‘Did he know where you were?’ Kalten asked tensely as they
clung to the wall.
‘I don’t think so,’ Sparhawk replied. ‘He knows that I’m somewhere
in the city, but there are several ways I could be listening
to him. I don’t think he realized just how close I was when he
started making threats.’
‘Are Berit and Khalad going to be all right?’
Sparhawk nodded. ‘Aphrael was with me when Zalasta made
his little speech. She’s taking care of it.’
‘All right, Sparhawk,’ Mirtai called from above them, ‘here
comes the rope.’ The free end of the rope came slithering down out of the
dimness above them, and Sparhawk quickly climbed up. ‘How
much firther?’ he asked quietly when he reached Mirtai’s side.
‘About one more climb,’ she replied. ‘Talen’s already up
there.’
‘He should have waited,’ Sparhawk fumed. ‘i’m going to have
to have a talk with that boy.’
‘It won’t do any good. Talen likes to take chances. Is Kalten
still dragging our equipment behind him? I’d hate to get uP
there and have to deal with things with my’ fingernails.’
‘He’s hauling it up – stage by stage.’ Sparhawk peered up the
wall.
‘Why don’t you let me go on ahead this time? Get the others
up there as quickly as you can. We’ve still got a lot left to do,
and this night won’t last forever.’
She gestured up the rough stone wall. ‘Feel free,’ she said.
‘I don’t know if I’ve ever said this,’ he told her, ‘but I’m glad
you came along. You’re probably the best soldier I’ve ever
known.”
‘Don’t get emotional, Sparhawk. It’s embarrassing. Are you
going to go up the wall? Or did you want to wait for the sun to
come up?’
He started up, moving carefully. It was to their advantage
that the north side of the tower was in shade, but the deep
shadows made it necessary to feel for each hand-hold and to
carefully probe with his toes for places to put his feet. He concentrated
on the climbing and resisted the impulse to lean back to
look at the wall above and the sharp line of the edge of the
parapet some fifty feet further up.
‘What kept you?’ Talen whispered as the big Pandion clambered
over the top of the balustrade marking the edge of the
parapet.
‘I stopped to smell the flowers,’ Sparhawk replied acidly. He
looked quickly toward the east and saw the faint light of false
dawn outlining the mountains. They had at most one more hour
of darkness left. ‘No sentries, I gather?’ he whispered.
‘No,’ Talen replied quietly. The Cyrgai evidently feel that
they need their sleep.’
‘Sparhawk?’ Kalten’s whisper came from below.
‘Up here.”
Take the baggage.’ A coil of rope came unwinding up out of
the darkness.
‘Get clear of it,’ he called down softly to Kalten.
‘Give me a hand with this, Talen.’ He leaned over the stone
railing.
‘We’re going to pull it up.’
Kalten grunted, and they could hear him moving across the
wall to one side. Then Sparhawk and Talen slowly pulled the
awkward, bulky bundle up to the top of the tower, being careful
not to let it bang against the stones of the wall. Sparhawk quickly
retrieved his sword and then fumbled through the mail-shirts,
searching for his own.
Kalten was puffing as he climbed up over the railing. ‘Why
did you let me get so badly out of shape, Sparhawk?’ he asked
accusingly.
Sparhawk shrugged. ‘Careless, I guess. Ah, here it is.’ He
lifted his own mail-shirt free of the others.
‘How can you tell?’ Talen asked curiously. ‘In the dark, I
mean?’
‘i’ve worn it for over twenty years. Believe me, I recognize it.
See how the others are coming.’
Talen went to the rail and helped Xanetia onto the parapet
while Bevier and Mirtai clambered over on their own.
It took only a couple of minutes for the knights to re-arm
themselves. ‘Where did Talen go?’ Kalten whispered, looking
around.
‘He’s snooping,’ Mirtai replied, settling her sword-belt into
place.
‘I think it’s called scouting,’ Bevier corrected her.
She shrugged. ‘Whatever.’
Then Talen came back. ‘I think I found what we’re looking
for,’ he said softly. ‘There’s a small window with a sort of iron
grate over it. It’s up high, so I didn’t look in.’
‘is Aphrael coming back?’ Bevier asked. ‘Should we wait for
her?’
Sparhawk shook his head. ‘It’s going to start getting light
before long. Aphrael knows what we’re doing. She’s making
sure the others are all in place.’
