Page 64 of A Tribute of Fire

The door to the storage room opened and one of the hetaerae stuck her head in. “Mahtab sent me. You have to go.”

I had already gathered my things together and leaned over to gently shake Quynh, wanting her to have as much time to rest as possible before we had to run. I said her name and she immediately woke.

“Is it time?” she asked, and I nodded.

“There is a ladder here that will take you up to the roof,” the woman said. I had been worried about how we would get past their clientele downstairs, and this was a perfect solution. It would also keep us off the streets, where the men had been searching for us.

Quynh again collapsed against me when she stood, burying her face into my shoulder. I had desperately hoped that her condition would improve, but that hadn’t happened.

We would just have to do the best we could.

I had her climb the ladder first. The woman Mahtab had sent put her hand on my shoulder. “My mother was Locrian. And the temple is half a mile north from here. Above the temple doors there is a stone carving of trees and barley. It is easy to recognize.”

“Thank you,” I said, nearly overwhelmed with relief and gratitude. “You’ve saved us.”

She nodded and then quickly left. I finally had hope again. We were close.

Quynh had reached the top rung when I heard a man behind me say, “The Locrian maidens! The Locrian maidens are here!”

He was half-undressed and started running toward me. I got my sword out and began to climb but watched as Mahtab appeared behind him, grabbing the edge of the rug and pulling it out from under the man, sending him flying forward.

She ran over to check on him, cooing and asking if he was all right, while giving me a quick nod. I climbed up quickly and slammed the door down. There was a large clay vase nearby, and I rolled it on top of the door to slow our pursuers. The roof of the hetaera house and the surrounding buildings were all flat. We could run up here and stay off the street.

But that man calling out had sent up an alarm and I heard men below us, mobilizing. It wouldn’t take them very long to figure out where we had gone.

I helped Quynh the best that I could, but we were far too slow. At least now we had darker clothes and the night to help protect us. We crossed onto another roof, and then another.

A shattering sound cut through the night air. The pot I’d put on top of the door.

“We have to hurry,” I said unnecessarily. I knew she was doing her best. But I didn’t know how many men were behind us or how hard it would be for me to fight our way through.

There was a gap between the roof we were on and the next one. I didn’t see a way down. We would have to jump.

“I’ll go first, and then I’ll help catch you,” I said. “You’ll have to run. It will hurt, but you can do this.”

She nodded. It wasn’t a difficult jump, but my ankle wasn’t sprained. I made the leap easily and then pivoted around, getting close to the edge. “Your turn!”

Hobbling back a few steps, she did her best to run, but my stomach bottomed out when I saw her make the mistake of leaping from her injured foot. It caused her to miscalculate the jump.

Fear squeezed my heart with its icy claws.

Quynh wasn’t going to make it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Her jump was short, but she still managed to grab the ledge. She quickly started to slip but I dived onto my chest, latching on to both of her wrists.

“I’ve got you!” I said. I began to shift my position so that I could pull her back up. I had no leverage currently.

“The maidens are here!” a man said from below us. I couldn’t see his face, but I heard the sound of leather sandals running along the roads and sidewalks. People began to converge beneath Quynh’s feet.

“Help me,” I told her. “Grab on to me.”

But Quynh looked up at me with an expression that made my fear a thousand times worse.

“No!” I shouted.

My hands were sweating and her left hand came loose. I reached for it but missed.

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