Dalip’s arms were beginning to burn. ‘It’s smooth stone. I don’t think anyone could climb that.’
‘No? I will show you how it can be done. Not today, though. Let them get used to us being here, then they will take less notice of us. How many now?’
‘Forty-seven. Forty-eight.’
The strain was showing in his voice.
‘Keep going. Do not stop. You are not weak. You are strong.’ Stanislav glanced up again. ‘If the geomancer was there, we could catch her by surprise. She does not look like a fighter herself. Incapacitate her guards, and you have her.’
The pain was building, and all Dalip could do was grunt.
‘Once you have taken her hostage, we can free the others, and whoever else wishes to leave. Her dragon cannot attack us without attacking her. When we are safe, we can decide what to do with her. Remember what she is and what she has done. There may be no justice other than what we give, and if we let her go, she and her men may hunt us down, or simply go back to slaving.’
Dalip’s arms were trembling with effort. He locked his elbows to rest, but Stanislav wasn’t letting him slack off.
‘In this ring you fight until you finish. You cannot stop before then.’
The fire. He couldn’t feel his arms any more, but he kept on going for another one, another two, then he collapsed face-first on to the cold, hard ground.
‘Your legs are not tired. Get up. Run from the door to the door, then reverse. We may have just one chance at this, and you must be ready. Up. Up!’
Dalip dragged his bones upright, his arms dangling uselessly at his sides. He started to run.
17
17
She had to step over a wall that hadn’t been there before. It was just about knee-high, wide enough to have to stand on on the way across it, made of rough stones that were more-or-less fitted together.
Having crossed it and jumped down the other side, she looked back at it. Crows was already heading up the hill, carrying the fish he’d caught – she still wasn’t quite sure how – while she was paddling up and down in the shallows.
The wall extended left and right. Soil and shrubs were piled up against the inside of the wall, and when she checked, the outside too.
Like it had pushed its way out of the ground.
She looked up the hill. Crows had disappeared into the ruined tower, so she took the opportunity to follow the line. It ran all the way around the tower, following the same contour, and she arrived back where she’d started a few minutes later, breathless and not a little confused.