Suthe spun around. Ulsper Speroware was standing before the open window of the living room like a shadow come to life. His black cloak rippled in the breeze from outside, but the spy himself was as unmoving as a statue.

"You found me," she breathed, horrified.

"Of course. I'd be rubbish at my job if I couldn't." His voice carried a hint of amusement, and Suthe had a fleeting image of a cat toying with a mouse before it made its kill.

"Who are you?" Alaera asked. Ulsper was wearing his hood, so there was no way for her to know that the infamous wanted spy was standing in her apartment.

"There's no time to explain," Ulsper said, just as someone shouted from behind the front door. It sounded like a warning. Ulsper reached out and grabbed Suthe's shoulder. "Come with me," he urged. "I promise you, I mean you no harm."

Suthe shook her head and shrugged out of his grasp. "No. I won't."

"Why not?" Alaera hissed. "The guards are about to break in my front door and arrest us both! I'd say it's a pretty nice alternative!"

"But you don't know who he is!" Suthe protested. "I don't even really know who he is, only that he's not a good person!"

"Listen to me," Ulsper said sternly. He was standing close enough that Suthe could make out the gleam of his eyes from beneath the hood of his cloak, just as cold and dangerous as she remembered. "I'm offering you my protection. If you don't like it, you can leave as soon as we get out of here. Just let me help you."

Suthe hesitated. "I—"

A shuddering bang shook the apartment, and Ulsper took the moment of distraction to grab Suthe by the arm and pull her towards the window.

"Alaera!" Suthe cried in alarm, reaching for her friend.

"Don't worry about me! Go!" Alaera hissed, stumbling to close the curtains over them as a shield. Behind the fabric, Suthe could only see Alaera's shadow as she hobbled back to the sofa to grab her walking stick.

Ulsper crouched on the windowsill and extended a hand. Suthe looked up.

"Trust me," the spy said. "And no matter what, stay silent."

Hesitantly, Suthe placed her hand in his. She would sooner trust a sand viper than this man, but she had no other choice. In the next moment, Ulsper had pulled her out the window and yanked her up the rain gutter to the roof. Suthe was so frightened, she found she had no breath left to make a sound if she'd wanted.

Nonetheless, once they were both settled on the roof tiles, Ulsper's hand came around to cover her mouth, a reinforcement of his order for silence. Suthe smacked him, and the hand withdrew, but not without another of the spy's dangerous looks. It was an unspoken warning of keep quiet, or else.

Beneath them, Alaera was shouting something in Noth at the Imperial Guard that was trying to break in through her front door. One of the guards yelled back, and then there was a crash. Suthe sat still, fiddling with the sleeve of her dress as she worried about Alaera. There was some more yelling, and the sound of boots tramping through the apartment and furniture being knocked aside.

After a long while, the commotion finally stopped, and Suthe could make out Alaera talking with the guards. Then there was a crash, and Alaera began to shout again.

Her protests were abruptly cut off, and there was the sound of a loud thump.

Were they hurting her? Suthe twisted her hands in the fabric of her dress, and jumped when Ulsper unexpectedly put a hand over hers to stop her. Unlike her, he wasn't shaking at all—in fact, he seemed to radiate a sense of calm that Suthe could only envy. She took a deep breath and let go of her dress. Ulsper's hand slowly withdrew.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the front door of Alaera's apartment slammed shut and the sound of heavy footsteps receded, leaving the apartment building in silence.

Suthe didn't dare look over the edge of the roof to see the guards exiting the building, but Ulsper seemed to have no qualms about doing so himself. After glancing over the side, the spy returned to where Suthe sat unmoving on the roof tiles.

"They've left, and taken your friend with them," Ulsper told her in a low voice. "There are still some guards who are watching the apartment to see if you return. Stay quiet and follow me."

He stood up in a crouch and crept over to the far side of the building. Suthe watched him go, frozen to the spot with fear. The roof tiles were uneven and slippery as camel spit, not to mention the whole roof was slanted! How was she supposed to do that? And what about Alaera? They had to save her!

Ulsper looked over his shoulder. When Suthe still refused to move, he made his way back to her.

"What's the matter?" he asked. His tone was patient, rather than irritated like Suthe had been expecting.

"Alaera..."

"She'll be fine. But we have to move, now."

"I'm going to fall," Suthe whispered.

Ulsper let out a loud exhale. "Take my hand," he muttered. "I won't let you fall."

