The Rogue Lady

Chapter Nine

     If you find any mistakes, point them out to me =) Map in the external link. Have fun!

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    It was hard to find a flight of stairs that went higher than the first floor. It felt like we were running in circles around the floor on a wild goose chase. And I did most certainly not like goose chases, having had my fair share when I was younger and my father sent me to help out on farms during harvest season. But what made it worse was that I remembered from a visit that there ought to be stairs, and there simply weren’t any for us to find. It was like finding a camp of ten thousand outlaws all over again!

     When we ended up on the landing once more, I was gritting my teeth in frustration and it took all my willpower not to pull my hair out. How hard could it be to find a stupid staircase? Coming to a halt, I looked around in exasperation; this wasn’t working! I ran a hand through my tangled hair, which was no longer in the braid. I needed to clear my head, but this was just so frustrating! It was worse than not being able to hit the target when you first learn how to use a bow. Unbearable! And I didn’t know any of my four archers well enough to dare to take it out on them.

     “Maybe they used magic to hide it?” Harper suggested. That was what I thought at some point, but I was pretty sure we covered the entire floor and I hadn’t felt any magic. But then again, the way my body was shaking and my stomach was in knots, I could have easily missed it.

     All this while, the scream played over and over in my head. Who was it? Was it Eric? No, I was pretty sure it would take a lot to make a magician scream. Scream like that, at least. It still made a shiver go up my spine every time I thought about it for longer than a handful of seconds. I didn’t remember hearing something quite so scary in a long time.

     “We can always go up like this,” Alex pointed at the pillar. I looked at the yellow rose plant that wrapped itself around the stone construction. Sure, it would be easier to climb up a floor with the plant as a foothold, but for a handhold it was terrible.

     “And how do you suggest we do that?” I asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I couldn’t help myself; for me it was a natural reaction to counter annoyance.

     Of course I caught the blond archer rolling his eyes, but he remained quiet. Instead, he passed his bow over his head, placing it next to the two remaining quivers on his back. Getting a good grip onto the pillar, he climbed onto the railing. We watched him attentively as he tried to find the right places to place his hands and feet, and soon I could only see his legs before they disappeared as well. Rushing over to the railing, I looked up with the others while Alex was leaning down over the railing, looking down at us and grinning like a fool. Shaking my head slightly, I couldn’t help the grin from spreading on my lips either.

     “Who’s next?” I asked. I regretted it almost instantly. Someone put their hands on my hips and before I could protest, I had been lifted onto the railing. Glancing over my shoulder I shot Tom a nasty glare, but didn’t get off. Instead, I looked at the pillar; where was I supposed to put my feet? And even more importantly, my hands?

     “Grab my hands,” Alex reached down and I tried to reach for them, but I came a little short.

     Grimacing, I brought my hands to my belt. Hopefully the pillar was made out of the soft stone I had read about once. The pink stones the city had been built with was said to be soft and fragile and I was about to test whether the book had been telling the truth. I stabbed my two bronze blades into the stone to create two handholds. Once I started moving, I knew I had to keep going, otherwise I would be stuck. Alex chuckled as I passed him and made my way to the third floor. The others followed, and in less than ten minutes we were all on the third floor, ready to start looking for the audience room, which was supposedly somewhere on this floor.