beasts__Keilin
of the overhanging buildings. He wondered if any of the others had even seen the gang boys watching their passage. He wondered if any of the watchers had recognized him. He doubted it. He didn’t even feel like the Keilin who had lived like a rat in these alleys. It was almost as if that life belonged to someone else now.
The gate was open, but the guards were doing a spot of contraband and dutiable goods examination, as well as a bit of freestyle direct taxation. “Keep my assegai and pack. I’ll tell the guards there are Morkth loose in the palace.”
Keilin ran up, panting, to the gate guard, who was in the act of appropriating a juicy tomato from an angry vendor, on the grounds that it could possibly be infectious.
Keilin grabbed the guard, getting a spear butt poked in his midriff for his presumption. He ignored it and gasped his message. “Go to the palace . . . Captain Belvin’s orders . . . Morkth killed the Patrician . . . Run! . . . Need you all!”
The guard looked at him owlishly, then grabbed Keilin, and started to run to the palace, accompanied by five of his fellows. Keilin tripped himself and sprawled on the cobbles when he was opposite Beywulf. Bey seized him. “I’ll hold him for you, sir. You go after the other soldiers.” In a minute they’d slipped through the gates with the crush of locals who were taking advantage of the lack of supervision. Within five minutes they were at the camel market, to find Keilin’s rumor had beaten them there, and was already driving up the price of the beasts.
Keilin could see fires raging inside the walls as they rode away from the market, their newly acquired beasts laden with saddlebags and water skins. He wondered vaguely who would win . . . and whether Kemp had escaped? They circled the outer wall of the city and then rode along the beach. When they arrived at the sea, Shael spoke up. “Can