“Quickly.” Jack whispered.
“Marcus! Do something about this, will you? Use your Power, for god sake, you useless man!” The Guard’s voice bellowed.
“Yes, sir!” An adolescent obeyed. I had an inkling that everyone downstairs would be quite deaf by now.
I didn’t know what was happening anymore but it seemed that amongst the twenty guards there was someone who could possibly get past Bludvok.
After several bangs and crashes there was silence.
“Hurry men! With this racket they will know we are here! You lot take the left side, we will take the doors on the right.” The guard’s voices were alarmingly close now.
“What happened to Bludvok?” I squealed.
“Avalon! Go through the window!” Jack said panicked, sweat forming on his brow.
Without further ado I threw my bag out of the window which landed with a crunch in the snow, then grasped at the bed sheets we had tied together and slowly lowered myself out.
“Oh no, Jack!” I squealed as I clung to the sheets and got my footing on the stone wall.
“Hurry!” Jack hissed. The footsteps were getting closer to our room, like oncoming thunder.
Holding my breath I began to lower myself down the wall, the freezing night air whipping my thick black hair across my face. I tried my hardest not to look down to the cold street below. I heard the guards tearing up rooms several doors down from our own. Panic was flooding through me but I focussed all my attention to the task at hand; getting down the rope.
I slid down a few feet and looked up to see Jack watching me intently as I made my way towards the ground.
“Please hurry.” He begged.
“I’m trying.” I whimpered, sliding down further.
“Just jump!” He hissed.
“I’ll break my neck!” I snapped edging down the sheets as fast as I could go. I was halfway down now. I could probably jump without hurting myself too badly at this point.
“I’ll heal it.” He whispered irritably, climbing out of the window and perching himself on the ledge.
The next few seconds that passed seemed to go in slow motion. I heard, but could not see the door to our room being burst open. All was silent for several moments and I looked up and watched Jack stare back into the room from his position on the ledge. Jack’s face was blank, which frightened me because he showed no fear.
“Get him!” A man roared from inside the room.
“Jump.” Jack’s voice carried down to me as clear as day.
I obeyed and let go of the bed sheets instantly. I felt the icy air rush past me for only a split second before I fell to the ground with a crunch, the snow barely cushioning my fall on the icy sidewalk. I groaned and rolled to my side, my back and bottom throbbing from the impact. It had been higher than I thought, yet there was no lasting damage. I looked up in time to see Jack leap from the high window ledge, barely escaping several pairs of hands grappling for him. He fell towards the ground head-first and the dread that filled me seemed to choke the very air from my lungs.
“No!” I cried, but a second later Jack had hit the sidewalk with a sick thud next to me.
I froze, unable to move, fear pulsating through me as Jack lay motionless. I extended a shaking hand towards his face. His eyes were closed and his face perfectly serene. I ignored the shouting from the window. I knew that they would be running for the exit to catch us on the street.
“Jack?” I held back the panic and tried to think reasonably. This could not be happening. I would rather be taken away and have myself beheaded.
Chills ran through my spine as I saw a slow trickle of a thick red substance oozing away from Jack’s head. Blood.
“No!” The words barely escaped my lips.
“Ugh.” Jack groaned and squeezed his eyes shut tight.
“Jack?” I said in a quivering voice.
Jack rolled to his side and punched at his shoulder, seemingly popping it back into place. Next he placed his hands over his chest for a few seconds, his face screwed up in pain. I knew that he was mending some broken ribs. I wondered how badly he had hurt himself.
“Are you okay?” I said, worried, “I thought you were dead!”
“Avalon, don’t worry. You need to get a move on.” He said sitting up before hoisting himself onto his feet and staggering slightly. He winced in pain as he felt around the back of his head where a bloody gash was pumping out vital fluids. A moment later though Jack was as good as new, though he looked very pale.
“Don’t ever do that again.” I said angrily, punching him several times before picking up my rucksack from the ground and throwing it over my shoulder.
“Come on.” Jack urged me. He grabbed my shaking, frozen hand in his big warm ones and dragged me in the opposite direction of the tavern whose window we had just jumped from.