“Madness!” Laela almost shouted. “What am I supposed t’do? Where’m I supposed t’go? Where. .?” The hard but unavoidable realisation that he was right, mixed with the deep shock that had yet to fade away, overwhelmed her, and she began to sob again.
Wolf reached out awkwardly and patted her on the hand. “There, there. Ain’t no sense t’be givin’ up now, is there? Ye’re a brave an’ clever girl, ye are. Ye’ve survived this far; who says ye won’t survive even further, eh?”
Laela fought to control herself. “But what can I do? Where can I go? I got no money, no home, no family. . gods, I shouldn’t’ve ever come here at all.”
Wolf regarded her. “Well,” he said eventually. “I s’pose ye could stay with me for a while, if ye wanted to.”
Laela looked up, tear-streaked. “What? D’yeh have a home?”
“Of sorts,” he said. “I’m goin’ back there tonight. If ye want to, ye can come, too.”
“Would there be room?” said Laela.
“I reckon so. What d’ye say? I’m sure we could find a few odd jobs for ye t’do around the place.”
“Where is it?” said Laela. “Is it in the city?”
“Yeah. Ain’t too far from here.”
“But what about the guards?” said Laela. “Won’t they know where yeh are?”
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Wolf said carelessly. “They’d never find me. I ain’t there t’be found when I don’t want t’be.”
Laela hesitated. She was still deeply suspicious of this man, whoever he was, even if he
“How do I know I can trust yeh?” she said.
“Ye don’t,” said Wolf. “But I didn’t have t’help ye, y’know. I was off on my way t’have a good time somewhere, an’ I heard ye screamin’, so I came t’help ye even though I could’ve just minded my own business. Guess I’m just soft-hearted.” He snorted.
Laela suddenly felt ashamed. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just. . well, why’d yeh want t’help me anyway? I ain’t anybody.”
“I’d have helped anyone in that situation,” said Wolf. “An’ how can I just leave ye to fend for yerself? I know this city, Laela. Ye wouldn’t last a day. I ain’t that. . heartless.”
He nodded. “Good. Finish eatin’, an’ we’ll go. Ye can tell me more about yerself while ye’re at it, if ye like.”
She wasn’t thinking of it, but after a while the silence became uncomfortable as he just sat there and watched her eat, so she talked-giving him her story in bits and pieces.
“Dunno me parents’ names. Mother was a Southerner. Lived in the North. Dad said. . there was this Northerner. Criminal. Raped my mother. Dad was a guardsman; he chased the bastard an’ saw him die tryin’ t’get away. Then, after I was born, someone murdered her. . Mum, I mean. So Dad took me away with him out of the North an’ raised me himself. But he died.” She paused to swallow some beer. “Drank himself to death.”
Wolf sighed. “Yes. . a lot of Southerners ran away out of the North when the war started. An’ plenty of Northerners got out of control ’round that time. Wouldn’t surprise me t’hear a lot of Southern women were raped like your mother. These things happen.”
“I wouldn’t call myself somethin’ better,” said Wolf. “Better than those two scum, maybe.”
Laela’s feeling of shame returned. “Yeh did save me. I don’t know what I’d do if I hadn’t met yeh, Wolf.”
There was a smile in his eyes as she said this. She wondered, suddenly, if his mouth was smiling, too, and what it would look like. She wished she could see his face.
“Are yeh ever gonna take that hood off?” she asked. To her embarrassment, she realised she was blushing.
“Maybe later,” he said. His voice was a little muffled by the cloth.
“Right, right,” said Laela, looking away from him and wishing she hadn’t asked.
Wolf waited politely until she had finished eating. “Are ye ready t’go now?”
Laela stood up. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Can I have my stuff back?”
He handed over the blanket roll. “C’mon, then. Stick close t’me, keep silent, do what I do. I ain’t taken anyone this way before.”
Laela adjusted the sword in her belt. “I’m ready.”
“Good.” He strode over to the window and opened it. Then, to her astonishment, he climbed out of it. She hurried after him and put her head through the window, but she couldn’t see him anywhere on the ground. Where. .?
“Up here.”
She looked up and saw him perched on the roof. “What the. .?”
“I told ye t’keep quiet,” he said. “Pass yer stuff up t’me, an’ I’ll give ye a hand.”
Laela pulled herself together and passed up her bundle. He hauled it up and dumped it beside him before offering her his hands. She took hold of them, and he pulled her through the window and up onto the roof though his fingers seemed clumsy.
Up on the roof, Laela straightened up and surveyed the view. Rooftops spread in every direction, studded with chimneys whose smoke drifted in front of the crescent moon.
“The Bear’s moon,” Wolf murmured. “Protection. Now, pick up yer stuff, an’ let’s go. Don’t put a foot wrong, or ye’ll fall.”
Laela slung her bundle on her back. “I’m ready.” She sounded more resolute than she felt.
Wolf set out. He moved with the balance and certainty of someone who had done this a hundred times, leaping from roof to roof like an alley cat. The gaps were small, but Laela still felt her stomach lurch when she reached the first one. She hesitated, but her companion was already leaving her behind, so she gritted her teeth and jumped.
She made it. Feeling a little more confident, she sped up. Wolf made it look easier than it was, but though she stumbled a few times, she managed to keep up one way or another.
They travelled this way for some time, and eventually Laela was chilled to the bone. Her legs were trembling with fatigue, and she felt as if she hadn’t slept in months.
Wolf stopped and waited for her to catch up. “We’re ready t’go back down,” he said. “Just follow my lead.”
Laela nodded mutely and watched him climb down through the next gap, bracing himself against the walls on either side to stop himself from falling. When he reached the ground, he stopped and waved at her to follow.
Laela sighed grimly and began her own descent.
It was easier than she had expected, but her nerves kept her from relaxing, and she pushed against the walls so hard that once or twice she stopped herself altogether and had to rest before she could make herself continue. By the time she reached the ground, her mind was blank with exhaustion.
Wolf patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’re almost there. No more climbing from here on.”
Laela groaned and fell in behind him. They passed through a gate in a wall, and then had to cross a large, open space before they reached a building. Wolf opened a small side-door with a key, and ushered her inside. Once they were in, he closed and locked the door behind him.
“Now,” he said. “Nothing left but a few stairs.”
A few!
After the first ten flights, Laela was having fantasies about killing him. Stairs, stairs, and more stairs, up and up and up, on and on and on. She trudged along stoically, until white spots started to flash in front of her eyes. Wolf kindly relieved her of her possessions and went ahead of her, stopping occasionally to let her catch up.
