The elf clicked her tongue, still hesitant to open the door. Something just didn't feel right.
"Reckon you can scry anything?"
He cocked his head, thinking. "I'll try. It's a bit hard if there's no direct path I can see, and the door is in the way. Hold on."
Closing his eyes, he held his hand out, touching the door. Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead and the acrid smell of magic tickled her nostrils.
She wanted to lean away from him, but kept herself rigid.
Finally, his eyes opened and he shook his head. "Can't feel shit. The door's blocking me. I'm sorry. I'm not that good at scrying anyway."
"No sweat," she said. "I'll go first. But keep close. We'll run straight across. Reckon they're in one of the huts, so we'll head between them. Fast. Eyes open, 'lock. And do everything I say. If I say stop, stop. If I say run, run. Got me?"
He nodded grimly. "Got you."
"Then, on three. Ready?" She gripped the door hard. Her other hand fisted around the thin grooved handle of Ribbed for Her Pleasure. "One. Two. Three"
She exploded through the door. Felt a rush of cold air as she hit the porch. Skipped over a broken floorboard to land heavily on the ground beneath the stairs.
Chukshene wasn't so lucky.
His foot caught and he barrelled into her with an involuntary cry.
It was an accident which saved her life.
The arrow which slashed through the air should have buried itself in her throat.
Instead, it speared into a beam directly behind as she was shoved across the ground with the warlock rolling heavily beside her.
Someone shrieked from the darkness; "Stay back! We're warning you! You take another step and we'll turn you both into fucking hedgehogs!"
"Fuck you!" She shouted back. "You another pair of Raste's assholes? Then you're dead meat. Aim to kill you both."
"That ain't a smart thing to say, raghead. Not when we got you in our sights!"
She took an arrogant step forward. "Then take your shot. And best you make that shot count. Because I'm coming for you."
"Hey! Back the fuck off!" His voice was shrill. "We ain't fucking around. Use your head and maybe we can work something out. Wasn't us who did for your husband! That was all Fenis. We can tell you where he is. Just let us go. We know where they're headed."
"Fenis is dead," she said through her teeth. "And I already know Raste's running to Grimwood Creek. Know why, too. He'll get his. I'll make sure of that."
"Nysta?" The warlock rubbed at his ankle. "Shouldn't we-"
"Move!" she spat, snatching a fistful of his robe even as another arrow tore through the air and pinged off a stone in front of her foot.
Had she not twisted to make a grab for the warlock, it would've gone into her chest.
Eager not to press her luck any further, she lunged fast.
A string of curses erupted from the depths of the small hut and her mind whirled within a knot of indecisions until instinct took over and she took the best course she could take in the face of the danger of more arrows spitting from the dark.
Straight at them.
Yanking on the warlock's robe, she sent him cartwheeling to the right of the hut and out of range of the archers. He hit the wall with a groan but didn't complain.
She'd put all her bets on the Twins not being too fast with their bows and let out a roar of hate as she sprinted at the closest window, zigzagging to avoid more arrows which didn't come.
Ducked to the right of the window, shoulder slamming hard into the wall.
Saw a glimpse of Chukshene as he tumbled out of view down the other side of the hut.
The elf sucked at air.
Heart pounding in her throat and wires of white-hot rage burning brightly in her veins.
Wiping her jaw with the back of her hand, she wondered why the Twins hadn't made another sound from inside the hut.
Guessed they were frozen in place. Though surprise hadn't quite worked how they'd expected, they still had all the advantages.
She considered waiting them out.
At least get a bead on them before smashing her way inside.
They knew she was there.
Knew exactly where she was.
They'd be waiting, crouched and ready to strike. It was two to one. It'd be suicidal to attack.
The smart thing would be to get the warlock to use a spell to blow up the hut, she thought.
Blow the fuckers into little pieces.
She could count them later.
"Ah, fuck it."
And dove headfirst through the window.
Glass shattered, slashing at her jacket and slicing through skin where it could. The rest of it exploded across the floor.
She rolled with fluid grace, ending up on all fours in the centre of the small room like a spider, a dagger in each fist.
Eager to strike.
Hungry to spill the blood of two more men who'd murdered her husband.
But the Twins were gone.
Hissing curses, she darted toward another window in the back wall and thrust her head out without thinking of the possible arrow which could have punched through her skull and into her brain.
Bootprints in the sludge led quickly from the hut to angle between a small row of storehouses.
But the Twins weren't searching for a new site for ambush.
They were running.
Fast.
She could hear them scrambling toward the back of the fortress. Knew they were out of her reach.
For now.
She spat through the window in direction of the retreating archers. Her heart hounded her emotions, pushing her to give chase.
But she waited. She could afford to wait.
With the dome still firmly in place, they were trapped as much as she.
Like her, they figured there was only one way they could go. Toward the gaping maw of a roaring cave in the cliff wall at the back of the fortress.
If Neckless had been right, it promised the possibility of a tunnel leading upward and out.
A tunnel which the elf reckoned was once used for defenders to reach the top where more fortifications had protected the fortress below from attacks from above.
She remembered the massive stones littering the plain and guessed it was also from where catapults had rained apocalyptic death on Grim's armies.
Chukshene breathed hard as he entered through one of the other windows.
His entrance was a lot less elegant.
He hopped awkwardly over the sill and bounced forward to avoid falling over again.
"Sorry," he said, red-faced. "I fell. The floorboards. They were-"
"Don't sweat it, Chukshene," she cut in easily, realising he was apologising for earlier. "Twins aimed to bring me down. Chances are they were too much for me to take at the time, so I reckon that trip of yours was just the break I needed."