It took me a moment to realise that it hadn’t actually gone dark. The Ruby Dagger had just stopped emitting its vibrant glow. I adjusted my grip on the pommel, surprised by its weight and tried to hold it tighter, just in time as the person slammed into me. The force sent me flying. Pressure warmed around my waist, and I found myself pressed against the stranger’s body.

I closed my eyes and braced for impact. We were heading straight for the wall at the back of the shrine where the water was trickling down. Instead, we came to an abrupt stop, but I hadn’t hit the wall, the person’s grip around my waist was strong and kept me from pummelling straight into the stone. My waist ached from their tight grip. Opening my eyes, I was just in time to see that they had placed both of their feet flat against the wall. Water splashed up onto my face and clothing, but I was straight into escape mode. Remarkably, the dagger was still firmly within my grip.

“Let me go!” I screamed.

I wriggled against their hold, but they pushed off again, and we sailed through the air in the opposite direction, straight past the statue, over the moat and back to the front of the shrine. Once we were out and across the moat, they let me go, and I tumbled to the floor.

Breathing hard, I tried to roll with the momentum and reduce the impact. I fought to catch my breath, a heap on the cold stone ground. The person landed steadily on their feet beside me. Scrambling backwards, the dagger clanked and scraped over the stone. I gazed up at the towering figure in front of me.

I assumed it was a man for he was tall and broad shouldered. The small slit in his mask allowed his bright eyes to stare through. They were large and wide as if in shock before they rested on the dagger still firmly in my hand. For a moment, he didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if he was going to attack me or try to take the dagger.

Gaining my bearings, I pushed myself up into a squat with my free hand and pointed the dagger towards him, hoping in vain to scare him off. My hand and the dagger shook.

“Get away!” I shouted.

The person lifted their hands as if in peace. “You need to come with me,” he said, his voice deep and thick, confirming my thoughts that he was indeed a man.

I pulled back. My first mission was to find Rayon and his men. Where was he? I hadn’t lain eyes on them since I had walked inside the temple. They were supposed to get me out of here. He was supposed to help me!

A shout came from above. The man glanced over his shoulder, carefully so that I was sure I never left his peripheral vision.

“Come with me,” he repeated, turning his head back to my direction. “They are coming?”

“Who?”

“The Phaleans,” he said.

I shifted my weight and rose to my haunches, the dagger still held out from my body and shaking in front of me. Too close for comfort, I took a step back.

All I had to do was find Rayon again. He had told me to keep my head down and wait in the shadows. This was not hiding in the shadows. More shouts came from above. Lifting my head, I spied two Phaleans running along either side of the balcony. Someone or something must have informed them that the dagger had been taken, but then the lack of the ruby glow that had filled the back of the hall would have been a dead giveaway. I had to get out of here. Who knew what they would do to me once they got their hands onto me? An image of Shane and Nate flashed before my eyes again.

“Follow me,” the man said, “if you want to know what’s really going on.” He closed the distance between us so that the dagger was nearly touching his chest.

My eyebrows lifted in surprise at his words. I looked around. There wasn’t any sign of Rayon or his men, but the two Phaleans who had been running along the balcony, were in the middle of swinging their legs over the railing. From what I had seen in the scrubland, jumping from that height would not be of any concern to them, and they would be upon us in any moment.

I gazed back at the man while I tried to decide what to do. With him standing this close in the dim light, I could see his eyes more clearly. They were dark purple, similar to the Phaleans themselves. Was he a Phalean too? In disguise? Could I really trust him to help me, or was he after the dagger for his own gain as well?

Lowering the dagger, I remembered Rayon’s instructions, and I quickly tucked the dagger into the sleeve on my belt and clipped the cover over. I couldn’t lose it now. It was best hidden inside my clothing.

The man’s eyes looked to my hip where I had placed the dagger and caution flooded through me, but then, more shouts from the Phaleans echoed through the hall. There was more than two on their way. Trembling, I nodded and stepped towards him.

Without so much of a second glance, he turned and bolted towards the other side of the temple along the back wall. A good foot taller than me and with long legs, he bounded over the large stone tiles with such speed I had to pump my arms and legs to keep up.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Wait! Slow down!” I yelled. “Where are we going? I don’t even know your name!”

“Yalek,” he called back.

“Yalek? That’s your name or is that where you’re taking me?”

He stopped at the other side of the large staircase that I assumed led to the third floor, and even though he wore a mask over his face, his tone implied impatience, and I imagined a frown on his face. “It’s my name.”

There was a small, black wooden door in the wall with intricate scorpion carvings. Yalek grabbed the handle and pulled it open, ripping off and splintering whatever lock had been used in attempt to stop people from opening it. Another staircase presented itself, this time leading down. It was nowhere as grand as the one I had used to climb to get to the second floor and it was only wide enough for our shoulders to get through. Not waiting to see if I was going to follow, Yalek started to descend.

