I reached into my pocket. “I need to–”
The merchant wrapped an arm around my shoulders, steering me toward the swaying birdcages. “We stock singing canaries, fire finches, desert larks, silver bills, golden-throated sparrows, doves in purest white, parrots in all the brightest colors…”
I opened my mouth to interject, but the merchant continued.
“Or perhaps the lady needs a trained bird of prey? You like hunting, hmm? Browse our spotted eagles, pharaoh owls, and the sneakiest falcons.” The merchant whistled and held out his arm. A black-eyed falcon flew over to land on his gloved hand. “The sharpest eyesight in the city, let me tell you.”
He thrust the falcon toward me, and I leaned back, pulling my scarf tightly around my neck. I shook my head. “No. I–”
“Of course!” He lowered his voice. “You are here for my side business.” He threw his hand up, and the falcon gave a disgruntled squawk as it flew back toward its perch. He leaned toward me, opening the flap of his waistcoat. It was lined with feathers. “Iago’s feather jewelry.” He unhooked a necklace strung with feathers and thrust it toward me. “All the most beautiful ladies in Kisrabah should be adorned with–”
“I need to send a letter!” I half-shouted, brandishing the parchment.
“A letter? A fine choice.” The merchant tucked the necklace back into his waistcoat. “Iago’s fan-tailed ravens carry letters swift as a roc, they never tire, and they can cross the twelve kingdoms in the blink of an eye.”
My shoulders lowered as he spoke. Finally. It would be easy to get my letter to Lalana after all.
“How much to Yadina?” I asked, already fishing for my drawstring purse in my pocket. I wasn’t even planning on haggling him down.
His expression darkened. “Oh, anywhere but Yadina. Nothing has gone in or out of Yadina for the last few days. Phoenites,” he cursed, then spat onto the ground.
My throat tightened. “There’s no way?”
“No, miss. I sent two of my best birds. Neither returned. They’re shooting them from the sky.”
Spirits, so the Phoenites had already reached Yadina. It was too late to warn Lalana to get out. Now it was even more important to find out whether she was still alive. A wave of dizziness washed over me.
“Is there anyone else in Kisrabah who might–”
“No, lady. The messenger guild met last night. We are all losing birds.” He clapped his hands together. “I can get your letter anywhere else in the twelve kingdoms, though – Nahraj, or Kemeni?”
I didn’t hear the rest as I pushed my way out of the stall, knocking into a stand and dislodging two dozing owls from their perch. They beat their wings and screeched in outrage. The merchant called after me, still trying to close the sale.
I was swept back into the throng of the market once more. There was a livestock auction happening farther down the street, a sea of people swarming toward it. In a daze, I let them carry me along. My mind raced, my palms sweaty. How was I supposed to focus on becoming a sultanah if I was worried about my sister? If she had been discovered by the Phoenites…
I stuffed the letter back into my pocket. It might be too late to warn Lalana now, but I had to find out whether she was still alive.
I froze at the sight of Mehri and Jevera, still looking for the Khirideshi star jasmine I had sent them in search of.
They were so close. I could make out Mehri’s bright green shawl and Jevera’s harsh words to the seller as she pointed at various flowers in his stall.
Spirits, have they seen me?
I spun on my heel, trying to push back through the crowd. But I was going against the flow. Despite my elbowing and jostling, I was being swept closer and closer to my handmaids. I swore under my breath and gave up battling the relentless tide of people. Instead, I moved horizontally, weaving my way to the side, then ducked between the colorful awnings of a jewelry and a lamp stall, walking out into a thin alleyway between two buildings.
The skinny slice of space was shadowed and cool. I slowed my pace, glancing around. Overhead, beams of wood crisscrossed, and shreds of tattered material, which might once have been colorful awnings, hung limp and lifeless. A rat skittered along the path ahead of me, and I flinched. I shook my head. I was probably still in shock at hearing that the Phoenite armies had reached Yadina. Or perhaps it was just the sudden quiet after the din of the bustling crowds.
