“Not good,” Lulah said. She unshouldered her bow, held it in her ruined left hand, drew one of her few remaining arrows and fired at the creature. The arrow pierced the side of its head, tip exiting at jaw level and sticking into its shoulder. It made no sound as it fell down dead, but every other creature on that glassy black surface roared.

Lulah looked sidelong at Ramus. “Even worse,” she said.

As if the death of their companion spurred them on, the creatures suddenly lost their fear.

_____

RAMUS CLIMBED AS fast as he could. Fear drove him, and a sense of hopelessness that it could all end like this. Lulah took the lead to begin with, climbing lithely, reaching back to help him up, climbing again, helping some more. Every time he glanced at her face she was looking past him, mouth slightly open as she gasped in short heavy breaths. She wants to see her God, he thought. But we should be running from this one, not toward it. She still carried her bow, and five arrows remained in her quiver. After that, she would be throwing the knives on her belt—three, maybe four of them—and then the sword. He tried not to dwell on the odds because he knew they were so bad.

And that thing still climbed with him. He felt the weight of it in his mind, and it was heavier and darker than the sickness he had assumed for years would be the end of him.

“Come on,” Lulah said. “Keep climbing! Come on!” She boosted him up onto the next step.

Ramus rolled, stood and looked back down. The creatures were coming, and the only reason they had not reached them yet was caution. They climbed with ease, their long arms and legs reaching spiderlike over the weather-smoothed edges of the huge steps. They were stalking the two intruders. Ramus was not sure, but some of them seemed to be looking past him toward the top of the building as well.

Lulah strung an arrow and aimed at the nearest creature, four steps down. It jigged quickly to the left, jumped to the right, and Lulah's aim shifted to follow the movements. When the creature's head lowered and it exposed its teeth in a hiss, she fired. The arrow pierced its cheek and neck and it slumped to the step, slipping slowly off to the level below.

Others passed it by without a glance.

Lulah strung another arrow. “Haven't you gone yet?” she asked.