With one last look over my shoulder, I spied the Phaleans land on the stone ground of the second floor. I didn’t need any further motivation. Spinning on my heels, I pounded down the first couple of steps and into the waiting darkness after Yalek.

Yalek had already disappeared, although I could hear his footsteps on the stone stairs. I slipped on the stone, slammed my head into the wall and grazed my shins as I went down. Swearing violently, I pushed myself up and tried to keep going, keeping my hands splayed out along the cool, bumpy surface of the wall, trying to find some purchase to ensure I didn’t trip again. Warm liquid trickled down the side of my forehead, and I knew I was bleeding. The darkness was overwhelming, heavy and hot. Pausing momentarily to see if we were still being pursued, I heard shouts from behind and the heavy feet of the Phaleans. Panic surged through my chest again, and I continued on my way.

After several more steps, I reached the end of the staircase and stumbled out. Here, there were small torches along a hallway lighting the way. Several meters ahead, Yalek was already sprinting away from me.

“Quickly!” he shouted over his shoulder.

Before him was a large, square window, large enough that we would be able to climb through. He stopped in front of it and unclipped a hook as I reached his side. With one quick, swift move, he pushed the double glass panes open, placed his hands on the sill and pushed himself up. Faster than I could believe for a person of his size, he swung one of his legs through the gap and clambered over to the other side. He swivelled around and faced me.

Our eyes met.

“Come on,” he demanded.

I looked over my shoulder again. The Phaleans were now at the bottom of the narrow staircase. Placing both of my hands on the window sill, I pushed myself up as well. Yalek placed two large hands up under my armpits and pulled me through before I could attempt to swing my leg over. It was a good job that he did. As soon as I was on the other side, a Phalean’s head snarled through the open window, their large teeth snapping as if they would have gladly taken a bite out of me.

Wind whipped at my face, and I landed in a heap at Yalek’s feet on top of a panel only a meter wide. Lunging forward up and over me, I turned my head to see Yalek thrust a sword into the Phalean’s face. The creature shuddered and gasped in shock, and as Yalek retrieved his sword with a slick squelch, the Phalean dropped to the ground dead. He then turned and jumped over me landing agilely further along the panel.

I gazed at the empty space in the window, unable to comprehend what I had just seen. Never before had I witnessed such violence. Never before had I seen a living thing killed, murdered in such a brutal way.

Yalek’s hand grabbed me from under my left arm. “We need to keep moving,” he said. “There’s more on their way.”

It was only then that I realised where we were. I plastered both of my hands on either side of the panel. My chest heaved. To my horror, we were still high up, at least three floors in the sky, and on either side of the apex, the black tiled roof of the temple slanted down towards the ground.

How was this possible? We had gone down a flight of stairs. And then I remembered the five flight of stairs I had taken to reach the front door of the Phalean temple. The back of the temple was higher up looking out over the city. I assumed for protection, to stop people from breaking in.

The wind continued to whip around us and the warm, night air came down heavily on my shoulders, the coolness of the back of the temple had long left us. Far below, the noise of the city at night reached my ears; shouts, idle chatter from night markets, and a fiddle or some kind of stringed instrument carried its tune up for us to hear.

I glanced back at Yalek. Perched on top of the roof ridge, his body didn’t waver as he balanced.

“Keep moving,” he shouted over the strong gusts that threatened to push me over the edge. It was coming from the direction of the desert. He pointed behind me. Carefully, I turned my head and followed to where he pointed. Another Phalean was trying to push his large frame through the window so they could get out onto the ledge.

Yelping, I turned and shuffled forward on my hands and knees.

“Get up and run!” Yalek ordered.

He had to be out of his mind! I needed to escape, but we were also about ten meters up in the air.

Yalek moved back towards me and held his hand in front of my face. I looked up, and he nodded. Cursing, I shook my head, and lifted my hand to take his, my other arm shaking in the process. I had never thought I was a person to be scared of heights, but I didn’t have anything to stop me from falling. If I fell, it would certainly be fatal.

Yalek let go of my hand and turned around. “Hold onto my cloak,” he said over his shoulder.

I followed his instructions and edged along the flat ridge of the roof. A loud, echoing scream reached my ears and my whole body jerked as the sound of a Phelean call echoed along the wind. I swiveled to look back, my legs shaking. I was just in time. The Phalean had climbed out of the window and was surging through the air. Instinctively, I dropped to the ground.

“Watch out!” I screamed.

Yalek spun with incredible speed just as the Phalean landed in between us, its long-curved weapon tied to its back. To my dismay, another Phalean crawled through the window and landed on the other side. This was a female, her body shaped and curved similar to my own, her clothing covering her to suit her physical differences.

The female Phalean snarled and pounced, grabbing me by the shoulders. Knocked off balance, my left foot slipped and we both tumbled over the side of the roof.