Chapters (46)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
“We don’t have it.” Another blow, and a muffled groan. The guard sputtered. “Beat me all you want. We don’t have the key,” he said.
Bacchus looked happy to oblige. Kyra shuddered and once again averted her gaze. She forced herself to look at the building, concentrating on the intricate carvings, following it up the side of the archway to a high window….
“I can get us in,” she blurted.
Her voice sounded loud in the darkness and she felt everyone look at her.
“What?” said James.
“The window. I can get to it and unlock the door from the inside.”
“The windows are all shuttered and locked.”
“Not the second-story windows. The high one, in the bell tower.” She heard a few incredulous murmurs, but as she looked closer at the building, she became more sure of herself. The window was actually a set of three tall and narrow slots that looked wide enough to squeeze through. She didn’t see any bars or shutters, and the decorative stonework leading up to it gave plenty of footholds.
“You sure?”
“Give me a quarter hour.”
All eyes shifted to James. “Do it,” he said.
Kyra wiped her hands on her trousers as the others cleared away from her. The stonework didn’t begin at ground level, but there was a ledge above the first floor. Using a nearby barrel as a step, she jumped and caught the ledge, pulling herself over. She stood for a moment, belly to the wall, probing it with her fingers. The rock would support her weight. She took a breath and dug her fingers into two of the deeper carvings. One foot went up next, and then she pushed herself up as she reached for a higher handhold. Soon, she had worked out a rhythm and climbed steadily up the side of the building.
Her spirits lifted as she climbed. This was what she could do, and do well. Kyra was aware of her audience and, after the day’s frustrations, couldn’t resist showing off a little. Her swings were higher than usual, and her final jump from the stonework to the window perhaps more dramatic than it needed to be. Finally, she hung from the window, her hands clinging to neighboring slots. With another breath, she pulled herself up and slipped an arm in. From there, it was a quick scramble to squeeze her head and torso through, and the rest of her body followed.