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“Damn!” says Stig. “Run!”

“But what about James and Jiron?” Miko asks.

“They’ll meet us back where we left Scar and Potbelly,” he explains. “Now move it!” Running for their lives, they flee down a side alley.

The soldiers move to the inn and surround it. Smashing in the front door, the soldiers and guards run inside.

Crash!

The noise from the soldiers smashing the inn’s door in comes to them even here on the third floor. Orrin stands up and yells “You led them to me!” Grabbing a pack on the floor, he heads for the door.

Jiron grabs him by the shoulder and demands, “What about the building?”

“If your friend is being held within the Eye’s Court, there’s nothing you can do” he says. Throwing open the door, Orrin glances back at them and says. “You better leave her there and get out of Morac while you still can.” Then locking eyes with James he says, “The Eyes have dealt with mages before, be careful.” With that, he knocks off Jiron’s hand and runs into the hallway.

James is at the window looking down at the street below. “They’re everywhere,” he says. Down below he can see soldiers staked out all along the street with more arriving from all directions every minute. “Hope the others got away safely.”

“Stop talking and let’s get out of here!” urges Jiron. Leaving the room, they begin to head for the stairs when Orrin emerges out of them at a run. Behind him they hear the pounding of feet of soldiers on their way up.

“To the roof!” he yells. “Follow me.”

Just as he passes them and continues down the hallway, the first soldier emerges from the stairs. Jiron pulls his knives and says, “Follow him. I’ll hold them off until you are on the roof.”

“Good luck,” James says as he turns and races after Orrin.

Completely nestled within his element, Jiron feels all the frustration, fear and anxiety that has been his companion for the last few weeks burst out of him in a flurry of action. The first soldier who reaches him strikes out with his sword only to have it deflected by one knife as the other sinks three inches into his side. Kicking out, Jiron knocks the man back into the others coming out of the stairs.

Rather than wait, Jiron takes the battle to them. Anger takes one, frustration another as the pent up emotions find release in combat. With every strike he makes, he loses more of the emotional turmoil and peace comes to fill its place.

Block, stab, twist, deflect, blow after blow he deflects only to strike back with devastating results. Three men now lie upon the hallway floor, their blood flowing as life leaves them. Still more emerge from the stairs, almost as if they are eager to feel the kiss of his blades. Jiron is only happy to oblige.

As the press of men steadily moves him backward down the hallway, he expects to hear James hollering to him that he’s reached the roof. A little concerned that he hasn’t as yet, he puts the worry aside and lets his blades dance.

Suddenly to his right, a door opens and a man with a sword strikes out at him. The unexpectedness of the blow causes him to fail to dodge in time and the man scores a shallow wound on his right shoulder.

He kicks out at the soldier he is currently engaged with and sends him backward into his fellows then turns to the civilian in the doorway. As the man strikes at him once more, Jiron easily dodges the blow. The man didn’t take into account the possibility of missing and thus has thrown himself off balance.

Lashing out at the man, Jiron takes him across the throat with a knife then elbows him back into the room. Just then he hears James holler that he’s made it to the roof. Leaping into the man’s room, he slams shut the door and throws the bolt.

Such a flimsy bolt might deter the common thief, but there’s no way it will long hold out against sustained blows. Moving over to the bed, he quickly drags it over to the door as blows begin to hammer on it from the other side. Using his boot to scoot the dead man out of the way, he settles the edge of the bed against the door.

Bam!

Hoping that will give him enough time, he moves to the window and