"What should I do?"
What would make those men leave Celino alone long enough to give him a chance to escape? Standing outside the doorway with the boy, Daoud's eyes searched the courtyard again as his mind tried to fit what he saw into a plan.
Daoud looked up at the lanterns again. Fire was sure to take men's minds off a fight.
"Take the lanterns and run up those stairs. Throw them into the bedding and get a good fire going. Make sure the floor is burning. Then come back down to me."
Daoud took the two lanterns down from their pegs and handed them to the boy, who raced up the stairs that clung to the outer wall of the inn. Daoud went to the stable and opened the doors of the stalls that held their four horses. He dragged out the saddles and bridles and threw them over the horses' backs. Trained with horses since boyhood, he worked with practiced speed. By the time the boy was beside him again, he had two of the horses saddled.
He looked up and saw bright yellow flames flickering in the upper windows.
"You did that well," he said. "You know how to saddle horses?"
"Yes, Messere."
"Get these two ready, then. Do it right; you will be riding one. And hold them here with your donkey."
Daoud turned and shouted, "Fire!"