The Unwilling Apprentice (Book 2)

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Authors: Heidi Willard
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dark object against the wall of a nearby building; it was a narrow ladder that reached up to the tall roof. "That what you need?" she asked him.
    He slumped over and glumly nodded his head. "Yeah, that's what I need..." he muttered.
    "Good, so let's climb it and get to the cistern or the castle, whichever one we can. I don't know how well we can get past the guards."
    "I met Hawkins, and he said he'd work on distracting his men," Fred replied.
    Pat raised an eyebrow. "Hawkins is helping us save her?"
    "You tell me, he's your lieutenant," Fred countered.
    "You there!" cried a voice in front of Fred. They whipped around and saw a group of twenty guards with armed citizens behind them. "Stay where you are!"
    "Um, climbing time," Pat announced before she grabbed the gargoyle girl and scrambled over to the ladder.
    "Uh, yeah," Fred agreed. He ran after them, but had to wait at the bottom of the rungs while they climbed up. He glanced between them and the oncoming guards and mob. "Must go faster, must go faster!" he chanted at the girls.
    "Not helping!" Pat shouted back. The moment he had a few free rungs Fred jumped on them and used his head to push Pat faster up the ladder. "Will you knock that off!" she screeched. "You're going to make me-"
    Her foot slipped and her fingers fumbled for stability. She lost her balance and swung over the side of the ladder, clinging only by a single hand. The drop below was only about ten feet, but the mob with their pitchforks and guards with their swords stood down there. Several of the officers snatched at Fred's foot, and he kicked them back.
    Pat tried to swing back and grab at a rung, but her hand missed and her other lost its grip. Her scream was cut short when Fred snatched her hand and pulled her in front of him. Unfortunately, that gave a chance for the guards to grab him and yank him down to them.
    Pat grabbed at his outstretched hand, but missed. He was dragged into the arms of the guards and citizens. "Fred!" she cried out.
    "Run!" he yelled back before he disappeared into the dozens of bodies.
    Pat clambered up the ladder with several guards at her back. Fred thrashed and kicked in their arms, and one of his feet slammed the bottom of the ladder. The old wooden poles snapped, and before they could move him away he kicked through the wood. The ladder snapped and tilted back, toppling the guards onto the crowd. Pat grabbed the roof of the house before the ladder fell away from her, and the gargoyle girl pulled her up.
    Pat peeked over the edge and looked down on the chaos. Bits of ladder poked out and armored arms flailed in the middle of fallen citizens. Fred pulled his head out long enough to scowl at her, and she took the hint and stood. She grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her up and over the peek of the roof toward the castle.
    Fred was now on his own to deal with the mob rule, and they weren't happy with him. The guards yanked him to his feet and shoved him against the side of the building. The back of his head hit against some new, solid wooden planks, and he felt blood pool out from the knock.
    The guard leader wrapped his hand around Fred's throat and shoved his face into the boy's. The crowd pressed against them, stifling the air as their faces squeezed in to glare at the boy. "Why are you in league with that monster? Are you a spy for Canavar?" the guard accused him. Fred shook his head, but that wasn't good enough for the guard. He shook the boy and slapped him across the cheek. "Answer me, boy, or we'll make you speak."
    A thick fist flew out from the crowd and punched the guard on the side of his head. The force shoved him into the crowd and a new, familiar face appeared in Fred's sight. It was Canto, and he was not happy. "There's yer answer," Canto snapped at the guard as he rubbed his fist. He looked to the boy. "You okay?" Fred rubbed his sore neck and nodded. "Good. Let's get ya out of here."
    "You there, stop!" the bruised guard leader yelled.
    "That's our

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