Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott Page A

that the smell of charred flesh that wafted up from below would not turn my stomach, and carefully made my way back along the wall. I feared my leaden feet might betray me and send me toppling off, even if no Sedorne had the presence of mind to pelt me with rocks.
    As I reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a smattering of applause from the Rua defenders who could spare a hand from their work barricading the gate. I lifted a trembling hand in acknowledgement and tried to smile as I surveyed the inner courtyard.
    One or two temple people were occupied in dragging the bodies of fallen Sedorne away from the entrance. Others were with Deo, piling heavy boxes against the gate. Rashna, slumped on the floor with Mira tying a makeshift bandage around a long gash on her forearm, raised her eyebrows as she saw me.
    “You never could resist showing off,” she said, “but at least this time you managed to make yourself useful while you were at it.” Her voice held little resentment. She was grey with exhaustion.
    Mira looked worriedly at me as I passed. “Do you know where Surya is?”
    “She was in the House a few minutes ago, ordering people into the shrine,” I said.
    Mira sighed. “Thank God. I hadn’t seen her since… I didn’t know what to think.”
    Deo stepped back from his barricade and came towards me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “It was well done. Well done.”
    Before I could answer, there was a noise that seemed to make the inner wall shake, and froze us all in our tracks. The noise sounded again – a hollow, crashing thud – from South Gate.
    “What in the name of the Mother…?” Mira said.
    “It’s a battering ram.” Surya’s voice echoed down from the wall behind us and everyone in the courtyard looked up.
    There was a moment of silence, then the crashing noise filled the air again, making everyone jump.
    Surya walked slowly down the stairs. “They’re battering the gate. Soon they will bring it down; there’s nothing we can do to stop them. North and South Gates were not built to withstand a siege. That was the Great Wall’s purpose, and they’ve already managed to penetrate that.”
    The noise of the battering ram reverberated through the courtyard again as she reached us.
    She continued, “There are two hundred armed Sedorne out there. The only reason we are still alive is that they weren’t prepared for us to put up a fight and we caught them off guard. Now that the surprise has worn off, there’s absolutely no hope of keeping them out of the House of God. If we try to defend the temple we’ll all die. We have very little time.”
    “Time to do what?” Rashna said disbelievingly. “According to you we might as well commit suicide!”
    “Quiet!” Deo barked. “Let the noirin speak.”
    Rashna subsided, cheeks burning with dark colour in her otherwise ashen face.
    “Thank you, Deo.” Surya looked around at the people stood in the courtyard. Her eyes lingered for a moment on me, but her expression didn’t change. “You have to hide. Luckily we have the perfect place to do so – the shrine of the Holy Mother. I don’t believe the Sedorne could ever find the entrances no matter how long they searched, or get through them no matter how long they tried. You’ll be safe inside. When they enter the temple and find it completely deserted, they’ll think you’ve escaped through some hidden passageway; and after they’ve finished looting, they’ll leave.”
    “There isn’t enough room,” Joachim protested. “Not room for half as many people.”
    Surya shook her head. “Our Mother is closer to us in the shrine than anywhere else in this world. She will make room for you all. I don’t know how long you’ll need to be in there – you must have provisions. Mira, I want you to take some people and go into the stockrooms. Gather as much food and drink as you can, and take it into the shrine. Deo, you and Rashna must organize search parties. Scour the temple and grounds