To his credit, Rihn only asked "What? Why?" once before tossing her the weapons she'd left behind and leaping down from the wagon. Together, they began to knock over the tripods on which the torches quietly burned. The first guttered in a puddle of sand. The next extinguished before it hit the ground. The third and fourth found small patches of grass that the flames hungrily licked.
Shouts of dismay from the people in the queue spread as quickly as the fire, and the entire orderly line began to writhe and scatter. Some rushed toward the flames, others ran to the other side of the road. Jarah and Rihn pushed on, knocking over every torch they could. One man tried to stop her, snatching her left arm. He accidentally wrenched her wound. In a flash of pain-inspired anger, she punched the man in the stomach so hard that he vomited, dropping to the ground and holding his middle. "Sorry," she said, returning to her work. She didn't have time to worry about what she'd just done--besides, that had hurt. A minute later, the entire entry was a mass of confused people, panicking horses, and individual, discreet fires. The exhausted horse that had done them such service by hauling them to Gallhin from Nan tore away, the buckboard clattering behind it. Apparently, it wasn't used to being near wild fires. The two guards who were inspecting came running out, shouting out orders and angry demands about what was happening and who was responsible. Rihn didn't need Jarah's anxious gesture: He, too, took advantage of the crowd and bolted for the gate. One guard noticed them and shouted that they stop. They ignored him. Before the guard could do anything, the men who had been approaching from behind--Tenhaim's additional fighters, it seemed--came skidding to a stop in the chaos on the road. Jarah ran as hard as she could, gritting her teeth--which hurt in its own way--against the pain. The gate yawned in front of them, on the other side of the short bridge that connected Gallhin to the mainland, the city's streets visible through the opening. She just had to get in. It was only a few steps. She could make it. The stone bridge echoed beneath her feet. Exhaustion could wait until she was done. Jarah came closer. The portcullis grinned down at her, like a fang-filled smile. She could do it. She had to. Breath tight in her lungs, Jarah sprinted through the opening just as a handful of guards came rushing out to see what was going on. Without pausing, she unsheathed the butterfly swords, holding one in each hand. The first guard didn't know she was coming and fell down, a bright ribbon of blood stretching across his chest. He howled in pain. The second took the hilt to his face, dropping him before he had time to blink. Spinning, Jarah cracked both blades against the third guard's shield, the force of the strike bowling the man over. The fourth guard dropped her spear and let Jarah run past without challenging her. Jarah charged down the street as fast as possible, but she could feel her energy flagging. Rihn joined her, breath heavy. "See? Improvisation's the best way." Jarah didn't dignify that with an answer. They ran, taking different paths, sometimes with Jarah pointing the way, sometimes with Rihn making suggestions. No one stopped them, no one gave chase. It seemed, for the moment, they'd lost their pursuers. "Why…did…they…come?" asked Jarah through painful gasps. Her lungs felt like they were coated in broken glass. The taste of blood sat heavily in the back of her throat. No matter how hard she tried to breathe in, it never seemed to be enough. Her shoulder ached warmly--she was fairly certain the stab wound was bleeding again. Rihn shook his head. "I…think…they were on…their way…here…anyway." He gulped another couple of breaths. "They probably saw us…and decided to take us immediately…rather than wait…until we came to them." Jarah grimaced. That made sense, at least: Coincidences happened. Leaning against the wall of the alley they'd dodged into, she put her head against the stones, trying her best not to collapse. Exhaustion tugged at her in every conceivable way. Still, she knew that she wasn't done--not by a long shot. "If we hurry," she said after her breathing had somewhat returned to normal, "do you think we can get to the compound before Tenhaim?" Rihn shook his head. "I doubt it. That's on the southeastern edge of the island. We're here in the north--and we don't have horses." "They got delayed by the mess in front of the bridge." "I doubt that'll make a huge difference." "Then there's nothing we can do." He shook his head. "We can move quickly, since it's the two of us. Faster than when Kimhan is around, at least." "That doesn't make me feel any better." "It wasn't supposed to." Jarah wanted to weep for weariness. Swallowing back her frustration, she took a hesitant step. The break had been too brief; she didn't dare take a longer one. The world swam and swirled in her vision. "I don't think I can…I need more time." She gestured at her arm. "It's slowing me down." "What do you want to do, Jarah?" asked Rihn, his voice testy. "You're the brilliant teka here. We have to cover a couple of miles in less time than it takes horses to gallop there. Assuming the streets are clear--as they'll likely be, since there was just barely a sandstorm here--he'll be there in less than ten minutes." He flicked his fingers, though Jarah didn't know what that was supposed to mean. "At the most. He could get there even faster." Jarah slumped against the wall. "I can barely stand." "Well, I'm not going to carry you." "Why not?" she asked, but the question died almost as soon as she had formulated it. "Wait. Carry me." "No, I said I wouldn't--" "Not you." She fumbled onto the clasps on her belt. Precious few remained her--three, to be precise. But that would be enough, assuming that she had one with the right rune on the token. She pulled a vial free and began clicking through the options. "What are you doing?" asked Rihn, his confusion clear on his battered face. "Getting us a ride." "You're not going to Invoke a deity just to cover some distance!" Rihn hesitated. "Are you?" Jarah returned the first vial, then pulled out the second. "What you don't seem to understand, Rihn," she said, clicking through that selection as well. Inwardly, she cursed the fact that she couldn't ever manage to fit all thirty-two deities' runes on a single token. It would make her life much easier. "What you don't understand is that I'm not going to let Tenhaim have Kimhan. I'm just not." "Who uses a goddess to haul them across a city?" Rihn raised his hands in frustration. "It's just not done!" "But hauling them into the mortal realm so that they can fight for us is done, right? That's their only purpose?" "Sometimes a being only has one reason for existing." "You were carried by a goddess the other day!" Rihn pulled up, surprised. "What? I was?" Jarah nodded. "It's how I got you off the roof. When Kinn was busy frying Rall and his buddies." "You…you, what told her to put you down on the alley floor?" Jarah nodded again. "Huh." Rihn's grunt sounded impressed. "I wondered how you got me out of that." "Well?" She put back the second vial. That didn't have the right deity, either. "Are you going to help me?" "Help you do what?" asked Rihn, reaching to his own pouch of vials. He had three, as well. "Find Kinn." "The one before?" She didn't answer, flicking through the options on her last vial, tipping it so that she could catch some moonlight and read the rune. "Kinn…" Rihn snapped his fingers. "Wait, she's the Goddess of Anger." "I know." "You're angry?" Jarah snapped the token in place, then held it up, triumphant. With more effort than was strictly necessary, she shoved the plunger down, breaking the inner vial and throwing it to the ground. It crashed loudly. "I'm furious."
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