Page 27 of No Place in Time

“Don’t shout,” Finn said in a low voice. “Don’t move.”

The man froze.

“Where is the girl? Where did they put her?”

“I—”

“Where?” He pushed the blade closer.

“Lower rooms,” the man rasped. “Pantry passage.”

“Which door?”

“Third. On the left.”

Finn shoved him into the privy. The man didn’t go quietly. He twisted and planted his feet, and they struggled in the narrow space until Finn finally got him down. He tore a strip from his own sleeve to gag him, then used the guard’s belt to tie his wrists. The man bucked once, hard, then lay still, chest heaving, his eyes burning into Finn’s.

Finn straightened up and pulled the door shut. His hands were trembling.

The manor corridors were dark. He kept to the walls, counting doors. One. Two.

Three. A plain wooden door with a slide bolt on the outside. No guards were in sight.

Finn pressed his ear to the door. “Cecily?” he whispered.

A sound, raw and high-pitched.

“Finn?”

“I’m here.”

He slid the bolt free.

Cecily stood there, pale in the dim passage, her hair loose around her face. Her eyes fixed on him as if she couldn’t believe he was real.

For one moment, neither of them moved. Then she made a small sound and stepped into him.

Finn caught her. He wrapped his arms around her frail shoulders and held her tight. He felt her ribs under his hands, felt her shaking, felt how small she was.

“We have to go,” he whispered against her hair.

“I know,” she said, clinging to his tunic.

He pulled her down the passage. A shout broke out behind them.

“There!”

Finn yanked a rear door open and dragged Cecily into the yard. The cold hit them hard. Frost glazed the ground. They ran for the trees.

A horn sounded, then barking.

“Dogs,” Cecily gasped.

Finn pulled her harder. They reached the stream and splashed through without stopping. The frigid water soaked their shoes, numbing their legs.

On the far bank, something burst from the brush.

A dog lunged for Finn. He sidestepped, but the animal was fast, twisting and clamping its jaws onto Cecily’s arm as she tried to scramble past.