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.He would have liked to say something, but the guards in the garden might be within earshot.He gently drew back from her and nodded toward the arcade.This time she followed him as they slipped out into the darkness.Blade was sure he could overcome two or even four guards in the roof garden.He hoped that he and Arllona could slip all the way across to the wall undetected in the darkness and the thick foliage, without fighting anybody.If they found him the guards would die, but in dying they might alert comrades who could be waiting, armed and ready, at the bottom of the wall.If men with guns appeared while he or Arllona was dangling helplessly in mid-air, halfway down the wall-They were halfway across the garden before Blade saw even one guard.He was only a helmeted silhouette, standing immobile, his face turned toward the sky.For all the attention he was paying to the garden, Blade and Arllona might have ridden past on horseback without his noticing them.The Gardens of Stam were visible through the trees when Arllona stopped and put a hand on Blade's arm.She pointed at a long creeping vine that sprawled across the grass in front of them.She was about to speak, when Blade put a finger to his lips.She nodded as she also heard the sound of approaching footsteps.The other guard was walking along the outer wall.As he came in sight, it was clear he was a good deal more alert than his comrade.He kept his back toward the wall and his eyes toward the garden, one hand close to the butt of a long-barreled pistol.He stepped a few paces closer, investigating the shadows under a bush, and Blade saw that the man was wearing a breastplate, a chain-mail loinguard, and a high-crested helmet.That wasn't good.The armor would make it impossible to strike the guard down from a distance.It would be hard enough even to stab him before he could grab his pistol.One shot would give the alert, whether it hit anything or not.How to-?The vine! Blade dropped on hands and knees and crawled back to where the vine trailed across the grass.It was as tough as Arllona had said.He drew his sword and sliced downward.He wound up having to saw through it a strand at a time.In a few minutes he had a five-foot section cut off and pruned of all leaves.He tied a knot in each end, to give himself a better grip.Then he returned to Arllona."Stay here, and the next time the guard passes that bush-" he pointed "-make a noise, as if you were sick.That will make him stop.I'll do the rest." He gripped the vine with both hands and formed a loop to show what he meant.She nodded, face set and body rigid with tension.Blade slipped away to his chosen position and waited.He would have only one chance.So far they had been astoundingly lucky.No one could have found the dead guards in the chamber above, or the alarm would long since have been up.One shot, though-The guard's footsteps sounded again, soft thuds on the grass.Blade saw the silhouette of the guard's helmeted head appear over the top of the bush.The guard took two more steps.Then Arllona moaned, a long, faint, whimpering moan, like an animal in pain.The guard stopped, standing in the open as he looked around, searching for the source of the noise.He was alert and aware, but not alert enough to catch the sound of three soft, rapid steps behind him.Blade's looped vine rose, then descended over the guard's head and around his unprotected throat.Before the man could take another breath Blade jerked the loop tight.The heavy muscles of his arms stood out as he heaved up and back.The guard rose completely off the ground, as the vine tightened around his throat.His breath died, his eyes bulged, a swollen tongue crept out as his jaw sagged open.With a soft crunch the guard's windpipe caved in.He went limp and the pistol thudded to the grass from a lifeless hand.Blade did not loosen the vine until he had dragged the dead guard under the bushes.Then he thrust the pistol into his belt and crept back to Arllona.A minute later they were both kneeling over the vine, slicing through the tough fibers.They kept cutting and tying together lengths of vine until they had a rope more than a hundred feet long.Then Blade tied a large loop on one end, dragged the other end over to a stout tree near the edge of the garden, and tied the vine firmly around the trunk.Pulling with all his strength, Blade could barely make the tree shiver.Either the other guard had fallen asleep, or he had taken their small noises to be normal night sounds.Blade carried the loop to the wall and helped Arllona place her feet in it
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