Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [47]
The soldier on the floor gets back up and advances on Jiron with sword drawn, coming to his partner’s aid. He thrusts at Jiron but fails to connect when Jiron twists to avoid the incoming blade.
As the blade goes past, Jiron strikes out and stabs the man in his exposed armpit, puncturing a lung. The man goes down coughing and blood begins welling out of his mouth as his lungs fill with blood.
Seeing his partner fall, the remaining soldier goes back into the room where the dead soldier lies, and then grabs a chair and throws it through the window. As the window shatters, he runs over to it and begins hollering to someone outside. He then turns and looks at Jiron with an evil smile and says something to him in his language.
Realizing he’s about to be inundated with soldiers, Jiron turns and races for the stairs, hoping to escape the house before they make it inside. When he reaches the top, hears the door downstairs slamming open as many soldiers rush into the house. He turns and sees the remaining soldier coming out of the room, sword drawn and ready.
Looking around, he sees a trap door in the ceiling down the hallway, past the soldier. He throws the backpack at him, causing him to move to avoid being hit. Jiron advances upon him fast with a flurry of attacks that soon has him lying dead on the floor. Picking up the backpack again, he races to the trapdoor and pulls on the rope attached to it. He can hear soldiers running up the stairs.
The trapdoor comes down and a step ladder unfolds, allowing access to the attic. As he begins to climb the stairs, he hears someone shout behind him. He turns and sees enemy soldiers running down the hallway toward him.
When he reaches the top, he tries to pull the ladder up but one of the soldiers has already gotten a hold of it, preventing him from retracting it.
Next to the trapdoor he sees a chest. Taking hold of it, he pulls it over to the trapdoor and drops it on the soldiers below. He hears it crash down the stairs and into the soldiers, followed shortly by curses and one cry of pain.
Having only seconds, Jiron quickly glances around and the only exit visible is a small window on the far side of the attic. He quickly picks up several other things of moderate weight and throws them down in quick succession at the soldiers below before running over to the window.
The window is hinged and he’s able to swing it open. Sticking his head out the window, he looks down and sees a straight drop to the street below. Looking up, he sees the edge of the roof a mere two feet above the window. Pulling himself to a sitting position on the sill, he reaches up and grabs the edge of the roof, quickly pulling himself up. A crossbow bolt hits the eave next to where he’s climbing up onto the roof. Glancing down, he sees a dozen soldiers there watching him, two armed with crossbows. Another thud, and he feels a crossbow bolt embed itself in the backpack.
Finally gaining the roof, he rolls away from the edge and the deadly barrage coming from the streets below. The roof is shrouded by thick smoke coming from the fire not to far away. He pulls out the cloth again and wraps it once more around his face, trying to keep the smoke out of his lungs. In a low crouch, he gains the center of the roof and quickly surveys his options.
A narrow alleyway separates this building from the one behind it, the buildings on the other sides are too far away to attempt to jump across. Keeping low, he runs and leaps across the gap to the other building, landing easily. Looking back, he sees a soldier gaining the roof by way of the window in the attic. He sees Jiron and pauses as he points to him, shouting to the soldiers in the streets below. Then he starts running toward him as another begins to climb up from the attic.
Glancing across the roof to the other side, he sees that the buildings continue along close together for a while. Having no other choice, he runs and begins jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he tries to find a way out of this situation.