20
Scout ducked her head, for all the good that would do her, but it was a reflex. The darts were coming from directly below her. The assassins must have come through the tunnel like she had feared.
And Daisy with Gert on her back was taking the brunt of it.
But she couldn’t look down. She had to get to the top.
Scout let out a yell of equal parts rage at their pursuers and pain from her exhausted body. She charged up the last few footholds and then really had to work her arms, reeling herself in until she could pull herself over the ledge.
The dog tucked close to her stomach made that more complicated than it would have been otherwise, and she had to twist sidewise to drag herself up on one hip before rolling over onto her back, staring up at the dark gray sky above her, hugging Sha
