Free Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3) by Dan O'Sullivan Page B

Borgulnay lost sight of them as they disappeared behind the building. He was about to leave when a flash of movement caught his eye. Directly below where he stood a man’s head appeared over the wall. Borgulnay stepped away from the window. He cursed under this breath and was about to make a dash from the building when something registered in his mind. The face was familiar. He stood torn between the desire to leave in a hurry and the need to find out whose face was climbing over the wall surrounding what appeared to be a guarded fortress. Curiosity won. He moved back into the darkest corner of the room where he was well hidden by the work bench. He drew his knife and crouched, balancing his weight so as to be able to spring forward in a hurry, should the need arise.
    The man climbed onto the top of the wall and stood up. He leaned forward until he was falling towards the window of the room in which Borgulnay was hiding. Without as much as a whisper of sound, he caught the ledge and pulled himself through the window. He slid headfirst towards the floor and pulled himself forward with his hands. Borgulnay held his breath as the man dragged his legs through the window and stood up. Still making no sound, the man turned towards the stairs. He had almost reached the stairs when he stopped. He turned slowly towards the work bench. Borgulnay gripped his knife and leaned forward, standing upright as the man reached under his dark cloak and drew a knife from a leather shoulder sheath. There was a pause for a fraction of a second, as Borgulnay desperately tried to see the man’s face, then the man leapt towards him. Borgulnay dived sideways and rolled towards the stairs with the thought that whoever this man was, he obviously wished to leave the fortified building undetected, so there was a good chance he would not wish to be seen in the street. Borgulnay swiftly regained his footing. He had no desire to kill the man unless he was left with no choice. The man was faster than Borgulnay anticipated and managed to block the stairs. Borgulnay sighed as the man raised his knife and advanced. The man lashed out and Borgulnay sidestepped.
    ‘ Please don’t make me kill you,’ he said softly. The man froze. The knife slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. ‘Good,’ said Borgulnay. ‘Now move away from the stairs. I will leave and you will never see me again.’
    The man didn ’t move. He stood staring towards Borgulnay as if frozen.
    ‘ If you don’t move away from the stairs, I’ll have to move you,’ said Borgulnay, feeling confused by the man’s lack of action. ‘Please don’t doubt that I can.’
    The man still didn ’t move.
    ‘ Move away from the stairs,’ Borgulnay commanded with a little more force.
    ‘ Borg?’ the man questioned.
    It was Borg ulnay’s turn to freeze. ‘Who are you?’
    ‘ I’m Evan of Highview.’
    ‘ You’ve got to be joking!’ Borgulnay stepped forward and peered at the man’s face in the darkness. His jaw dropped. ‘What in the name of His Supreme Majesty are you doing in Qinel?’
    ‘ I was about to ask you the same question.’
    ‘ You’ll have to ask Kelian.’
    ‘ Kelian is here in Qinel?’ Evan’s voice rose in dismay. ‘Why would anyone in their right mind bring the King of Alkira here? Are you out of your mind Colonel?’
    ‘ Why would an Alkiran soldier be climbing over the walls of what looks like a thieves’ fortress?’
    ‘ Can I explain to Kelian?’
    ‘ I certainly hope you can. Follow me.’ Borgulnay led the way down the stairs to the street. He made a wide circle around the fortified building keeping to the smaller, darker streets. Few structures appeared to be entirely intact even in the center of the settlement. Many had old oilskin sheets stretched across the top to keep out the rain and blowing sand, and some had boards placed atop the stone walls and weighed down by large stones. There was a decrepit tavern near to the center of the settlement.