A short time later, I climbed out of the fountain. The cloak on my back was heavy, so I unclipped it and pulled it free, providing instant relief from its weight. I wasn’t going to leave it behind however, in case it gave my actions away. I would carry it for a short while and then find somewhere to dispose of it. My next course of action was to gain my bearings. With one last backward glance at the fountain and the courtyard that had kept me safe, I opened the gate and walked on through to the other side.

Staying close to the shadows, I rounded a corner and found a flight of stairs on the side of the stone building that wrapped around the courtyard. The roof would be a good place to view the city and to figure out a vague direction I would need to follow to reach Rayon’s base. After all, I had seen the market dome and the city wall when I had been standing on top of his building earlier that afternoon. I could also possibly find a place to hide the cloak.

Taking two steps at a time, I launched up the flight of stairs. A balcony was at the top leaving a gap of about a meter to reach the roof. I refused to look down and without a second thought, I clambered up on top of the railing using the wall for support and balance. Once I was standing on top of the railing, the roof was at my waist. I tossed my wet cloak up first and then, used both my hands to push myself up.

The evening breeze blew over me as soon as I pushed myself up onto the roof, much cooler and refreshing in my wet clothes. I clambered to my feet and tried to get an idea of where I was. To my right, the two large moons with their rings had started to emerge, however at this time, their rings gave a different colour as they cast a haze of purple and pink light over the city. It hit me then that this world possibly didn’t just have two moons, it might have four. I took a moment to stare and take in their magnificent sight, to really allow their presence to sink in.

I blinked. Now was not the time for more contemplation. If I wanted to return home, I had to find Rayon. Closing my eyes, I tried to picture what I had seen earlier that afternoon when I had stood on the roof of Rayon’s base. The city, the dome, the wall with the wide river and mysterious city far on the other side. I pictured it all clearly within my mind’s eye.

Opening my eyes, I turned slowly, getting all of the locations I had seen earlier in the day into the right position in front of me. To the right of the city, I could see the gigantic Phalean Temple. It had been off to the side and behind me when I had been on Rayon’s roof. My attention focused on the river on the other side of the city wall and the giant market dome. When they were in place, I turned one hundred and eighty degrees.

There.

In that direction.

Possibly a few kilometers away now, was the direction of Rayon’s compound.

I took note of other buildings in the same direction. Buildings that I could use to mark my way as if I was traipsing through a complicated labyrinth of brown buildings. I looked down at the winding alleyways and roads. Yes, this city was a labyrinth.

Four loud calls came to my left. I jolted and turned, trying to find where it was coming from. It bounced and resounded through the night air. Louder and louder, it was like a beacon, calling to all the other Phaleans in the city.

I spun on my heels and my stomach dropped. There in the distance, on another building’s rooftop, were two Phaleans, and they were advancing in my direction. I tossed my cloak away, freeing my hands and raced back to the edge of the roof where I had climbed up just moments before. Down below, there were two more Phaleans searching the city streets below. I crouched down, hiding my position on the roof behind its protective wall.

I was quickly becoming surrounded.

On my hands and knees, I scrambled along the roof’s protective barrier, hiding myself in the shadows. Would this ever end? How was I ever going to make it to Rayon’s while the Phaleans were not only on the roofs of the buildings but also on the ground searching for me?

I twisted and looked back over the roof top, trying to locate another escape route. The Phaleans were fast approaching. Another shout, a more human shout, came from the right and I startled out of my petrified daze.

It looked exactly like the man who had tried to stop me from taking the dagger in the temple and had caused me to fall off the roof. Still dressed in black, covered from head to toe including his face, he leapt with one easy stride jumping from the building he was on and landing soundly on mine.

“Run!” he ordered, his voice deep and forceful. “Now! Run! I’ll keep them off.”

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Recognizing Yalek’s voice, I stood and peered over the side of the roof again and saw that the two Phaleans were still down below. They glanced up and I ducked back; there was no doubt they had seen me. In a few moments, they would be at the top of the staircase. Twisting, I looked over the expanse of the roof to the building beside it. My last opportunity of escape. I had just seen Yalek jump. Surely, it wasn’t that hard.

I sprinted across the roof, and despite my speed, it took an eternity to reach the other side. Surely, I was exposed and in danger. Slamming into the protective perimeter wall, I glanced at the distance between the two buildings. Before I jumped, I needed to get an idea of how far. I glanced down. It was a mistake. The view when I had been hanging off the gutter flashed before my eyes. Five floors high. It was about the same distance from when I had been holding onto the side of the temple.

