"Are you mad as well as daft?" Beatrid snapped at him. "How the fuck are we supposed to go over the--"
That was when she noticed that the archers had spotted them. Her heart leaped and she had time only to think, Oh fuck! when suddenly Gherrick had her by the waist and, still running, did something she did not expect.
He planted his staff and then they were airborne, vaulting high into the air. She yelped, felt the breeze of arrows whizzing past them, and thought that if she survived this, she was going to murder him--and then, thud, they'd landed on their feet near the startled guards...that Gherrick promptly incapacitated.
Breathing heavily, Beatrid leaned forward with her hands on her knees, feeling a little shaky after that. Much as she was loathe to admit it, she and heights did not get along.
"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, I swear to fuckin' God," she said, but had no time to recover, for he took her by the hand and they were off again, Beatrid desperately trying not to look down as they bolted for the ladder.
Eager to get down, she broke off from him and reached the ladder first, had a moment of dizziness as she approached the edge, and swallowed hard. Turning her back to the edge and dropping to her knees, she was aware that she no doubt looked ridiculous as she crawled back and stuck a foot in the rung, cautious and careful, and held her breath.
"Don't you dare laugh," she grumbled as she started to descend the ladder, getting her other foot in the rung and clinging to the wall's edge until she got the courage to let go and grab a rung. But once she started going down, it got easier, and she dropped down the last four feet and landed on the ground with a grunt.