He tried to dig his toes into the dirt to stop his forward momentum, but it was a fool’s effort, the assassin too strong. His feet skittered on the loose stones and then they were over the point of no return, wind hammering them from all sides, a swirling, tornadic vortex, as they dropped.

Only to land with a thump on the narrow platform Tomas hadn’t been able to see from above. The second they landed, his knees bent and a strong shove from behind pitched him forward into a roll that pounded his shoulders, knees and back at various points during the dizzying motion.

“Keep going,” the assassin barked. “There’s another ledge below us.”

“Good to know,” Tomas managed to say, head throbbing.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

“You’re not coming?” The abrupt change in strategy, from the man basically doing everything for him to setting him free, sent a jolt of fear through him.

“I’ll be right behind you,” the assassin repeated. “Now go. Hurry!”

Tomas peered over the edge. Sure enough, there was another platform below him. This time, he eased over the side feet first, dangling himself lower and lower until his fingers couldn’t maintain their grip any longer. And then he dropped. It was farther than he thought it would be, the impact sending a shockwave through his already bruised and battered body. “Oof,” he exclaimed, tumbling backwards onto his arse and almost slipping over the next edge.

Eyes wide, he peered over, expecting to find yet another platform, then another, like a series of broad steps down the cliffside. Instead, all he found was a sheer drop to jagged, teethlike rocks below. A drop he’d almost taken because of his clumsiness.

“You’re alright,” he said, voice quavering as though even it didn’t believe its own words. “Come on, you can do this. Think.”

It was less thinking and more observing, as he traced a path around the ledge. Before he’d completed his circuit, however, he heard an explosive shout and then the clank of metal on metal, so close it rang in his ears. What had the assassin expected him to do down here? Sprout wings and fly?

The sounds of battle grew louder. He flinched as someone screamed and a form came tumbling from above. He barely managed to step to the side before it hit, armor rattling as one of the Kinkallian soldiers landed, bounced, and then scraped over the edge. His mouth opened into another scream, loud at first but then trailing away as the soldier disappeared. It had all happened so fast Tomas didn’t think he’d had time to blink.

He raised a hand to protect himself as another shadow appeared, but this one merely flopped onto the edge of the platform above him, head sagging. A waterfall of blood dripped from his mouth. More shouts, more ringing of steel on steel.