I looked over my shoulder. Framed by the mouth of the alleyway, bodies rushed along the main street. Mehri’s bright green shawl flashed into sight.
My breath hitched and I spun around, pressing my back against the wall of the alley. If they caught me in the marketplace, questions would be asked and my secret way out of the palace would no longer be a secret.
When they passed, my thudding heart slowed slightly.
I couldn’t risk going back out into the main bazaar, so I would have to continue down the alleyway. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of rotting food and gingerly stepped over what looked like a pile of rat droppings. I hugged my arms around myself. I did not want to hang around this part of Kisrabah for long.
“Still looking to send a letter?”
I spun around, my thumb jumping to rest on the ring instinctively, like a soldier might grasp the hilt of his scimitar.
A young boy stood in the alleyway. Skinny as a pole, with wild, black hair and an outfit of ratty, gray material that could have started out any color, he looked to be about eleven.
“You’re following me?” Maybe it was because he was a child, but my tone came out chiding.
“I saw you at Iago’s stall, so I followed you.” He took a few steps toward me on light feet.
“Why?”
“Because I can help you. I know some people who can send messages anywhere. You write that letter yourself?”
“Yes, I wrote it myself,” I snapped. “You can get a letter to Yadina?”
“Mm-hmm, even Yadina.” His dark eyes gleamed. “But it’ll cost you.”
“How much?”
“A silver for me to take you to them. Then whatever they think it’ll cost.”
I looked over his head, back to the bustling streets of the bazaar. If this boy knew a way to smuggle letters into a locked-down city, I doubted his methods were above board. On the other hand, what choice did I have? I couldn’t send anything from the palace without the vizier reading it first, and it seemed none of the city birds would make it into Yadina.
“Who are these people?”
The boy shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. They can do it. That’s all you need to know.”
I reached into an inner pocket and took a silver coin from my money pouch. I’d only brought a little money with me, but I had more than enough to pay this urchin, and hopefully enough left to negotiate with his masters…whoever they were.
His eyes flashed at the sight of the coin between my fingers. He reached for it, but I held it aloft, above his head.
I wagged a finger. “Uh-uh. This is just to show you I have the money. I’ll pay you when we get there.”
“No, you pay now or I don’t take you.”
I crossed my arms, jutting my hip to one side. I knew how these urchins worked, pickpocketing and swindling money from people in the crush of the crowds. “Well then, I guess you don’t want my money.” I pocketed the coin again. I’d haggled enough times in the markets to know how to dance this dance. It almost always began with feigning disinterest.
And it wasn’t like I wasn’t going to pay the boy. I would. I just didn’t want him running off with the coin first. I needed a guarantee.
The small boy mirrored my stance, his white teeth flashing. “So I guess you’re not desperate to send that letter then.” He shrugged. “Okay, well, have a nice day.” He turned around and began to walk away.
Spirits, was I really about to be outsmarted by a child? He’d clearly caught a whiff of my desperation in the bird stall.
“Wait!” I called, taking a few hurried steps after him. I sighed
. “How about half now, then half when we get there?”
His shaggy hair flopped as he shook his head. “All now, or I won’t take you.”
The coin was warm as I turned it over and over in my palm. My shoulders dropped. “Fine.”
I flipped the coin toward him. It flew through the air with a metallic whine. The boy caught it deftly and stuffed it into one of his pockets.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Rafi.”
“I’m trusting you, Rafi.”
He patted his waistcoat, as if to check the coin was still there. “What’s your name?”
“That information will cost you a silver coin.”
Rafi flashed a grin again. “Eh, not worth it.” He shrugged. “Come on then, letter lady.” He spun to head back into the main street of the bazaar, then suddenly halted.
A shadow blocked the mouth of the alley. Three members of the Kisrabah Royal Guard stepped forward.
“Seize that boy!”
5
Rafi whirled, spinning on the balls of his feet like a dancer as he bolted away from the guards, back toward me.
“Stop in the name of the sultan!”
