Sentinelspire - Mark Sehestedt [113]
"I have nothing."
"Then find something suited for me. You can wear it. Quickly."
"But the Lady Talieth-"
"I promise you, Ulaan, she is in no position to stop us right now. But we must hurry. Now go and find yourself some traveling clothes. And try to get us both a cloak. Something heavy to keep out the rain. Now, Ulaan. Go!"
Although fear filled Ulaan's eyes and he could see her hands trembling, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Lewan pulled on the last of the dry clothes and put the hammer Berun had given him through his belt. It was heavy, but he felt better having it there. His master's bow was still propped in the corner, wrapped in the rough canvas in which Sauk had given it to him. Lewan had checked it earlier. The bow's string was still good, but he had no arrows.
He was lacing up his boots and considering whether to take the bedclothes with them-they'd need blankets out on the steppe-when the door opened. A figure walked in, and at first glance Lewan thought that he'd waited too long, that one of Talieth's blades had come for him.
"It's me," said Ulaan. She was dressed much like Lewan in plain breeches, boots, a loose shirt, and a long vest, over which she wore a heavy cloak with a deep cowl. She had another wadded in her arms. She shut the door behind her and lowered the cowl. Her skin was pale and her eyes wide. "Lewan, if we are caught escaping"-she swallowed and took a deep breath-"I will be killed. You? I don't know. Perhaps. Perhaps not. After tonight… I don't know."
Lewan stood and went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, much as Berun had done to him not long ago. "Ulaan, if we don't get away, it's only a matter of time before we're dead anyway. And not much time, I think. We'll need to go far and fast." He paused a moment and made sure he had her gaze, then said, "You do want to come with me, don't you?"
"I don't want to die."
"You'd rather risk staying here… a slave?"
She stepped closer and embraced him. "I don't know what to think. I'm so scared. But I trust you."
He held her, one arm across her shoulders, the other round her waist. "Then let's go. We must do one thing first."
He tried to step away but she held him tight. "What?"
"We need to get through the tunnels and past the guardians. I… I need to look for one of the men my master killed."
She looked up at him, and behind her eyes he could see her emotions warring.
"What is it?" he asked.
Ulaan swallowed and looked away. "That won't be necessary."
"What? I don't understand. We must have a key to get past the guardians. I need-"
"You don't. I can get us past the guardians."
Lewan tensed. "Is… is there something you want to tell me?"
"Later," she said. "When we're far away from here."
+++++
They followed the same path Lewan had taken with Talieth days before. The rain had stopped, but the clouds still hung low over Sentinelspire, and the few lamps that remained lit could not cast their light far in the mists that drifted along the pathways between the buildings. Just past the elegant buildings with the brass pillars-ahead, Lewan could see the hedge marking the garden where the assassins had been dismembered the night of the Jalesh Rudra-four men stepped from behind the corner of the building and blocked the path. All were cloaked against the weather, but even in the flickering orange light cast by a brazier on top of the building's steps, Lewan could see that they all had steel in their hands.
One stepped forward and brandished his sword so it caught the light. "Name yourselves!"
"I am Lewan, guest of the Lady Talieth, and this is my servant."
"An intruder is loose on the grounds," said the man. "Go back to your rooms at once and lock the door."
"I know," said Lewan. He remembered Talieth's proud demeanor that she had used on him to such great effect, and he tried to put some of that into his voice. "I am on an errand for the Lady. Most urgent. You must let me pass."
" 'Must,' he says?"
The three men behind the speaker spread out, blocking the street and flanking Ulaan and Lewan.
"The