King Pinch Read Free Page A

attention, Pinch saw Sprite-Heels was no less quick. As the halfling easily dodged beneath the tall guard's lunge, there was a flash of metal and a bewildered scream. Like a rag doll, the guard tumbled against the chimney, hands clutching the back of his leg below his armored coat.
    Ignoring all else, Pinch scrambled up the wavering slope of tile and lunged over the ridge. Momentum skidded him halfway down and then he was up and running with short, acrobatic steps. He clambered over a gable and then swung precariously around the edge of a conic tower before he came to the dark and shadowed alley they had started from. Moving with greater care, he searched for their rope to the alley below. Just then Sprite-Heels tumbled over the ridgeline, coming from a different direction.
    "Anyone following?" Pinch demanded.
    Sprite-Heels grinned while he caught his breath. "Not a one… of the patrico's men… not even a rat," he gasped.
    "And the pelfry?"
    The halfling reached inside his vest and pulled out a crudely forged amulet embossed with a stylized half-sun symbol. Pinch snatched the booty and pulled the startled halfling to his feet.
    "Right, then. To the rope."
    As they neared the line, Pinch instantly knew there was trouble. A noise carried over the wind that others, less keen, might miss. It was a steady creak, the sawing to and fro of a line. He signaled Pinch to silence and crept forward over the terra-cotta terrain.
    Sure enough, there was someone on the rope. It jerked from side to side as someone pulled himself up. Signaling Sprite-Heels to stand watch, Pinch carefully peered over the edge of the roof.
    Halfway below was the dim shape of a climber. From the bulky shape and the oversized helmet, there was no mistaking it was one of the temple's men. In the middle of the alley was a pool of light where the climber's partner stood holding a lantern.
    "Pinch, they're coming!" Sprite-Heels hissed. As if to prove his warning there was a thunderous clatter of boots across tile.
    The pursuit was hard on, and their escape route was blocked. In a few more moments the climber would reach the roof, putting the two thieves between enemy swords. There was no forward and there was no back.
    With barely the touch of thought, a small knife seemed to materialize in Pinch's hand. The blade flashed in the lantern light as he reached over the eaves. A yelp of alarm burst from below. With a single swipe, the razor-sharp edge severed the thin silken line. The yelp became a squeal until it ended in a solid whump of flesh and steel.
    "At the back!" roared a voice from the top of the ridgepole. The vanguard of their pursuers was silhouetted against the shivering night, the wind furiously whipping their plumed helmets as they blundered forward.
    Fear making their thoughts fleet, Pinch and Sprite-Heels frantically cast about for an escape, now that their rope was gone. Suddenly Pinch saw dark, moving branches in the void of the alley between the somber temple walls and the garish lanterns of the festhalls. A plan formed in his mind; he knew it was a bad plan, but it was the only choice he had.
    "With me!" Pinch shouted to encourage himself. And then, even though he wasn't a strong man, the rogue scooped up the halfling around the waist. With three all-out strides and before Sprite-Heels could even squeak, Pinch leapt into the darkness, his partner tucked under one arm. With his other arm he reached out as far as he could and with his eyes closed, Pinch prayed.

"PINCH! ARE YOU -"
    All at once the pair hit the top branches of the only tree in Sweetsweat Lane. Flailing for something to grip, the master thief dropped Sprite-Heels, who was squirming and howling enough already. The branches tore at Pinch's face, shredded his fine doublet, and hammered him in the ribs. Still he crashed through them, seeming to go no slower as momentum carried him in a sweeping arc toward the ground.
    Pinch was almost ready to welcome the impact with the earth when his