The City of Towers

CHAPTER 26

Daine considered the odds. The lift itself was a broad disk surrounded by a low metal rail. Two of the halberdiers were blocking the gateway, while the other two were moving to either side. He cursed himself for not considering this possibility. The dwarf had been patrolling in the area of the Den’iyas lift the other day, and it was probably his regular beat.

Daine caught Lei’s eye and cast a glance over his shoulder. They backed up to the railing. At least they couldn’t be surrounded that way.

“Lorrak, right?” said Daine. “You’re looking … alive.”

The dwarf grinned, which wasn’t a pleasant sight. “That’s one thing we have in common.” He was carrying a cudgel of heavy bronzewood, and he tapped it against the palm of his left hand. “But I think it looks better on me.”

Lei rolled her eyes. “Sergeant. You don’t like Cyrans. That’s fine. But you’re an officer of the law. Am I actually supposed to believe that you’re going to push me off of a lift? Arrah’s blade, if that’s part of your job, what do you do to get a promotion?”

If Lorrak was affected by the speech, he hid it well. We need Jode, Daine thought. If Jode were here, he’d already have convinced the sergeant to buy us a meal.

“My duty is to protect the people of Sharn,” Lorrak said. “The oath doesn’t say anything about Mourner scum. There’s too many of you here already, and it’s common knowledge that half of you are mad. If I told people you jumped off the edge, they’d probably believe me. Now, you hurt me …? That’s another story. Killing a guardsman is bad enough, but a Mourner killing an officer? If you were lucky, you’d be brought in by the guards before the mobs got to you.”

Lorrak nodded to his men, and the halberdiers at the sides of the lift began to move forward.

Daine studied the dwarf. This was no idle threat. If the two guards at the gate didn’t join in the fight immediately, he and Lei might have a chance. Daine had held his own against Lorrak the day before, but the sergeant was right. Even if they defeated the guards, things would only get worse. There was only one solution.

As the guards closed in, he turned to Lei and charged. He slammed into her, wrapping his arms around her. She was staggered by the blow and knocked off balance. He lifted her up and threw himself at the railing. His hip stung as his leg scraped against the top of the rail, and then they were falling, plummeting down the half-mile drop between the lift and the lowest streets of Sharn.

Lei struggled as they fell. She was shouting, but the roaring of the wind drowned out the words. As the ground rushed up at them, Daine wondered if he’d made a mistake.

And then they stopped falling.

For a moment, they seemed to be standing still, then Daine realized they were still drifting down, slowly as a leaf falling from a tree.

Lei stopped struggling, taken aback by the change in velocity. “Daine?” she said.

“Yes?”

“Why aren’t we dead now?”

“Feather token. Something Captain Grazen gave me. It’s a charm they sell in the markets. Easy to see why people buy them. Only one use, though.”

“And he just gave it to you?”

“Yes. When he was explaining how Lorrak survived the fall.”

They were almost to the streets. No one seemed to be paying them any attention. Apparently, the citizens of Sharn were used to having people fall from the sky.

“And when you were jumping off the lift, did it ever occur to you that he might have actually given you the charm Lorrak used with its magic drained?”

“No.”

“Next time, I think I’d rather take my chances with the dwarf.”

They drifted the rest of the way in silence.