Siege of Pailtar by Robyn Wideman Read Free Book Online

to the desk without getting eaten. Taking her small dirk and placing it in her belt along her hip so that it was easily accessible, she got ready to make her move.
    Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself. Her eyes opened. Her focus was sharp. Time seemed to slow as she started sprinting towards the lion. She watched as the lion crouched, she swore she could see it lick its lips as its prey moved towards it. Moving as fast as she could, Kiana crossed the large tent. Then, with only feet to spare, she changed her direction. She jumped as high as she could, grabbing the pole with both hands, using her momentum to swing around the pole.
    The lion waited no longer. While she swung around the pole the lion leaped into action. It sprung towards her, its outstretched claws reaching to pull her down.
    As Kiana swung around the pole, she tucked her feet in under her, placing them just above the pole. When her momentum brought her in line with the desk, she pushed her feet against the pole, springing out and up. Her leap brought her over top of the lion as it slammed into the tent pole.
    Kiana did a summersault, finishing the dangerous maneuver by landing softly on the desk. She wasted no time, grabbed the journal and bolted off the edge of the desk in a second great leap. As she soared through the air she could hear the lion roar in frustration as it turned to take another attack at her, its intended prey. As she flew through the air Kiana pulled out her dirk. The small but incredibly sharp blade sliced into the tent cloth as she landed at the edge of the tent. As her feet hit the ground again she quickly slipped through the hole her weapon had created. As she slipped out of the tent she heard the crash as the lion reached the end of its chain and was violently pulled back to the ground. Kiana thanked her lucky stars that the chain held. She had survived!
    Looking around Kiana crouched, as the lion roared in frustration she could hear the nearest sentry making his way towards the tent. She could hear the man yelling at the cook, “What has Theodore worked up now? Have you fed him yet?”
    Kiana did not wait to hear the cook’s reply. She quickly made her way towards the nearby dunes. Again she was careful where she walked. Soon the soldier would see the torn tent. The longer it took to find her tracks the longer she would have to make her getaway.
    Suddenly Kiana heard thundering hooves. The soldiers had returned! She could hear the captain yelling at the men as he entered the tent. It took the captain little time to see his journal was missing and the hole in the tent. As Kiana dove over the dune she heard the captain yell out in anger. “Aaargh, someone stole my journal. Catch that thief or you will all regret it.”
    Kiana swore. An angry captain and a squad of soldiers would be searching for her now. She would have little time to get away. Moving as fast as she could through the soft sand she worked her way farther into the dunes. At least here the soldier’s horses were of little use. The soft sand would slow them down just as much as it did her. The problem was that once the soldiers found her tracks she would have no way of losing them before she left the dunes.
    It took several minutes before she heard a soldier shout out that he had found her tracks. Kiana was glad for every second. She was several dunes in now and the soldiers would have to follow her tracks, the extra distance between them would give her more time to make her getaway.
    Between Kiana and Pailtar was over five miles of unforgiving desert. She needed to move quickly but still conserve energy. The scorching hot sun would drain her body of moisture; sweating came quick and thirst even quicker. Heat exhaustion was a danger. Dying from exposure was a real threat. She knew if she couldn’t get back to the city soon she could be trapped or caught by the soldiers now searching for her.
    Kiana found a strip of desert where the hard rock intertwined