Page 67 of A Tribute of Fire

Stupid girl! The doors aren’t the only way in. Go up! Climb!

I hurriedly got to my feet and ran around to the side of the temple. It was at least twenty feet high, but unlike the smooth facade on the front, the rocks here were unfinished and provided foot- and handholds. I slid my xiphos back into its sheath. I was going to need both hands.

With a grunt I began my ascent. There was still yelling and commotion outside the archway and beyond the fence, but none of the men tried to physically follow me. They continued to shoot poorly.

My legs and hands were burning. This was more difficult than I’d thought it would be, requiring a great deal of balance and strength.

I was nearly to the roof but realized that there wasn’t anything else to grab on to. I looked around, desperate to find something to use as a handhold, but found nothing.

Stuck. I was going to be stuck.

Then, like an answer to a prayer, a spear embedded itself into the wall next to me. The thrower must have been exceptionally strong to get the spear into place, or the stone was softer than I thought. Either way it was exactly where I needed it to be. I tested it and found that it could support my weight. I used it to keep climbing and got myself to the edge of the roof.

The edge jutted out from the wall, and the only way up would be to leap out and hope that I caught the eave before falling. I took out my sword and used it to reach up and hit the clay tiles at the edge, knowing that if I grabbed them they would slip away, as they weren’t attached to anything. They began to fall, one after another in a cascade, until there was a spot clear for me. I put my xiphos back in the sheath.

I counted to three, held my breath, and then I jumped.

My fingers curled around the edge and I gripped tightly as I began to swing. I would need enough momentum to get myself up. I kicked out with my legs, rocking back and forth, harder with each pass.

It took me a couple of attempts, my arms weakening from the strain. I reminded myself that I hadn’t come this far to fail now. With one final burst I finally managed it, hooking one of my elbows over the edge, then the other, and using them to leverage myself up.

The edge of the roof scratched me as I climbed, but I didn’t care. I turned over when I’d pulled myself up completely, lying against the cool tiles under my back. But then another spear clattered uselessly a few feet away from me as a reminder that I had to keep moving.

The roof was slanted and the tiles farther up were bolted into place. I climbed carefully, not wanting to slip or fall. At the top I took my xiphos out and used the hilt to break the tiles apart, making a large enough hole for me to fit through. I saw the wooden support beams underneath. I lowered myself down, my feet touching a thick beam. I leaned forward and unfurled my legs behind me. Gripping the beam tightly, I hung there, seeing how far I had to drop to the stone floor.

This was going to hurt.

I grit my teeth and let go.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The ground rushed up to meet me as I slammed into it. The pain was instant and crushing. I lay on the stone floor, unable to catch my breath. I was fairly certain I’d broken a rib. I moved my legs and they seemed intact, no bones protruding through my skin. That was good.

Each breath I pushed in and out burned. Not only because of whatever injuries I’d sustained, but from the loss of Quynh.

I had made it to the temple, but it had cost me her life.

It wasn’t a bargain I would have ever agreed to.

“Your kind are not welcome here.”

I rolled slightly to locate the voice speaking to me and realized that I must have hit my face at some point because my left eye was swollen shut. Three women stood in the middle of the room. They were dressed in green tunics, all different shades.

The one in the center wore a veil that covered her entire face. The woman to her left looked to be only a few years older than me, while the one on her right was elderly, her silver hair in a long braid over her right shoulder.

The veiled priestess repeated her words. “Your kind are not welcome in the sacred place. You need to leave.”

Did she mean Locrians? “My kind were ordered to survive and to serve the goddess if we made it to the temple alive,” I said, trying tosit up as the blinding pain made me groan aloud. I forced myself up. I wanted to stand but didn’t think I would be able to support my own weight right now.

“We are under no obligation to keep you,” the priestess said. “Throw her out onto the street.”

This woman would never understand what this had cost me. I wouldn’t let her toss me aside. I would stay in this temple until I got what I came for. Then, and only then, would I leave.

She was not going to send me away, especially not now, when those hunters were most likely waiting for me. “Youareunder an obligation to keep me.”

I wished that I could see her face. Her entire body tensed up, though, as if preparing for a fight. Where had my sword gone? Although ... what good would it do me? I couldn’t battle anyone right now.

“I am not,” she said.

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