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Should I dare the ater? I’ve always been a decent swimmer But I could just as easily be pounded to death as drown in the current And if I survived, there’s no telling where the river would take me

I crane my neck to view the wall above me Except for a lump of moss here and there, the way is too smooth to have any decent handholds And near the top, the balcony hangs over the edge I would have to cli like a spider

The only possible route lies sideways along the foundation Sular intervals Trash chutes? Gutters? Maybe I could cliroan It seems I am destined to spend a lot of ti when the Inviernos will return for o now But after the last firebolt, I’ enough to get soth back I closefroth Or if you’d rather not, could you please hold my captors at bay while I rest?

I keephappens It’s not that I expected strength and energy to suddenly fill my limbs, but it would have been nice

I scoot back into the pit and lean against the wall, wondering whether or not God will do as I ask If he does, I’ll never knohether it’s hiuiltily, why God never answers the obvious prayers, prayers that I can see being answered

Having th--now that would be so

I don’t realize I’ve drifted off to sleep until sohly the size of my foot pour from a shattered wooden crate I see eyes, hundreds of theus’s Tiny claws skitter across the bedrock as they swarm towardfood fro it before et at it, and I alhthair as I swing out over the hole I grasp the botto toeholds I can do this I’ve cli until the rats pour out of the hole looking for more food? Whoever threw the crate into ht it had become, maybe even saw the hole itself I’ll be lucky if I am only pursued by rats

I creep to the side, limbs splayed like a spider’s The wall is not quite sheer, and as s wildly into the air, I realize the slight slope is the only thing keepingto my death

My shoulders burn My knuckles are already scraped, and each tirass blade, barely rooted, swaying in the wind The dark sewer entrance is so far off

Despair alo back But I’ river

So skitters abovesunshine One bold rat takes a step over the edge He slips, and his high squeal echoes like a raptor’s as his round black body bounces along the wall The churning river does not even acknowledge his entrance with a splash

To ht jut out far enough that I can straddle it I climb toward it, one careful handhold at a ti to rest when I can, h the hole Footsteps Yelling A ringing sword

I’ve been discovered Tears fill my eyes, because I don’t knohat to do I can’t climb any faster Maybe I should let them take me, look for another opportunity to escape

But there won’t be another opportunity Next time they take me, it will be for keeps

The river Rapids aside, I won’t last long in alpine snowmelt water And I have no idea where it leads But it’s , after so much worry and dread about my destiny, that my death will be so si o

"Elisa?"

I’ fro into the side of the wall My shoulders burn like they’re pulling out of their sockets, and skin sloughs froers as ," Hector calls

My right foot finds a toehold It’s notshoulders I just need to be still, to hold on

Hurry, Hector

Pebbles clatter around et an eyeful of grit I blink hard as tears stream down my face

He exclaims in surprise, and several furry black bodies tu again, but I’m not sure

"Hector?" My voice shakes

"Al at air, anddown the wall

Hector swings into place behind me; his aring by one hand, holding us both How is such a thing even possible?

His feet find purchase, and he is rock steady atinside me "I’ht them off if they came back" I can’t seeet to the sewer, but blowing a hole through the wall made me even weaker, and I have no food left, and the rats cahtens That’s when I realize that his arhtly, that his breath coins to push us both upward Between breaths, he says, "You know, it’s all right for me to rescue you every now and then"

"You haven’t rescuedto pull us over a lip of stone His forearms are corded with effort "Elisa, if you could help, even a little"

I reach up with bloody fingers and find a handhold, then another Slowly, together, we crawl back up the wall and pull ourselves into the hole I , but he pullsback, ainst his chest "Thank you," Ifro Worried, familiar, dear faces peer down at us

"I’ll make a loop for you to stand in," Hector says "The others will pull you up We have to hurry"

He loops the rope and ties an elaborate sailor’s knot, then helps rin as he lifts ht and stiff You’ll be easier to pull up"

"You’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you?"

"Oh, yes"

Now that I’ve stepped into his loop, we are eye level He cups the back of my neck and plants a quick kiss on my lips "See you at the top" Then he looks up and calls, "Now!"

The rope jerks, and I sildly, but I make myself as stiff as a plank of wood

As I near the top, hands reach forwith relief

"Are you hurt?" says Mara She seizes my hands, turns them over to reveal the scraped ers" She grabs my chin and turns my face to the side, then the other