From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [133]
“Only a few flashes,” Averella said. “Why did you attack us?”
“I sensed you coming, but did not know you were you. Why are you here, my lady?”
“We must destroy the man in this watchtower. His name is Macoun Hadar, and he is responsible for great evil.”
Sir Eagan’s eyebrows arched high on his forehead.
Averella frowned. “You already know that?”
“I do and have come to do the job.”
Praise Arman! She would not have to kill again.
“You need not look so relieved, my dear. The door is locked, and I have no way inside.”
Noam made his way up the stairs. “Can we remove the door, my lord?”
“I am afraid not. The door opens inward, so the hinges are on the inside. Perhaps you could help me break it down? I have tried already, but with two of us, we might prevail.”
Averella recalled the way the tower looked the day the gowzal had carried her here. A stone ledge circled the outside, just under the window.
BANG!
Averella slapped her hand to her breastplate and looked up to the locked door. Sir Rigil and Noam reared back and bashed their shoulders against the door again.
BANG!
Averella leaned out the window. She could not see the roof, ten levels below, or any signs of the battle, only blackness. The torchlight on the sentry walk and several distant house fires were all that lit Mahanaim.
The stone ledge that circled the tower was almost as wide as her foot. She twisted her body to look up and could barely see the shadow of the crenellations from the torchlight at the top of the stairs. She set her helm on the floor and hoisted herself onto the windowsill. She pulled up until her feet were on the ledge and her body was outside. A fleeting breeze swept her skirt out, tugging her waist back. Her stomach clenched, and her fingers gripped the window ledge so tightly it hurt. What had she been think—
BANG!
She clutched the side of the window, trembling. Once she calmed down, she gathered the back of her dress over her shoulder. Then, reaching up to grab the side of a stone merlon on the battlement, she shifted her feet. Once she had a firm grip with her other hand, she moved her feet again.
Gren screamed. “My lady! What are you doing?”
Averella squeezed the merlon tightly, heart pounding.
“Noam! Help me pull her in before she falls!” Gren said.
“Do not touch her.” Sir Eagan’s smooth voice soothed Averella’s pounding heart. “Averella? What is your plan?”
Averella turned her head so she could see Sir Eagan’s head looking out. “There is a window in the chamber. I am going to open the door from inside.”
“I wish you would have let me do this,” Sir Eagan said.
That would have been nice. “I did not think it through. I have always liked climbing trees, but this is different.”
“You do not remember how brave you have become over this last year,” Sir Eagan said. “There is much you would do now that you never would have before.”
“Going without a corset?” Averella’s face flushed. Mercy.She could not believe she had said such a thing aloud.
Sir Eagan laughed. “Perhaps.”
“Pray I do not fall.” With that, Averella inched her toes around the ledge and moved her hands to the next merlon. The torchlight from the window reached its limit and she could no longer see the battlement. “Could you hold a torch out the window?”
Moments later golden light shone on the crenellation. “Thank you!” A gowzal landed in the crenel above and hissed. “Shoo!” She waved her hand. The bird simply watched her with its onyx eyes.
“Are you well, my dear?” Sir Eagan asked.
“A gowzal.” She glanced the other way and saw three more birds on the crenellation. “I dislike them.”
“Move quickly.” Her father’s voice was confident.
She took a deep breath and shifted her feet. She brought her right hand to where her left held on, then lunged with a step and reached out with her left hand. The gowzal hopped back a step, and she grabbed on.
Tiptoeing left again, she repeated the process. The gowzal’s eyes