The boy flew past me in a flash, and I didn’t pause to think. I ran after him.
He kicked up dust, clouding my view of his dark head bobbing in front of me. I followed him as he took a sharp left into another alleyway, ducking under lines of washing and jumping over the wooden crates littering the ground.
I ducked and jumped, too, swatting away the laundry hanging at face level. Pounding feet sounded close behind me.
Why am I running?
Whatever this urchin had done to anger the guards, I had nothing to do with it. I was completely innocent… Of a crime anyway.
But my legs wouldn’t stop. Somehow, keeping close to Rafi felt like the safest option. We skidded around the corner into another serpentine alleyway. At the far end, the din and color of one of the main market streets beckoned like an oasis. If we could just make it there, we could blend into the crowd. Maybe I could slip into a stall and leave Rafi to his chase.
Two new guards stepped out from the crowd, cutting off our escape. Rafi slid to a stop and spun around. I looked over my shoulder. The three original guards blocked the way we had come.
Perhaps now was the time to stop running. I could risk it with the guards. They had nothing on me.
“Grab the girl. She’s one of them!” the largest guard, a man with a thick neck and missing teeth, shouted as he drew his scimitar and pointed it toward me.
One of what? Well, it looked like we were in this together now, whether I liked it or not.
“This way.” Rafi grabbed my hand and darted through the nearest doorway.
We burst into someone’s living room. A woman screamed and looked up from the middle of sweeping, two young children squabbling at the table.
“Sorry!” I yelled as we charged through.
Rafi knocked over a bucket, and warm liquid soaked into my shoes. Spirits, I hope that was water.
Letting go of my hand, he leapt through the window back out onto the street. I was far less graceful as I clambered up and over the ledge. I landed heavily on my feet. As I straightened, something yanked my headscarf back, my whole body jerking with it.
“Got one!” a gruff voice cried out in elation.
I twisted, trying to grab onto the thick, hairy arm holding me. Where was Rafi? Had he run off and left me?
With two hands, I tugged at my scarf, trying to pull free. Rafi appeared at my side, something flashing in his palm. The guard yelled and let go. I lurched forward.
“C’mon,” Rafi hissed. I barely had time to catch my breath before he took off at a run once more.
Someone had steered an entire flock of sheep into the street before us, the animals filling the whole space. Rafi weaved through them, shoving some out of the way. The sheep’s disgruntled bleats turned into high shrieks and I chanced a glance backward. The guards slashed their way through the flock, bloody scimitars raised. The owner yelled obscenities at all of us.
“This way!” Rafi took a sharp right down a narrow lane of market stalls.
Rolled carpets, hanging lanterns, and mounds of spices flashed past me as I hurtled after him. He dodged around the shoppers, ducking under their arms and nimbly sidestepping baskets and livestock. I tried to follow suit, but my legs felt heavy and slow.
He slowed and turned around, seeing I lagged behind.
The guards’ gold-and-cream turbans bobbed through the crowd, inching closer to us.
“Keep up!”
Rafi dropped back, waiting until I’d passed him before pushing over a barrel from the closest stall. Fish and water spilled everywhere. I copied him, shoving over a barrel on the other side so thousands upon thousands of glass beads hissed out onto the ground. Merchants began yelling. People in the crowd slipped and fell in the spilled fish and beads.
More guards materialized, at least ten turbans swarming through the crowd. We were completely outnumbered. The market patrons had all stopped to watch the chase, making it impossible to just blend in. All eyes were on us. My heart hammered in my chest.
Rafi jumped onto a wagon filled with manure, then leapt onto a higher ledge.
My chest felt tight and my cheeks flamed as I followed. I scrambled up onto the wagon, then pulled myself up onto the ledge. A staircase carved into a tall, baked-earth building ran in a spiral around the outside.
Stairs?
I didn’t know if my legs could handle stairs. I glanced back. The guards were closing in. I raced up the stairs behind Rafi, my heart thundering in my chest. Back home, I’d been fit enough, what with all my riding and roaming about, but after a few weeks of preparing to travel to Astaran, my lungs felt like they were on fire.
