The Hound's Prey (Revolution's Blade Book 1)

Chapter 11 - Siletto

The wall the Tutelar had smashed through must have been the side of a large warehouse building. Once we'd dived through the gap, we were inside a spacious area filled with crates and barrels. There was sawdust on the floor and the walls were filled with shelves. The warrior monk was already moving towards a door on the adjacent side of the room, weaving between the low crates that littered the floor. Haze was just in front of me; I grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her onward.

"Follow him," I said, and we both set off towards the door that the monk had already reached. He took two kicks before the lock gave way and the door flew open. The cool night air fell in via the open threshold and he disappeared through, with the two of us close behind.

Once we were outside again, we could hear lots of noise from nearby streets, but there was no one actually in sight. It sounded like there were lots of people looking for us, shouting to each other over the rooftops to coordinate their search.

I cursed repeatedly to myself; the damn town guards had organised frustratingly fast. Maybe there was another group on their way to the inn just as the fighting kicked off? Whatever the reason, if the word of the Tutelar could be believed, they had already blocked off the stable. There went the horses! At least me and Haze both had our packs, and I had my purse, but the horses! Damn their loss, it wasn't just that riding is much better than walking, they were worth a lot of silver.

However, I had to focus and forget about what was gone; there was still the threat I could lose a lot more. The Tutelar was already running towards the edge of the town, towards where it was quiet. We seemed to in be some sort of merchant area as the closely packed buildings were dark and locked up for the night. Haze and me raced onward between them, along the small streets, always following the monk and trying to be as quiet as possible.

We came around a corner to see he'd stopped by the edge of the next building. The monk glanced back over his shoulder and he wasn't pleased to see us following. He gestured angrily for us to move against the wall and then turned once more to peer around the edge at the open space beyond. After a few moments he spun back to us and we all knelt down, trying the best we could to hide.

"What are you two doing?" he said. I met his stare, not flinching, while my grip tightened on the knife I'd already drawn. The unwanted prospect of having to fight this stranger jumped back into my head, but I was closer now, and that meant I had a chance.

"We're trying to get out of here," Haze said. "Just like you."

"Listen, whoever you are," he replied, his tone still aggressive. "You better not get in my way. They will string me up if I'm caught. You throwing me my sword does not mean I trust you."

My anger flashed. "And we don't trust you either, Tutelar." I almost called him a banished Tutelar, I almost said that and emphasised the banished part. It was good that I didnt.

For a few seconds we locked glares, and I was plotting where to stick my knife if he made any move towards me.

"First sake boys!" cursed Haze. "You better both get over your fear of each other and fast. We are in this together. You two are the only people in this town I'm currently not scared of. Do you want to fight each other here, in this alley? Is that a good idea? Come on, we have to figure out how to get out of town."

I felt like I'd just been told off by my mother, and I saw Haze's words similarly influence the monk. We both looked away.

"Just beyond is a way out of the town," he said. "But there are four heavily armed guards there. Fighting them would be risky and it is certain to make enough noise to attract others."

"Can't we go around them?" I suggested. "They can't be guarding the entire edge of the town, maybe we can find a quiet spot to slip out?"

"No we won't," he replied, in a tone that suggested I was a fool. "The entire town is ringed by a high stone wall, apart from where the chasm makes the bridge the only route out, and that would be impossible to reach or cross now. I came in this way yesterday, the stone wall has a few archways, they don't have gates but there are guards instead. We need to get past them somehow, a distraction would be best."