Fighting broke out a short time later, and the door to our room emptied and slammed closed. I worked free of her and peeked out.
"I think the roof is safer," I said, watching the flurry of shadows beneath the door. "C'mon."
With the men fighting, there was no chance of moving furniture drawing their attention. I braced my back against a heavy table and slowly shoved it towards the wall where we could reach one of the beams. Reaching the wall, I plucked up the girl and set her on the table before climbing up beside her. She was shaking and scared again.
"Okay. Back to our safe little spot," I said cheerfully. "Ready?"
She nodded.
I hefted her over my head to reach the beam. She clambered onto it.
Someone rammed into the door, and I jumped. It cracked open but no one came through.
"Go on!" I whispered to her, my pulse racing.
She stood and walked the sloping path to the beam above.
The door slammed open. "Ah, Moonbeam." Batu, the Mongol from the dungeon, gazed at me and then up, attention settling on the little girl. "Clever little monkey. This is where you hid." He sheathed his sword and started across the room towards me. He wore boots this time.
Rather than hop down from the table, I climbed on top of the eight-foot wardrobe nearby.
"What do you do, Moonbeam?" he asked, gazing up at me with a small smile. "You intend to climb to the moon?"
How someone like him, at a time like this, could crack a joke was almost as horrifying as realizing the pouch at his waist where he'd put one ear in now bulged, probably with more ears. I wasn't able to reconcile humor and mass murder. It just … didn't … click. Frozen in disbelief, I didn't move until he leapt atop the table.
"No!" I yelled a little too loudly. "Leave me alone!" I pushed myself to the opposite side of the wardrobe.
Batu swiped at me. "Come down, Moonbeam!"
"So you can kill me?"
"I will not kill you."
A shout from the door drew his attention. He leapt off the table and drew his sword to face the four knights spilling into the room.
"I don't believe you," I said and shifted, eyeing the beam.
"It is … true." He grunted and began fighting the knights. "There has been a guardian assigned since you appeared long ago. When one dies … a new one is … chosen … in case you return. I am your guardian."
"What if I never returned?"
"You did."
Rolling my eyes, I watched him for a moment, until he stabbed a man in the stomach and ripped him open from navel to chin.