Page 92 of Rune

A scream cut through the air, close enough we both froze. Every muscle went rigid. It was followed by a sharp sound like steel slicing together, then nothing.

The stillness was somehow worse. But the scream was not from Tova, that much I could tell.

“Four confirmed dead,” Trig whispered.

“Five left to kill,” I echoed.

With luck, more were dead.

The sun dipped lower, casting a warm glow in the sky. Soon it’d be night, and I suspected a victor would be named before the sun rose again. We couldn’t stay here. We needed to find Tova. To do that, I needed a better disguise. I’d just knelt to smear as much dirt across my outfit as I could when Trig crouched beside me with cautious eyes on the horizon. “I don’t get why we need a key. When Tova wins, she and I go free.”

“But I don’t.” His gaze swung to me. I dropped my head. “And I don’t trust that they will let you both leave. We aren’t safe here.”

“Ve?” His expression clouded.

“No,” I hurried to correct that assumption. “He’s the one good thing about this place. It’s everyone else I don’t trust.”

He laughed. As we stood, cowering in the darkness, possibly minutes away from death, helaughed. “You’ve never trusted a soul in your life.”

That wasn’t true. I trusted him once. It was a really poor time to say that though. “I’d feel better knowing we had a way out instead of relying upon the gods.”

He studied me before relenting. “Okay. We get the key then.”

Another noise came, this one far closer. It was a scratching against the stone wall, something from the other side. A stab came, then scratch. Repeating over and over. Lifting higher along the wall.

“Someone’s climbing,” I whispered, but Trig had already repositioned himself into a crouch to look along the wall, flipping his dagger into his hand to throw. I grabbed my own weapon, but stilled myself.

Then Tova appeared.

She rose from the other side of the wall to perch on top, knees bent and back straight, fearlessly looking out over the entire city. She’d found a short sword, and strung it to her back, with one knife clasped to her arm and another in her hand. Both long and narrow-tipped. Perfect killing blades.

She’d found something to pull her hair up, letting us see her wild eyes.

Her vantage point was too high. Anyone would see her. Sure enough, before I could call out to her, someone shot an arrow. It whizzed by her head, barely missing. Instead of climbing down, she shouted into the evening, “That was your last one! No more cowardly fighting! Come and get me!”

“You have the high ground!” A boy’s voice called back. “I’d be stupid to come now.”

Tova grinned. “I’ll let you climb the wall before I attack.”

“Tova!” Trig shouted, but she made no sign of hearing. Someone was shouting, charging toward the wall.

Tova was honorable. She wouldn’t attack until the boy climbed. Which meant one of them would die up there.

Trig grabbed onto the vines, but they creaked under his weight. Hecursed. “I can’t climb.”

“When you see him, you throw a blade,” I instructed. Then I grabbed the ivy instead. They weren’t too weak for me.

I could hear the boy on the other side, climbing as I did. He’d reach first, but I’d be closer to Tova. I heard when he lifted himself to the top as Tova chanted for him to approach. Vines dug into my palms, cutting as I climbed, sending a sharp sting through my hands. I pushed myself harder. I just needed to reach first...

The boy cried out. I guessed Trig’s blade found him, and could only hope it struck deep. Tova gasped, and looked over the edge. At that moment, with a surge of strength, I dragged myself to the top of the wall and stood tall.

The glass dome was right above us. If the ground wasn’t stone, they’d have seen me already. To do this, I couldn’t move much, or they would.

“What in the name of the gods are you doing here?” Tova asked.

“Saving you,” I replied. “Trig?”

Then I pushed Tova off the wall.

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