The stairs blurred beneath my feet. I concentrated on pushing forward, trying to ignore the footsteps and yells behind me.
“Rafi!” I called, as the boy’s dark head disappeared around the corner. There were no doorways, no windows on the outside of this building, and we climbed higher and higher. “Where…do we…” My words came out with each gasp of air.
The stairs ended at a flat, sunbaked rooftop. I pressed my hands to my thighs and bent forward slightly, trying to catch my breath.
“Where…now…,” I managed to pant.
Rafi scooped up two poles from the mound of scaffolding material that lay in a pile. He pointed to the adjacent rooftop. “Over there.”
The next rooftop was level with this one, but there was the small problem of an alleyway dropping away between them.
The boy fell back to stand next to me and thrust one of the poles into my hand.
“Rafi, I–”
“Don’t look down.” He winked, then charged toward the edge of the roof, planted the pole firmly against the edging, and vaulted over in one swift motion.
I could hear footsteps and the heavy breathing of the guards clambering up the stairs behind me.
What was the worst that would happen if I was caught? That they wouldn’t believe I was the princess? But if I didn’t make it over… I would never survive the fall.
I looked at my fingers wrapped around the wooden pole. Was pole jumping a skill I could just wish for?
A guard appeared on the rooftop behind me, the scimitar in his hand glinting in the sunlight. I’d wasted valuable seconds weighing my options.
I was out of time.
I ran wildly for the edge of the rooftop, planted the pole exactly where Rafi had, and suddenly, my stomach was in my mouth.
The wind rushed into my eyes and past my ears. I was weightless. I was screaming.
I landed on the rooftop opposite with a thud, my knees buckling beneath me, my palms flying forward and scraping against the hot stone. I sucked in deep breaths as I stood on shaking legs. Triumph rushed through my body.
The guards standing on the original rooftop glared at me. Rafi had already disappeared down a flight of stairs. I followed
him down and into a cool room, where he was waiting.
“You didn’t die.” There was a slightly impressed look on his face.
“So it appears.” My heart drummed in my chest. “Have we lost them?”
“No. C’mon.”
We ran until I could barely breathe, ducking down alleyways and cutting through abandoned buildings. I didn’t complain, and Rafi didn’t leave me behind.
He finally slowed when we reached the quiet outskirts of the city. By now, even Rafi’s breathing was labored, his chest rising and falling rapidly. I bent over, unable to speak.
Rafi looked over my shoulder with a satisfied smile. “Now we’ve lost them.”
My scarf had come loose in the chase, wild tendrils of hair escaping my braid. I brushed back the damp strands from my face.
“Who are you?” I managed to ask between gasps. The little urchin was far too resourceful for a usual street beggar. “Why do they want you so badly?”
“I’m a thief,” he answered proudly. “There’s a group of us. They probably want to find out where we’re hiding.”
“Where do you hide?” I asked, standing straight again, my hands planted on my hips. My heart finally started to slow.
“Here.”
Rafi took a step back and shoved open the wooden doors behind him. They swung inward with a soft creak. I eyed the dark interior.
More thieves?
Did I really want to get mixed up in all this? It wasn’t too late to walk away…
The darkness swallowed Rafi. I hesitated on the threshold, looking down at the ring on my finger. It was twisted around, as usual, with only the gold band on display. It wasn’t like I was going in completely unprepared. I had a secret weapon.
I ducked inside, taking tentative steps down the stone staircase. Rafi’s thieves lived in a cellar? I grimaced. My whole body still trembled with adrenaline from the chase.
I pushed through another set of doors. Voices, laughter, and music rushed out to greet me. My eyes scanned the room below me – a vast, candlelit space that couldn’t rightly be labeled a cellar due to its sheer size. It had all the bustle and buzz of a tavern at midnight. Men and women sat around tables eating, drinking, and playing card games.
The Queen of Forty Thieves Page 3