The Serpent's Veil

Ghosts

Once she found the archer on the ramparts, Khayzuran was already running. Nadir was swift to follow her, using his tall frame to push the crowd out of the way as they carved a path out of the square.

"He's going east," she yelled over the din of voices. She grabbed onto his shirt and closed her eyes; there were so many sounds in the way, drowning her mind like sand pooling in an hourglass, threatening to erase her tether to the fleeing rebel. They could not afford to lose this one.

He was high up on the rooftops, his bow clattering against his still-full quiver as he leapt from roof to roof.

Nadir shoved aside more people until they finally burst into an empty street.

"Where is he?" he growled, fingers tensing around his sword hilt. Khaya opened her eyes and pointed, and they took off running. She could hear him getting further away as she led them down alleys and roads that meandered eastward. She could not run as fast as Nadir, but he did not know where to go without her leading him. Inwardly she cursed at herself for not taking a horse from the square.

But it was not too late.

She skid to a halt and backtracked, then veered right down a narrow alley which opened into a quiet mercantile road. As they sprinted down the street Nadir's eyes sparkled with knowing, and he bounded forward with long strides until he reached the stable she had pinpointed and cut free the first horse he saw. The startled animal reared, but Nadir held its reins firmly in place and mounted it in a swift movement.

Khayzuran's lungs ached, her body begging for respite as she ran towards him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the horse, and she held onto its mane with an iron grip as Nadir kicked into a canter. Her eyes were already closed to better hear her mark.

"Left!"

He was descending from the rooftops now, likely trying to get to one of the tunnel entrances. Again Khaya cursed herself for not memorising the map that Yahya had shown her.

"I see him," said Nadir over her shoulder. He spurred on the horse, and Khaya jolted forward with its unfamiliar gait. Her headscarf whipped in the wind violently, threatening to come loose as they rode faster and faster towards the eastern quarter. The streets grew narrower and more decrepit, the people more hunched and morose. They finally turned a corner, and there he was.

With his bow aimed straight at them.

"Watch out!" Nadir bent his body over hers as her eyes snapped open. The arrow hit the horse's shoulder and it reared, bellowing with fury.

Khaya's body lurched, and suddenly she was mid-air. She tumbled off the horse, and her body seized in pain when she hit the ground. Another arrow cut through the air, Khaya rolled out of the way just as it passed her head, and she looked up to see Nadir drawing his own bow. She got to her feet, clenched her fists tightly to stop them shaking as she stood face to face with the rebel.

Nadir's bowstring snapped, and the man's knees hit the ground, his eyes wide in shock. His scream came seconds after, as if his mind could not understand what had happened to his body. Still, his eyes were feral and defiant as he looked up at her, gritting his teeth through the pain. Nadir had nocked another arrow, but if he missed and hit a vital spot all their effort would be in vain.

It seemed the rebel had the same thought. His hands went to his hip, steel flashed.

"No!" She ran for him, arm outstretched. Nadir realised just as she did, and kicked the panting, bleeding horse for one last sprint. He swung his bow in an arc, clubbing the rebel in the back of the head just as the dagger reached his neck.

The pair of them stood motionless for a brief moment. The horse was moaning in pain, blood dripping from the wound in its shoulder. Nadir moved first, he dismounted and carefully cut the arrow head from the shaft. Wordlessly, they switched places, Khaya taking the reins and Nadir throwing the limp body of the rebel over his shoulder, and they walked back the way they came.