The City of Pillars Read Online Free PDF Page B

stomach screamed for meat.
    A family was busily pre-cooking some lamb to sell for lunch at their stand.
    He sidled over to the stand, doing his best to appear interested in his feet. A young boy worked the grill near him. The boy placed two fresh skewers of lamb on the hot metal. It sizzled and smoke rose upward. The boy left them to make more.
    The meat would be rare for Rondel’s liking, but given his state, he’d eat it raw and bloody if necessary. He reached for one of the skewers. A hand latched onto his.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” a man shouted.
    Where did he come from? You let your hunger distract you.
    He yanked Rondel’s other hand, pulling off the glove concealing his crippled hand. The man shouted in alarm and dropped the glove.
    “Unclean!” the man shouted, pointing at Rondel’s missing finger tips.
    Crap. He thinks I’m a leper.
    Heads whipped in his direction. People backed away, worried they might catch his disease. Another voice shouted. “No. Look at his skin. It’s one of the foreigners. The one that broke into the museum.”
    “Where’s the other? The big one.”
    “There!”
    The shouts kept coming, and Rondel knew any effort to maintain the disguise would be pointless. He stood straighter and spotted Andrasta searching for him. Their eyes met just as shouts of “Guards!” followed. He grabbed the skewer again and jammed the meat in his mouth, uncaring of the searing heat.
    A few people tried to move in on them. They lost their nerve as Rondel drew steel and nicked one. Someone screamed in pain beyond Rondel’s line of sight. He figured Andrasta had been less gentle.
    She gestured with her head. They ducked into separate alleys going in the same direction. At the first intersection, Andrasta stormed through a side corridor and joined him.
    Guards appeared behind them.
    “What happened?” she asked, handing him one of two sacks she carried.
    Vegetables of some sort. Better than what I managed. Should have never gotten greedy.
    “They saw my blasted hand,” he huffed with a curse.
    * * *
    Up and down Zafar they ran, crossing three districts and two levels of the multi-tiered city that ascended up the rocky mountainside. Andrasta checked the position of the sun through slits of sky separating orange-brick buildings.
    Close to an hour.
    She glanced back at Rondel huffing along beside her. Her partner kept a good pace, much better than what he would have a year ago. However, neither could run forever, especially with the lack of food and water over the last few days. She glanced up again as a head poked out from the roof of a building. It disappeared quickly. A shout sounded. Another head appeared and disappeared. Another shout rang out.
    She swore. “They’ve gotten ahead of us.”
    “What?”
    “They’re on the roofs. Funneling us to where they want us to go.”
    An arrow flitted down and skidded off the cobbles near her feet. Several more followed. She and Rondel zigzagged as best as they could in the narrow alley while leaping over trash and old crates.
    “There aren’t any side streets for us to take,” said Rondel voicing what she already knew.
    “We’ll have to make our own way out then.”
    Andrasta sped faster while hugging the left side of the alley. She cut sharply to the right and leaped at a door. Leading with her boot, she struck near the handle. The frame cracked, but did not break. The jolt of the impact went up her leg, into her hip, throwing her backward.
    Stronger than I thought.
    She recovered quickly, clenched her jaw, and ran forward again, leading this time with her shoulder. The door gave way, slapping against the inside wall. Three young children stared wide-eyed while a mother screamed in fright and ran over to protect them. The man of the house opened his mouth, looking irate at their intrusion. He never got out a word as Andrasta shoved him aside and darted through the small apartment. She heard Rondel come in behind her, apologizing for the