the woman suddenly rearing up. His own
hands were locked beneath her thighs, but he saw her right hand stab
forward, felt the terrible pain as her first two fingers struck his eyes. Then all was pain and an explosion of light that was unbearable.
Sigarni dragged her fingers from the oozing sockets and groaned. Her ribs hurt, but that was as nothing compared with the pain within. She pushed the body of the guard from her, then rolled to her knees. Nausea rose in her throat and she vomited. Her head was pounding, her body begging her to lie down, to rest, to heal. Instead she forced herself to her feet. The guard began to moan. Dropping to her knees she pulled his dagger from his belt and plunged it through the nape of his neck. His legs spasmed, one foot striking the narrow cot. Blood filled the man’s throat and he began to choke. Dragging the dagger clear she held the point over the centre of his back and threw her weight down upon it. The blade slid between his ribs, skewering the lungs. Now he was still. A pool of urine spread out from beneath him. Sigarni stood again, then sat on the cot looking round the cell, taking in every block and stone, every rat-hole. Her leggings had been thrown into a corner. Retrieving them, she dressed. The cord of the waist had been cut. Dragging the guard’s belt clear, she pierced a new buckle hole in the leather and strapped it to her waist.
Everything hurt. Her lips were swollen, her cheek cut and bruised. There was a knife-cut in her right buttock and another on her left thigh. The guard moaned again. Sigarni could not believe the man could still be alive. Taking hold of the jutting knife with both hands she wrenched it clear of his back, then knelt forward to slice the razor-sharp blade across his throat. Blood gushed to the stone floor. Grabbing him by the shoulders she rolled him to his back, slashing the sharp blade again and again across his lower body. At last, exhausted, she stopped, her hands drenched in blood.
‘You’ve got to get out of here,’ she told herself. ‘You’ve got to find them.’ She had feigned unconsciousness at the end, even when two of them had stood and urinated over her. She had heard the small man, Relph, talking about the Blue Duck tavern. She knew it – it was close to Market Street.
Knife in hand, Sigarni walked from the cell and out into the dungeon corridor. Her legs had no strength, and she fell to her knees
and vomited once more. ‘Don’t be weak,’ she scolded herself. ‘You are Sigarni the Huntress. You are strong.’
Rising unsteadily, she managed to reach the stairs and started to climb up into the darkness. Half-way up she heard footfalls. Pushing herself back against the wall she waited. Then a man called out from some distance above, ‘Hey Owen, I was on my way home when I thought it would be worth a second tilt at the bitch. You fancy a double, eh?’
From out of the darkness he appeared, a looming shape with a protruding belly. Sigarni rammed the blade into that belly, ripping it up towards the heart. He grunted and fell back to the stairs. ‘Oh God! Oh God!’ he screamed. Sigarni pulled the blade clear and stepped in close.
‘You want to ride double with me, Outlander? You want to enjoy Sigarni?’
‘Oh, please! Don’t kill me!’
‘You left teeth marks in my breast, you fat bastard. Now bite on this!’ The knife slid between his teeth and Sigarni slammed ithome to the hilt. His fat arms began to flail, but she knelt on his chest and cut his throat. Only when he was still did she mutilate him in the same way she had the first guard. Slowly she climbed the stairs, pushing open the door at the top. The courtyard was moonlit and deserted, save for a sentry sitting under the arch. He was facing out into the town. Sigarni stepped into the open air and walked across to the arch.