Kieron caught her upraised arm and wrenched the dagger from her grasp. She clawed at him, kicking, biting, but never once calling aloud for aid. At last Kieron was able to pin her to a column with his weight, and he held her there, arms pinioned to her sides.
"You hellcat!" he muttered against her hair. "Who are you?"
"You know well enough, you murdering lackey! Why don't you kill me and go collect your pay, damn you!" gritted the girl furiously. "Must you manhandle me too?"
Kieron gasped. "I kill you!" He caught the girl's hair and pulled her head back so that her features would catch the faint glow of light from the city below. "Who are you, hell-cat?"
The light outlined his own features and the Arms of Valkyr on the cHasp of his cloak at his throat. The girl's eyes widened. Slowly the tenseness went out of her and she relaxed against him.
"Kieron! Kieron of Valkyr!"
Kieron was still alert for some trick. Landor could have hired a female assassin just as well as a man.
"You know me?" he asked cautiously.
"Know you!" She laughed suddenly, and it was a silvery sound in the night. "I loved you… beast!"
"By the Seven Hells, you speak in riddles! Who are you?" the Valkyr demanded irritably.