Free The Tower of Bashan by Joshua P. Simon Page B

Long braids flopped behind the larger of the two.
    That is the woman!
    The two foreigners made it through the gate with a handful of men on their heels.
    She kept her eyes on the guardsmen while climbing down the tree, graciously accepting the scrapes on shin and forearm. She’d worry about damage to the sari later. She couldn’t let them get away.
    * * *
    Outside the walls, Andrasta led the guards down several twisting alleys before losing them at a narrow intersection. Rondel thankfully kept pace, still huffing for air while rubbing at his mouth and throat. She finally slowed at a long street filled with various shops and businesses, most of which were closed for the day. She and Rondel did their best to appear normal in spite of their nationalities and attire.
    She waited until her anger had calmed and Rondel’s breathing sounded more normal before speaking. “What was that all about?”
    His neck reddened. “It was nothing.”
    “Don’t lie to me.”
    He sighed and told her.
    “You left out the part where they said you were small like most women.”
    He halted. “What? You heard that?”
    She shrugged.
    “But . . . why . . . how could you do that to me?”
    “What? When Dimwit and Nitwit tried to corner me I got out of it without blowing our cover since you swore up and down that was the best option we had to get into the tower and steal the jewel. Why couldn’t you do the same?”
    “Because I’m not the fighter that you are.”
    She gave him a dismissive look and started walking again. “I’ve been training you for over a year. You should have been able to handle them both. That’s why I waited. I kept expecting you to get out of it on your own. I knew the second I got involved, someone was going to notice and alert the guards.” She paused. “The problem is that you panicked because of the situation.”
    “Can you blame me? Getting raped is a man’s worst nightmare.”
    She grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him, and slammed a fist into his gut. Rondel folded in half at the waist.
    A part of Andrasta felt sorry for the blow. Another part wanted to strike him again.
    “What was that for?” he finally croaked.
    She seethed. “For your stupidity. Anyone else and I would have done more. You said that like you think getting raped is somehow less of a nightmare for a woman?”
    He crawled to his feet, hunched over. “I’m sorry. It probably did come out wrong. I’m still trying to collect my thoughts. I think I have my head on straight now.”
    “Are you sure? You keep telling me that you aren’t going to let what happened in Erba cloud your thinking, yet I keep seeing more and more signs that say otherwise.”
    His mouth thinned. “Look, I said, I’m fine.”
    No. You’re not. But she let the matter drop. Andrasta knew of nothing that could heal the emotional wounds from Erba except time. She glanced over her shoulder at the tower mocking her.
    She felt selfish for wondering how much time would be enough for Rondel to recover from his losses. I can’t wait forever.
    She began walking again, hoping to shake off her thoughts. It was bad enough that from the beginning she had led him to believe they would sell the jewel for profit. Try as she might, she could never find an easy way to discuss the truth of taking the jewel to her father. What once started as a small deception, now felt like betrayal. Adding to her guilt, was the worry that by telling Rondel the truth, he might no longer help her retrieve the jewel.
    And it would take something as great as giving him the Jewel of Bashan to impress Father.
    She felt her mood worsen and clenched her jaw. She was not in a place to let her thoughts wander down the path of her troublesome relationship with her father. To take her mind off her thoughts, she went back to the topic of the brothers. “I was surprised you even drew your sword. I expected you to just talk your way out of it.”
    “You heard what was said. It would have been impossible. To