Against her better judgment, Suthe reached out to him. His hand was calloused and warm, and his grip was firm. Perhaps she was squeezing his hand too tightly, but Suthe didn't dare loosen her grip as they made their way to the far corner of the roof.

One foot after the other.

Left.

Right.

Left...

One misstep, and Suthe's foot slipped. Her breath left her in a gasp, and she slid sideways, elbows banging painfully against the slanted roof. In a panic, she reached out with her free hand and grabbed on to Ulsper's sleeve, watching in a kind of fascinated horror as a loose tile she had accidentally kicked slid down and stopped just a few inches from the edge of the rain gutter.

"Don't let go," she pleaded.

"I won't."

How could he sound so calm about it?  The hand she clung to so desperately pulled her back up. When she was finally back on her feet, Suthe dared to glance back at the loose tile teetering at the edge of the rain gutter.

Maybe Ulsper wasn't such a bad person, after all. That was twice now that he had saved her.

"The next building has a flat roof. From there we can go down to the alley on the far side." Ulsper's voice was right at her ear, encouraging her forward. "Just a little farther now."

Suthe took a deep breath and nodded. The ordeal seemed to take hours, but they finally reached the far edge of the building, without any more incidents.

Suthe looked around. Now what?

"Now, jump," Ulsper said. Suthe whipped around to look at him, and nearly fell again.

"You're crazy!" she hissed.

"How else were you expecting we get to the next building?" Ulsper shot back.

Suthe felt her face heat up. "I thought...maybe there was a plank we could use for a bridge or something," she grumbled.

Ulsper snorted. "It's not that bad," he whispered. "On the count of three. Ready? One, two—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Suthe protested. Slowly, she peered over the side of the building to the street below. As soon as the cobblestones came into view, she felt a heaviness settle in her stomach, threatening to make her sick. "I can't jump this far. I'm going to miss."

"Trust me," Ulsper said. "Go!"

Suthe made a sound of complaint in the back of her throat, but somehow forced her legs to move. Behind her, Ulsper gave a big push, and Suthe squeaked in surprise as she hurtled through the air. Miraculously, she landed in one piece on the roof of the next building, albeit with scraped palms and smarting knees.

Moments later, Ulsper landed beside her in a dignified crouch.

"I did warn you that it was important to keep quiet, did I not?" he whispered. "That was not 'keeping quiet'."

"What does it matter if I'm quiet or not, if I think I'm about to die?" Suthe hissed in reply, angrily scrambling to her feet. Ulsper reached out and yanked her back down by her sleeve.

"Because there's a good chance you might not die," he said. "And stay down, unless you want to be seen."

Suthe pressed her lips together and glared at him. He wanted her to keep quiet? Fine. She would never speak to him again. After they got away from the Imperial Guard, she was going to leave for Iltspring and wait to return home until the whole commotion about the druiths had become a distant memory. That was, if Ulsper kept his promise about letting her go in the first place.

"You are going to let me leave after this, right?" Suthe whispered she followed the spy across the building. So much for never talking to him again.

Ulsper paused and looked over his shoulder. "I'm hoping you'll still change your mind," he said. "You'll be safer if you stay with me."

"Am I really supposed to believe that?" Suthe hissed. "You're a dangerous, wanted criminal, and you only want to keep me around to use me. Don't think I don't know that you want to find the Twin Blades and keep them for yourself."

Ulsper stopped and turned around to face her.

"Yes, I am a dangerous, rogue spy," he said, and Suthe flinched back at the hard edge to his voice. "I've killed before, and I won't hesitate to kill again. Currently, however, I'm the only thing standing between you and your deportation back to Montmyth. Do you know why I'm wanted by the Sylterran government?"

Suthe shook her head, feeling a bit frightened.

"Then maybe you shouldn't make accusations out of your assumptions," Ulsper hissed. "Any more questions?"

"Where are we going?" Suthe whispered, caught between her fear of this man and her worries about where he was leading her.

"Calatar's apartment," came the short reply.

An uncomfortable silence remained between them for the rest of the journey.

~*~

Aaaannnnd that's the last we'll hear of Alaera in this book.  Bye, Alaera!  *waves*

In fact, at the rate I'm going, it might be the last we hear from Alaera at all.  :/  *makes mental note to write faster*

Oh well.  Anyway, hope you enjoyed.  Feed my writer's spirit with comments and votes, if you please.  Thanks!  :)

Chapter dedicated to catsword--thank you for your helpful suggestions on that chapter-that-shall-not-be-named that I struggled so much with.  XD