Talen led them around to the east side of the tower. ‘Up there,’
he whispered, pointing at a small, barred window about ten feet
up the side of the rough wall.
‘Do any of the windows on the front side have bars?’ Sparhawk
asked him.
‘No, and they’re bigger and closer to the floor.’
‘That’s it then.’ Sparhawk fought back an urge to shout with
exultation. ‘Aphrael described that window to me.’
Kalten squinted up at the iron-grated window high in the
wall. ‘Let’s make sure of this before we start to celebrate.’ He
laid his hands on the wall and set his feet wide apart. ‘Climb
up and take a look, Sparhawk.
‘right.’ Sparhawk put his hands on his friend’s arms and
climbed up his broad back. He set his feet carefully on Kalten’s
shoulders and slowly straightened, reaching up to grasp the
grating that covered the window. He pulled his face up
and peered into the darkness. ‘Ehlana?’ he called softly.
“sparhawk?’ Her voice was startled.
“Pllease keep your voice down. Are you all right?’
‘I am now. How did you get here?’
it’s a long story. Is Alcan there too?’
‘Right here, Prince Sparhawk,’ the girl’s silvery voice replied.
“Is Kalten with you?’
i’m standing on his shoulders right now. Can you make a
light of any kind?’
‘Absolutely not!’ Ehlana’s voice was stricken.
“What’s wrong?’
Theyve cut off all my hair, Sparhawk!’ she moaned. ‘I don’t
want you to look at me!’
CHAPTER 32
Talen dropped back to the parapet from the small window. ‘I
can get through it,’ he whispered confidently.
‘What about that iron grate?’ Kalten demanded.
‘It’s ornamental. It wasn’t very good to begin with, and it’s
been there for at least a couple of centuries. It won’t take long
to work it loose. ‘
‘Let’s hold off until Xanetia gets back,’ Sparhawk decided. ‘I
want to know what we’re up against before we start crashing
around.’
‘i’m not trying to be offensive,’ Mirtai said softly to Talen,
‘but I don’t see what good it’s going to do us to have you inside
the cell when the fighting starts and half a dozen Cyrgai rush
into the cell to kill Ehlana and Alcan.’
‘It’s on accounta the fact that they ain’t a-gonna git in the cell,
Dorlin’,’ he said with an outrageous grin. ‘The door’s locked.’
‘They’ve got a key.’
‘Give me about a half a minute with the lock, and their key
won’t fit. They won’t get in, trust me.’
‘Are there alternatives?’ Bevier asked.
‘Not in the amount of time we’ve got left before it starts getting
light,’ Sparhawk replied with a worried glance at the eastern
horizon. ‘Kalten, go up and have a look at that grating.’
‘Right.’ The blond Pandion climbed up to the small window,
took hold of the ancient iron lattice in both hands and started
to heave on it. Crumbs and fragments of mortar began to shower
down on the rest of them.
“Quietly.’ Mirtai hissed at him.
‘It’s already loose,’ he reported in a hoarse whisper. ‘The mortar’s
rotten.’ He stopped wrenching at the bars and leaned closer
to the window. ‘Ehlana wants to talk to you, Sparhawk,’ he
called down softly.
Sparhawk climbed back up to the window. ‘Yes, love?’ he
whispered into the darkness.
‘What are you planning, Sparhawk?’ she murmured, her voice
so near that it seemed he could almost touch her.
‘We’re going to pull the bars loose, and then Talen’s going to
crawl through the window. He’ll jam the lock so the people
outside can’t get into the cell. Then the rest of us will rush the
guards. Is Zalasta out there anywhere?”
‘No. He and Ekatas went to the temple. He knows that you’re
here, Sparhawk. He sensed you somehow. Santheocles has men
searching the city for you right now.’
‘I think we’re ahead of them. I don’t believe they realize that
we’re already up here.’
‘How did you get up here, Sparhawk? All the stairways are
guarded.’
‘We climbed up the outside of the tower. When do those
guards out there start stirring around?’
‘When it begins to get light, usually. They cook what passes
for food around here in the guardroom. Then a couple of them
bring breakfast to Alcan and me.’
‘Your breakfast might be a little late this morning, love,’ he
whispered with a slight grin. ‘I think the cooks might have other