Page 58 of King of the Cage

Good question.

“Let’s worry about that in a minute. If you don’t go now, neither of us will have a chance to get out.”

That prompted her into action. She lowered herself out of the window, and with the same agility I remembered from our youth, used the wide tree branches to work her way to ground level. She dropped to the ground and looked up.

“Come on! Start climbing. I’ll catch you!”

“Yeah right, more like I’ll flatten you,” I hissed back.

The doorknob to the room turned.

I froze, staring at the door. It rattled again, and then came a hard clanking sound.

The handle fell inward, like someone had broken it from outside.

The door swung open, and a man in a cloak filled the doorway.

Time was up.

He stood there in silence,white mask in place. He was even bigger and more terrifying than Aldo had been. One hundred times more. Maybe jumping out of the window was a safer bet than letting this huge brute get his hands on me for whatever the Hunt was going to turn out to be.

Then he spoke.

“I’m trying to decide what to do with you… I told you to stay out of trouble, wee one, so why are you here?” Bran’s familiar voice sent relief cascading through me.

“Close the door,” I hissed at him. My relief felt like a palpable thing, a balloon in my chest, making me weightless.

“What are you doing?” Bran asked, shutting the door behind him, though the lock was a goner.

“Getting Sol out of here.” I turned around and peered down.

Sol stood below me. “You need to go!”

She blinked up at me. “Not without you.”

“I’m fine. I’ll find a way out of here with Bran.”

“Bran’s there?” Sol’s excitement was visible. “Did he come for you?” she called.

“Of course not,” I said at the same time as Bran spoke.

“Yes.”

I turned to Bran. My heart felt strange, like it had skipped a beat with his answer. He’d shoved his mask back on his forehead and pulled a cell phone from under his cloak.

“Dec. Come around the back of the hotel. We’re coming out of the window,” he said shortly and hung up. He jerked his head toward the open window. “Out you go, selkie. I’ll lower you down.”

“What about you?”

“I’m okay, I’m the Lost Boy, remember? I’m good at climbing trees.”

“Of course you are.” I moved toward the window and lifted my arms so Bran could tie the sheet around my middle. Then I bent sharply and carefully stepped out, putting a foot onto the window ledge.

Bran gripped the sheet, taking my weight and making me feel like I was flying.

I walked backward slowly, reaching for the nearest tree branch.

“Wait,” I paused, something obvious occurring to me. “You can’t get out of the window, can you?”

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