The Escape from Serrok (The Kingdom of Dragons Book 4)

V - Finding the Way

Getting out of the city was proving much harder than Rhenor had expected. And he'd been expecting it to be very difficult. Now that all they had to hide in were long shadows from the rising sun, they couldn't just run through small, dank alleys to avoid the guards. The only thing they had over them was knowing that due to the helmets the guards wore, their peripheral vision was at least partly blocked.

So even though they were planning on using the same exit they had used to get inside, it was still difficult to get all the way up the hill and to the unlocked door without anyone seeing them.

Right now, they were pressed against the sandstone wall of a wide house as a group of guards walked past them, yelling something about not stopping until they found them. If Rhenor wasn't quite so on edge, he might find that idea funny, since if they had wanted to, he and Elaya could have left a long time ago.

Next to him, Elaya let out an aggravated sigh, shaking her head. Then she leaned close to Rhenor's ear. "I had an easier time hiding from the guards in Reighir."

Rhen just raised his eyebrows. Elaya had hidden from guards in the Capital? What had she gotten up to there? He'd thought both Elaya and Kaz had been good, rule-abiding citizens until the incident with the bridge.

Rhenor sighed. He didn't even have the energy to curse the dragons for any of that between worrying about Kaz and trying not to get arrested or killed by the guards.

As the sound of the guards' walking and talking turned distant, Elaya waved her hand, continuing to lead Rhenor through the maze of narrow, winding alleys and cobblestone. There were people about, talking much more quietly than normal, most likely gossiping about the guards searching the city.

As they ran past an alley leading to a bigger street, out of the corner of his eye he saw a guard knock harshly on the door of a house opposite them. Rhenor grimaced as he ran past it, hiding behind another house. He hadn't thought stealing that silver would end in houses being searched, but hopefully, it would be at worst an annoyance since none of these people had anything to do with this.

They continued like this, frequently having to stop and hide behind whatever crate, barrel, or house there was to avoid the guards. How many were there in Sigallah? It seemed like there were hundreds, even though Rhen knew very well that that was impossible. But they were everywhere, and in groups as well.

Perhaps they were simply focusing on the poor side of Sigallah, assuming that the richer citizen would either report the fugitives, or at least wouldn't harbor them.

Rhenor adjusted his grip on the strap of his bag as they continued their slow progress, only to come to a halt a second later as two soldiers appeared out of nowhere, right in front of them. Rhenor froze only for a second before grabbing Elaya's arm and dragging her into the alley on the right, desperately trying to ignore whatever the guards were yelling at them.

They zigzagged between the houses, hoping to confuse their pursuers enough to lose sight of them, which they finally managed after a few minutes of sprinting, hiding behind the remains of a house that had fallen apart for whatever reason.

Rhenor tried to keep his gasps for breath as quiet as possible as they pushed their backs against the cracked wall, staying close to the ground. They were just a row of houses away from the walls, but that didn't necessarily mean they were close to their destination.

He could barely move as he heard the guards walk around, somewhere close to them, but not as close as he'd feared.

"Keep searching!" yelled one of them as the sounds of their loud footsteps slowly became quieter and quieter. Rhenor didn't relax, though. Now that they had been seen, the guards would be twice as vigilant.