More roars sounded, signalling the arrival of another, and then there was a haunted high-pitched scream that seemed as if the ghosts of several young women were being put to their deaths again. Jaden felt shivers pass through him as the screams continued, the beasts locked in battle over the newly discovered carcass of the scout.
Jaden had exited the hall and arrived at a courtyard. There were stairs at either end with a grassy patch in between them. Ahead of the next staircase was another opening to a second hall, but he dared not trap himself inside such a small space again. Instead, he would use the railing and collapsed sections of the roof to climb up on top and make his way above the buildings. With a plan set, he readied to jump down the first staircase.
He was stopped by a warm, putrid smell of something creeping up behind him. As he turned, there was a hiss, and he stood almost face to face with something that resembled what had been in the hall.
With a shout, Jaden instinctively jumped backward and ignited a field of energy that caused the ground to burn and the beast to scream out in pain. He had wounded it enough to hold it back for a time, giving him a chance to make a run for the other end of the courtyard. He climbed up onto the roof without looking back. He knew the beast would be chasing after him as soon as it recovered. He had to make as much ground as possible.
As he reached the fourth rooftop he was faced with a leap of faith. He glanced behind him quickly. The beast, although clumsier in its movements, was tracking him as he had expected. He had to jump to make it to the next roof, but if he missed, he could risk capture or even injury as he would fall twelve feet to the ground. With eyes set on his target, he took his run up and jumped. What should have been an instant seemed an hour, as if time itself had slowed with the weight of being so close to losing his life. This was nothing like the jumps he had made over the stream on the tennagen field, given that if he failed now he would surely die, but realising he was not going to make it completely, he used an old trick and turned slightly to his side. It allowed him to get one foot on the ledge and stabilising himself with his hands as he scratched his legs against the broken pavements. He winced in pain, but gave a sigh of relief as he climbed up fully.
He had made it.
But the beast would most likely not have such difficulty with the gap. With its extra long limbs, it seemed built for climbing such places, perhaps even the giant trees surrounding them. Jaden didn’t hesitate to continue racing along the rooftops. He was forced to make many more jumps after the first, the buildings now becoming more spaced out and at times rising to five storeys in the air. The beast was kept at a distance as the route Jaden took became more complicated and harder to navigate, but he came to a stop when his foot became lodged in a hole.
Frantically he attempted to free himself, looking back to see if the beast was anywhere near. He had time, but not much, and with a final yank, his foot came free and was scraped on the way up by the brittle concrete. The force he had used caused a crack to run through the rest of the roof and suddenly it gave way, collapsing with him still on it into the room below.
Jaden coughed as he waved away the dust. He had suffered only minor injuries from the fall and now felt bruised in several places, but knew he couldn’t stay where he was. The beast would be catching up with him for every second he remained still. Before the dust had cleared, he stood and made his way out of the room, his muscles painfully numbed by the fall. He did his best to ignore the pain as he ran through the corridors and up a winding staircase, hoping it would somehow lead him back onto the rooftops. He guessed the beast must have been far behind now and was no longer able to catch his scent or sight. Knowing this, he climbed back onto the roof at his own pace, hoping to rest his aching muscles.
All was quiet then, save for the deep rumble in the heavens above, lightning flashing across the sky as wind began to blow in from the north. Jaden looked around him. He knew he needed shelter, but no place would be safe with the beasts so close by. He realised then that he was standing on one of the gigantic courtyards of the palace. He had somehow run from the lower chambers and ended up here. He took a deep breath to recover from his exhaustion, but then felt something creeping up behind him. He knew it at once to be the beast, attempting to rely on stealth again to capture its prey rather than brute force.
Without turning, Jaden made a dash for the second giant courtyard he had seen from the entrance to the city. Between the two were poles sticking out from the wall. They had once had flags attached, but now harboured masses of the thick-stemmed vine that was growing throughout the city. Using a stone bench, he was able to jump up and off the railing and into the mass of vines. He thought if he could use them to swing, he would be able to get to the other courtyard and make his escape. But the vines did not swing, and he landed hard against them, almost losing his grip as he came to a sudden halt. He braced himself for the pain of being attacked by the beast, as it would surely catch up to him now and claw at him with its black wiry limbs.