'I dropped it,' I screamed in Ryko's ear. 'I dropped your sword.'
Then I saw the wall of men fighting in the splintered gateway.
Set lion's army forcing back the Imperial guards. We were heading straight for them, the horse trying to pull to the left, Ryko brutally holding it on course.
The first man we hit cannoned into his opponent. The next saw us coming and hacked at the horse's neck. Ryko kicked him;iway grunting as the blade nicked his leg. Ahead, someone fell screaming. The horse made for the clear opening, trampling the body. I saw the man's chest cave in under the weight of a hoof. Ryko slashed his knife at a soldier who was hanging onto his injured leg. I kicked at the man's shoulder, missed and connected with his helmet. I lis head jerked back and he lost his hold, falling under the horse. The animal stumbled over him and staggered into an Imperial guard, slamming the man against the remains of the gate.
Cursing, Ryko yanked the horse to the right, jumping it over two men grappling on the ground.
'Ryko?' The yell was from a heavily built guard up ahead. The man blocked a down cut from a soldier, punching the end of his hilt into the other man's jaw. He turned his attention back to us.
'Get us through,' Ryko bellowed over the mass of shouting, clashing men.
The guard nodded then ducked as a sweep cut nearly took him in the neck. He parried his attacker, locking the man's blade into his own hilt, then threw back his head and gave a long, ululating call that pulsed through the clangour. Something slammed into my back, ramming me into Ryko and knocking the breath out of me. My teeth tore into my lip, the iron tang of blood souring my mouth. I felt myself sliding backwards over the rump of the horse; someone was pulling my robe. I swung around, clawing wildly It was a young soldier, helmet gone, blood smeared across his face. My fingers found an eye socket. I jabbed into soft tissue, hearing a yelp, but his grip on my robe tightened. Ryko clamped his hand down on my thigh, teeth bared with the effort of holding me and the horse. I went for the soldier again, but the horse suddenly ended the fight with a bucking kick that sent the man barrelling into the edge of the guardhouse. Ryko
snatched up the reins as the animal skittered forwards on its front legs, kicking out at anything around us. Grimly, we both hung on, my hands locked around Ryko's chest as he fought for control. Finally, the horse slopped bucking, its sides heaving under us.
'Look,' I shouted in Ryko's car, pointing ahead.
Ryko's friend had cut down his opponent and was now methodically hacking a pathway through the soldiers in front of us. His strange call had gathered the guard around us. We were surrounded by a ring of the Emperor's elite, all doggedly holding off the soldiers and forcing a way through the melee. Ryko coaxed the exhausted horse one step at a time as the guards inched us towards the edge of the fighting.
'I need a sword,' Ryko bellowed.
A tall guard on our right flank drove his blade into the chest of a soldier and pulled the sword free, kicking the dying man away.
'Cover,' he yelled, stepping back. The two guards fighting beside him closed the gap without breaking the rhythm of their blows.
'Here,' the guard yelled to Ryko, passing up the bloody sword.
Ryko saluted, quickly testing the balance of the weapon. I watched the tall guard pull out a dagger from a waist sheath and rejoin the fight.
We were almost inside the gateway courtyard. The horse surged forwards, sensing safety With an agility that belied his heavy build, the front guard leaped aside, leaving his two adversaries standing in our path. We ploughed through them, the horse knocking one to the ground, the other slashed away by Ryko's sword.
We were through!
Ryko pulled the horse towards the servants' path. I looked back over my shoulder. The guards were forming a line to block pursuers. So few against so many One of them turned to check our escape. I raised my hand. He gave a quick salute then turned back to the desperate lighting.
'This animal's not going to last much longer,' Ryko said, easing the horse down to a quivering trot on the dark, uneven track. Are you all right?'
'I'm all right. What about your leg?'
'Just a cut.' He reined the horse to a standstill. Are you able to go on foot from here?'
As an answer, I pushed myself into a slide off the beast's back. I landed on the ground and folded at its hooves in a messy heap.
'My legs! They've gone all weak.'
'It'll pass,' Ryko said. 'Rest for a minute.'
He dismounted, keeping the bloodied sword away from the horse's tossing head. I kneaded my thigh muscles as he led the animal off the path and looped the reins over a bush.
'Do you think Lady Dela will be safe?' I asked. 'With all the soldiers…'
'Lady Dela can look after herself
He wiped the sword clean on the grass and slid it into his scabbard. A crunching sound up ahead made us both turn. Someone was coming. A lot of someones.
Ryko pulled me to my feet. 'Time to run.'
So began a deadly game of hide and seek. Sethon's soldiers had penetrated deep into the palace precinct and were systematically herding all of the occupants into the larger courtyards. As we darted between buildings, I saw groups of shrieking women and cowering eunuchs being bludgeoned to their knees. Too many times, we only just managed to press ourselves into the cover of shadows as soldiers passed by. I was sure they would hear my heartbeat or see the terrified whites of my eyes in the dim light. Once, my cursed hip slowed me down and a young soldier caught my movement. He backtracked to investigate. I would never forget the wet sound of his death under Ryko's knife or the surprise in his eyes.
When we finally reached the archway to the Peony apartment, I was sick with the sight of guards hacked to death,
servant women struggling under soldiers, and old men kicked into bloody pulp. Even Ryko, who had to be more hardened to such things, was pale, murmuring, 'Wr cannot slop, we cannot stop.'
The Peony courtyard was empty, the quiet manicured garden an abrupt contrast to the screaming, wailing horrors we had just passed. I leaned against the stone wall of the arch, pressing my hand against my chest to steady my gasps for air and hold down the heavy sickness rising from my belly. Beside me, Ryko surveyed the way across to the apartment. He suddenly stiffened.
'No,' he breathed.
I followed his gaze. The garden was not empty There was a body slumped on the far gravel path — a body in female clothes. Lady Dela? I grabbed the stone archway, the terrible possibility buckling my legs.
Ryko ran across the garden to the dark shape, with no thought for cover. By the time I reached him, he was on his knees, bowed over the body, his back heaving. I dropped to my knees, half afraid to look at her dead face. It was plump, oval, young…not Lady Dela. Ryko smiled at me, panting in hollow gasps of relief. I couldn't help smiling back; may our callous joy be forgiven.
Ryko gently passed his hand over the maid's face, closing her glassy eyes. We both looked up at the silent apartment. The night lamps had been lit, but there was no movement. No sense of life. Was Lady Dela in there?
'I must check it,' Ryko said roughly. He scanned the garden then pointed to the grove of ornamental trees near the pond. 'You take cover in there. And wait for my signal.'
I touched his arm. 'No, I'll go too,' I said.
'Don't be foolish. You cannot be risked.'
'But what if she's….'
He looked at me sideways. 'You think me too soft to do my duty?'
'I didn't mean that.'
He sighed. 'No, I know what you meant. It was a kind thought but you must stay behind.'
I did not like it, but I obeyed. The screen panel doors of the formal reception room had been left wide open. Even from my position behind the trees, it was obvious that Sethon's men had ransacked the place. The low table was upended and Master Quidan's beautiful scroll of the dragon had been torn from its alcove. I watched as Ryko edged his way into the room. He paused for a moment, studying the mess, then disappeared from view. I wrung the edge of the Story Robe into a tight twist, trying to curb the impulse to run in after him. Finally, he reappeared in the doorway and beckoned.