No.No.No.
Getting out now would be near impossible.
Reaching the bottom of the tower took far too long, but trying to move any faster risked us plummeting to our deaths.My hands grew slick within my gloves, my body trembling as I focused on finding the next foot or handhold.
The watch dogs barked.The gatehouse sprang to life.Nadiyah gasped then let out a soft cry as she fell.I hit solid ground and watched her try to take a step.She stumbled.
“My ankle,” she whispered.
Desmond slipped an arm beneath her to help bear her weight and dragged her forward.
“Find us a way out of here,” he snarled at me through gritted teeth.
The dog’s barking drew closer as we tore through the grounds.
Panic lit within me.We had half a field to cross after this.The outer wall of the tower loomed ahead as the shouts grew louder behind us.I pivoted, helping Desmond push Nadiyah over the wall before shimmying up it behind her.Snarling dogs rushed up behind us and snapped at my legs, their spittle spraying my ankles with a rush of wind from their jaws.I rolled over the top of the fence and hit the ground running.Desmond hiked Nadiyah onto his back before following after.
Ten minutes ago the houses had been dark, but the commotion from the tower had woken the village.All stealth was gone.
I darted down an alleyway, racing toward the edge of the village.Guards trickled out into the street with torches, looking for the intruders.The drain pipe caught my eye.I nearly vomited at the thought but ran toward it at full speed.Desmond groaned behind me, but Nadiyah couldn’t scale the village wall with only one leg.It was too high.
I yanked at the grate with all my might, willing it to move.It shifted, and I shoved it out of the way before pushing Desmond and Nadiyah in first to give them a head start.I dropped in, shaking as refuse pooled around my legs.I maneuvered the grate back over the opening before pressing forward through the sludge, sticking my face into the crook of my elbow in an attempt to minimize the smell.
We crawled underground for what seemed like miles even though I knew it could only have been a few hundred yards.The rank smell nearly made me pass out, but I followed the slosh of the liquid ahead of me where Desmond and Nadiyah moved through the dark.Light wavered at the end of the tunnel, growing brighter until we broke out where the sewage dumped into the river.
I waded into the clean flowing water, dunking my head despite its freezing temperature, and rubbing my legs together as I tried to get rid of the nasty junk clinging to them before popping above the surface and swimming for the bank.Water dripped from our clothes as we staggered out of the river and ran across the field, Nadiyah piggybacking on Desmond once more.No lights followed.The guards weren’t pursuing.If they hadn’t seen us disappear into the sewage, we might have a chance.
We didn’t stop moving until we reached the other side of the open field and found shelter deep within the forest trees.My lungs heaved for fresh air, the dampness of my clothes chilling me.Nadiyah leaned back and let Desmond examine her foot.Her ankle was swelling, light bruising already coloring the skin.Desmond’s movements were stiff, his jaw clenched, and I knew the eruption of my brother’s anger lingered only moments away.
Nadiyah stayed quiet, seeming to sense the tension hovering in the air, which only made me feel worse.
She could’ve died because of me.
“What was that back there?”Desmond asked in a low voice.
My hands trembled, eyes focused on the shadows swaying in the trees.I didn’t answer him.I didn’t know how to.
“You can’t throw a mission when others are involved, Analleia.If we hadn’t gotten out—”
“I know that,” I snapped, then dropped my voice to a whisper.“But there was a child.”
“We are not hired to ask questions or consider morals.We’re hired to do an assignment.In and out.No complications.You didn’t just botch and jeopardize this assassination, you put all of our livelihoods on the line.You don’t want to kill anyone?Fine.But Nadiyah and I need to maintain our reputations if we’re going to make a living.Finding someone willing to hire us after tonight will be difficult.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Sorry isn’t good enough when our lives are at risk.”
His harsh voice cut through the night around me, and I fought the urge to take a step back.He rarely showed anger like this.It always simmered in a quiet rage within him.
He raked a hand through his hair, turning his back.“I saw you freeze.It happened again, didn’t it?”
I hesitated, fists clenching at my sides.Nadiyah met my eyes, and I swallowed, trying to hold back the barrage of memories that assaulted me.I’d kept them at bay for so long, but it seemed once I’d reawakened them they could not be silenced.
“You weren’t in the castle the night they attacked,” I said.“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Was it a flashback?”
I didn’t answer.
