I spun around to face Elena.“Are you okay?”
“I may have a bruise on my knee, but it’s not too bad.”She rubbed the spot.“Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
“Listen.”I held Elena by her shoulders.“Pack up the cart as fast as you can and go home.Don’t stop for anything, and don’t open the door if anybody knocks.”
Her eyes narrowed.“What’s going on?”
“Those were wicked people.They were the ones who killed that man in the square.We shouldn’t be here if they come back.”
“But where are you going?”she asked.“Are you chasing after Darion?”
“I have to see if I can help.But please, go home now!”
She nodded with steely resolve.“Okay.Be careful.”
Oh, dust, did I love her.I took one more look at her, then chased after Orlik.
Darion and his two pursuers were shoving through the crowd in the distance.I’d never catch them by pushing through the throngs of people, so instead I ducked into the nearest alleyway and scaled a three-story building like a cat climbing a tree.From that perspective, I spotted three moving dots in the vast central courtyard where the marketplace sprawled, filled with dozens of stalls and hundreds of market-goers.Darion was in the lead, heading for the market’s perimeter, with Orlik and Syra in pursuit.
Dancing along the rooftops under the cover of night was easy.In the middle of the day with a large crowd below me, however, I had to take great care to avoid wandering eyes.A bystander could easily dismiss a flash of movement on the rooftops as a bird or another city-dwelling animal, but only if I was fast enough.
Darion was nearing an alleyway at the edge of the courtyard, so I picked up my pace, breathing rapidly.The rooftops were slick; a single misstep would send me tumbling thirty feet to the cobblestones below.
Just as I caught up, Darion ducked into the alleyway below me with Orlik and Syra only a few dozen steps behind.Orlik pulled up, panting hard and clutching his side.
“Go after him!”he commanded, pointing down the alleyway.
Syra gave a quick nod and raced off in pursuit.
From my vantage point, I had a perfect view.Darion darted left at the first intersection, and Syra followed, even faster now that she didn’t have Orlik to worry about.This game of cat and mouse continued through the twisting, narrow streets with me following from above, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
I leapt to the top of an ancient temple, barely making the jump.The weathered stone crumbled under my feet, sending debris down.I steadied myself and continued.
Perched on the edge of the temple roof was a series of stone gargoyles, weathered and cracked with age.One looked like it might fall in a strong breeze.Darion had just raced past in the alley below, Syra close behind.I shoved the gargoyle with all my might.It gave way easily and tumbled to the ground far below, crashing into a cloud of dust and rubble just in front of Syra, who dove to avoid it.
Syra looked up, and our eyes locked for only a moment before I ducked behind the roof’s edge.Darion glanced back only long enough to see the damage, which he quickly used to his advantage, racing off faster than before.I continued my pursuit from above.
After several minutes of twisting and turning through the mazelike alleyways, Darion stopped when he hit a dead end.He was breathing hard, hands on his hips.He paused and glanced back at the alleyway behind him as if contemplating what to do.
I leapt down the side of the building, bouncing off ledges and awnings until I stood just feet away from him.
Darion’s eyes lit up.“You really are an impressive climber.The gargoyle was your doing, I take it?”
“Figured I owed you for the apples.”
“Thanks,” he said with a smile.“We should go in case they come this way.Don’t want to get stuck in this dead end.”
But something was bothering me.“How do you know Orlik Leonom?”
Darion let out a humorless laugh.“Whodoesn’tknow The Butcher?Carrying out thousands of death sentences can make you pretty infamous.”
My throat felt thick as my parents’ fate at the hands of that wicked man flashed in my mind.But I swallowed my grief and refocused.“But why is he afteryou?”
“It may have something to do with some errant fruit thrown in his direction,” he said with a wry smile.
I shook my head.“I saw the look in your eyes before you ran away.You were afraid.I’ve never seen you look that way before.”
He drew in a long breath.“He’s always hated and hunted my kind.”
