Justin DeVeere might be a violent psychopath, but he was no fool. With a quickness of mind that worried Shade, Knightmare saw his best shot. He turned and bounded away, each stride carrying him two dozen feet, straight toward the lighthouse.

[...]

With one powerful foot she kicked in the door. Inside, things were much as she expected. There was a small desk and a chair, but really the only important feature was the steel spiral staircase.

“Counterclockwise. Of course.”

Somewhere Shade had acquired the knowledge that in ancient castles the spiral staircases always went counterclockwise, because in the old days of sword fighting you defended your castle from the top down. A spiral that went counterclockwise meant your sword hand—usually your right—was free, while those coming up the stairs had their sword hands cramped.

This was one of those pieces of data Shade had never imagined being useful. But as it happened, she was in a tower, and she was facing, in effect, a swordsman whose “sword” was on his right.

The stairs were narrow, too narrow for her to squeeze past the lumbering monster above her. He had used the lighthouse to minimize the advantage her speed gave her.

Monster, Chapter 16