The warm night air hit me again as I leapt up onto the wall. I teetered on the edge, stopping myself when I realized the true distance between both buildings. The wind had not died down and it whipped my hair across my eyes. In all the stories I had read, they had always made the heroes capable of running over rooftops as if they were running on flat ground. This was not going to happen. I was not a hero. I would leave that for Yalek. The gap was too far and the fall too high.

The way I had come up was a better alternative. I turned back, but my way was blocked. Yalek was now fighting with two Phaleans. It was a surprise to see how he moved, and I watched in awe. He was fluid, gliding around the rooftop, swinging his blade to block and strike their attacks. From what I could guess, he was winning. After he blocked one strike of the Phalean’s weapon, he swung under the Phalean’s arm and stabbed his sword into its back.

I blinked. Shadows, two to be exact, were climbing up over the wall and onto the roof.

“Behind you!” I shouted in warning, jumping back down onto the roof.

The second Phalean went down, and Yalek repositioned himself, turning to face the two new enemies. He stood squarely, legs apart, his shoulders broad as he held his sword at the ready.

Seeing that the Phaleans were more concerned with Yalek, I ran along the perimeter with the hope of reaching where I had originally climbed onto the roof.

The roof was mostly flat but uneven. I sprinted, my legs pumping and arms swinging. In the corner of my eye, I saw one of the Phaleans lunge with such force and power, I turned my head to make sure Yalek had managed to move out of his range. I tripped and my knees took the brunt of the fall, my ungloved hands sliding across the dirt and grazing my skin.

Two large feet smashed into the ground in front of me. Yelping, I pushed back and then I looked up to find a Phalean staring down at me. Its eyes were large, purple and glistened in the moonlight. Swirls of black tattoos covered its body. Its black hair was bound by gold rings and a large gold hook at the end shone as the moons’ light glanced off of it.

I scuttled backwards as fast as I could, my legs punching into the surface of the roof to push me backwards. It leered and sauntered, stepping forward as I continued to move away, the distance between us staying the same despite my best efforts.

“Give back the dagger,” it hissed.

I shook my head. “I don’t have it anymore!”

It growled, snarling its top lip back. “Where is it?”

My fingers circled around some of the dust on the ground and I flicked my hand up and threw it towards his face. It scattered into his eyes, and I leapt to my feet. The Phalean snarled and lunged forward, but as it did, my self-defence training surged forward and I flicked my leg up. My foot caught him under his chin with a powerful jumping front kick. After all my failed attempts to make contact on Shane, I had finally landed a kick on an enemy.

My immediate joy didn’t last long.

The Phalean didn’t even blink as if all of my force was like a gentle pat on his face. He lifted his armed hand and started to swing it down, not with his weapon but with his hand as if he wanted to grab ahold of me. I stepped forward, and I blocked with my right arm. His forearm slammed into my own and I cried out in pain, but it gave me enough time to duck under his arm and out of reach.

I spun and started to run in the opposite direction. He might not kill me straightaway, but once he knew where the dagger was, he would. I kept running. The other side of the roof with the staircase leading down, was not too far now. I could make it and get back onto the ground.

An explosion of pain burst through my shoulder. It was a different pain from where I had fallen off Mellow and hurt it. This was far more intense. I cried out, the force of it knocking me to my knees. My whole body shook, and my chest felt like it was clamping in on itself, putting pressure around my heart. I couldn’t breathe. My hands went to my throat, clutching my neck while I tried to gasp air into my lungs.

It was as if I had been stabbed with a million volts of electricity. Energy jolted through my limbs and down my spine and blood pounded in my ears. Colourful lights flashed before my eyes. It was overwhelming, distorting my senses and drawing my consciousness into an internal well that sucked and pulled me down into myself. The fear of that dark pit, the fear of succumbing to that energy was too much. I couldn’t allow it to happen.

With one desperate mental push, I fought against it, trying to reach back to the surface. All of a sudden, I could feel the ground underneath me once more, but the tentacles of pain continued to clasp deeper and deeper. I continued to fight, to keep my awareness on the surface, back on the roof where I needed to protect myself.

Somewhere in the haze of it all, I sensed being lifted up and held in someone’s arms, a knee possibly digging into my back. The muscles in my body were completely useless, seized and locked. I flailed on my back, and I could sense my head gazing up towards the stars, although I still could not see a thing. Coldness washed over my lips and trickled into my mouth, but I fought against it as well.

“Drink!” I heard through the fog, but I paid no heed to the command. “Drink!”