Page 66 of Freed Wolfsbane

Blowing out a hard breath because I don’t really have any other choice, I kneel to untie my shoes. Stuffing my socks inside, I knot their laces together and loop it around my neck with my phone.

I may be willing to do a lot of crazy things, but I draw the line at wandering around barefoot in an ancient city overrun with Knights. That sounds like a fantastic way to get athletes foot or some other gross Knights fungus.

Shuddering at the thought of touching any Knight’s toe jam, I approach the wall where Dido indicated a handhold should be. My feet sink into the squishy sand as I go.

It takes a few seconds of scanning before I notice the worn sandstone block jutting out just slightly farther than the rest of them. While higher up, the wall is a creamy color, down here, the white is dirtied by sea grime that I don’t particularly want to touch.

Oh well.

Stepping back as far as I can, I try to get a little bit of a running start before leaping at the wall. My fingers barely graze the jutted-out stone before I plummet back down to earth. I bite my cheek to keep in the scream of frustration that wants to escape, because that would definitely alert the Knights that someone is here.

Backing up, I make the jump again and fail. On the third try, I’m able to get a death grip on the sandstone, but I can’t dangle here from one arm forever.

Now what?I ask while praying my fingers are strong enough to hold me up. I look both down and up, giving Dido a chance to spot any possible holds.

“There is a foothold by your other knee. Step on that to relieve pressure on your hand,”Dido orders.

Feeling around with my knee, I find the indent in the wall pretty quickly. A stone must’ve tumbled out at some point. Tucking my leg into my chest, I’m able to get my foot in the void and push up so I’m balancing on that leg. My handhold helps keep me steady and anchored to the wall.

Dido continues telling me where to put my hands and feet the whole way up the wall. I make a point not to look down much, not wanting to psych myself out with just how far I can fall if I mess up.

Miraculously, I make it to the top of the wall without any near-death experiences, which is a level of coordination I never thought I would have.

Placing my hands on the top of the rampart, I push myself up and come face-to-face with a heavily armed Knights of Aeneas soldier.

CHAPTER32

BRIAR

Istare into the guy’s ocean blue eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. I’m so close that I can pick out the darker blue flecks near his pupil and the blond sun streaks in his light brown hair.

“Move!”Dido shouts in my head.

I flail and almost fall the entire thirty feet back to the sand at her voice.Where?I scream back internally. The Knight is literally right in front of me. His hands are resting inches from mine as he intently scans the ocean for any intruders, like me.

At least we know the veil works because the dude has zero clue I’m here. If he did, I’m pretty sure I’d be super dead by now.

“Go back to your previous hand and footholds,”Dido urges me.“While the veil will hide you from sight, he is close enough to touch you. If that happens, the entire island will soon know you are here. You need to move before he does.”

The urgency in her voice spurs me into action. I carefully lower myself until I’m hanging on the rampart by just my fingers. I kick my legs out until I touch the last stone I was using to support my weight. When I’m sure I’m secure, I hesitantly reach one hand back down to the void I previously held onto.

I’m going to have to climb back out when I leave, aren’t I?

“You will, yes.”Dido’s voice has a hint of amusement to it. I’m glad one of us finds my predicament funny.

I don’t know how much time passes before the Knight finally wanders away, but it’s long enough that my arm and leg muscles are on fire from holding me up like this for what feels like an eternity.

When I hear rustling and retreating footsteps, I cautiously place my hands on the rough stone of the rampart. I pull myself up until I can just peek over. I breathe out a sigh of relief when the coast is clear. Pushing up until I can swing one leg over, I quickly hop over the wall and sink to the ground, soggy clothes squelching as I do.

While I know I need to get moving, I also need a second for my achy muscles to rest and the frantic beat of my heart to slow. It’d be all too easy to fall asleep here out of sheer exhaustion, so I make sure to keep my eyes open and scan my surroundings for the duration of my short rest.

When I no longer hear the fast thrum of my heart in my ears, drowning out most other sounds, I stuff my wet socks in my pocket and shove my feet into my sneakers barefoot. I don’t bother tying them because I’ll be taking them off as soon as I’m ready to leave.

Unbuckling the dry bag, I fish out my phone and turn the brightness down as far as it can go. I stand up and wince at the water dripping from me. I ring out my shirt, shorts, and hair the best I can. Hopefully no one will notice the slight water trail I’m still leaving behind.

Once I’m as dry as I’m going to get, I take a ton of pictures of the area around the rampart. Cautiously, I wander down the wall as far as I can until I spot a Knight, snapping photos the whole way. I repeat the process for the other side before deciding to venture further into the city.

I don’t know where exactly the mages will want to portal in, so I need to take as many pictures as I can. It doesn’t hurt to look at what the Knights are up to either. That way we won’t have to go in blind.

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