The gate was a hundred yards away. Leah could hear Innocen shouting obscenities behind her as she ran. She hazarded a look over her shoulder. He limped after her, but even on an injured leg, his aurym-fueled speed was inhuman. She would have had better luck outrunning a steed. In seconds, he would close the distance.
Leah turned sharply around the corner of a building. Up ahead was a mass of shields. It was the Endenholm phalanx that had defended the breach in the wall. They stood conversing in the street and congratulating each other. With them was Marcus Worth.
"Enemy!" Leah shouted as she ran. "Enemy in the city!"
Worth drew his sword. The shields of the phalanx went up, forming a singular entity, like a turtleshell quilled with protruding spears. Leah ran past them. More voices shouted the alarm.
Innocen rounded the corner.
"Enemy in sight!" Worth shouted. "Protect the princess!"