by Janice Hardy
I gaped. “You know who I am?”
He laughed again. “You’re a legend in the packs. You hurt the Undying. Stole prisoners from soldiers. Braved the inner gates just to spy on Stew-Pot. We help you, we become legends, too.”
Ceun and Zee grinned wide at that.
Aylin hid a laugh behind her hand, while Danello beamed. Me? A Baseeri legend? Saints, how sad must their lives be if I was the best thing they had to talk about.
“Okay. Time to climb.”
Quenji went out the window first, coils of rope slung diagonally across his chest. He crawled up the brick like a lizard, and a rope dropped down a minute later. Danello tugged on it a few times, then tied it around his chest up under his arms. He crawled up without too much effort.
The rope dropped back down.
“You next,” I told Aylin. She adjusted her backpack and reached for the rope.
“Maybe you should just try flying to the roof,” she teased. “Being a legend and all.”
“I could try pushing you out the window.”
She giggled and crawled out and up.
“We know you can’t fly,” said Ceun, so serious, for a moment I thought he meant it. “But we do think you can stop the Undying.”
My joyful mood vanished. “I hope so.”
The rope dropped again and I tied it under my arms. The windowsill was wide enough to stand on, and the too-colorful shutters nailed to the brick on both sides made easy handholds. It also helped that the boardinghouse hadn’t been built with much care. Brick corners stuck out, mortar had chipped away between bricks, both just enough for toes and fingers to wedge into.
Not that I had to climb far. I’d gone only a few feet when the rope tightened and Danello and Quenji hauled me up. Ceun was on the roof with us before they got the rope off me.
“How close are we to the aqueduct?” I asked, making my way to the edge of the roof. It hadn’t looked far from the street, but as Jeatar had said, it was hard to judge distance from down there.
“A good jump,” Danello said.
Quenji shook his head. “A bad jump.”
Bad indeed. The aqueduct was more even to the roof than it had looked, but not as close as we’d thought. We’d have to jump across three feet of space and land on four feet of aqueduct. In the dark.
Aylin leaned in close. “It might be easier to steal some more gate passes.”
“That won’t get us into the foundry, though. We have to go in from above.” I looked around the roof. We’d brought iron spikes to anchor into the aqueduct, but they’d pull right out of the wooden roof. The only other place to tie the rope was around the crenellations along the front and sides of the building. They looked more decorative than solid though.
Danello followed my gaze. “They’ll have to do.”
“They look like they’d break if we kicked them hard.”
“We’ll have people holding the ropes as well.”
No one volunteered to go first this time. I sighed and stepped forward. “I’ll go.”
“No, I’ll do it,” Danello said, then grinned. “I was just hoping I wouldn’t have to.”
Quenji tied the rope around one of the crenellations while Danello tied the other end around himself. The rest of us lined up along the rope and took hold.
“Here goes.” Danello backed up a few paces, then darted forward, leaping into the night. He landed on the aqueduct, stumbled, and dropped flat.
We all gasped, but Danello stood a moment later.
“I’m okay. I’m here.” He untied the rope and tossed it back.
Aylin went, landing lightly on her feet. She was the one who seemed to fly. I grabbed the rope.
Saint Saea, I could use a little of Aylin’s grace.
I jumped. Darkness swirled around me as I crested the empty space between the structures, then my toes found solid ground again. Strong arms caught me, halted my forward momentum.
“Thanks,” I mumbled into Danello’s chest, not wanting to let go just yet.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”
Ceun climbed up and stood at the edge of the roof, working his arms and shoulders, rubbing under his arms. We waited on the aqueduct, hands ready to grab. Ceun took a running start, then jumped.
His feet hit the stone and hands shot out of everywhere to grab him. He steadied and plopped down.
“That scared me good,” he said.
“Scared us too.”
He grinned.
“How is Quenji going to get across?” Aylin asked. “There’s no one on that side to pull him up if he falls.”
“He said to anchor the rope to the aqueduct and he’ll climb across,” said Ceun, already waving to Quenji.
We pulled one of the spikes out of the pack and hammered it into the brick. Quenji tossed us the end of the rope, and Danello tied it around the spike. Quenji checked the other end, still tied to the roof, and tightened it until the rope was taut. He dropped his weight on it, testing it. It drooped, but not too badly.
He slipped out onto the rope, hands and knees wrapped around, and inched his way over.
Snap!
The rope broke free of the boardinghouse roof. Quenji grabbed tight, falling down and under the aqueduct. He swung, clinging to the rope.
A door slid open on the balcony and a man stepped out, silhouetted in the light coming from inside. He looked around, then peered over the railing.
“What’s going on down there?”
A pause, then the man turned and went inside. The door slid shut.
We tugged at the rope, bringing Quenji closer to us inches at a time. Finally, he reached the top and we dragged him onto the aqueduct. He lay there, gasping.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He grinned. “What a story this will make. So what’s next, Shifter?”
“A long, scary walk.”
We followed the aqueduct, Danello in the lead, Quenji bringing up the rear. I think the pack wanted to move faster than the pace Danello set, but it was too dark and too breezy to risk hurrying. A good gust could blow us right off.
Clock tower bells rang when we were about halfway there, two deep, sorrowful tones that floated across the city. The occasional lamp bobbed below, most likely patrols making their rounds. The closer we got to the inner walls, the more lights we saw, both moving and in straight lines along the street.
We crossed the inner wall. Danello stopped and crouched down. One by one, the rest of us did the same.
“There it is,” I said. The L-shaped foundry was below. It sat on a hill, and one taller brick section looked like it might be living quarters or offices. The foundries Papa had worked in had the smelting room at the top of the hill, the forge area at the bottom, and this foundry looked the same. Long and wide, with double doors at both ends to allow air flow, open now, even though it was late. Dark orange light lit the grass, and blue light flickered on the walls. Rhythmic clangs sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet night.
“They’re working at this hour?” Aylin said, crouched just behind me.
“I guess the Duke doesn’t want any delays in his weapons.”
“That’ll make it harder, won’t it?”
I nodded, my guts already churning. I’d assumed the enchanters would be gone at night, but if they were smelting the pynvium all the time, then who knew how many might be inside. It would be well-nigh impossible to get to the forges now. I adjusted my pack, and the boxes Ceun had found for me clanked softly. They were heavy, would probably slow me down and make it harder to climb, but if I left them behind, we’d have no chance at all of destroying the pynvium forges.
“There’s the patrol,” Danello said. Two soldiers were walking the grounds. More soldiers had to be inside.
I had to risk it. Vyand wouldn’t have left unless she thought I was gone or leaving, so odds were the guards wouldn’t be expecting trouble.
Unless, of course, it was all part of the trap.
I hadn’t mentioned that to anyone, bu
t it was a possibility. Vyand could have made a show of leaving just to see if she could lure me out, same as I was doing to her.
“Quenji,” I said, “you and Zee wait here.”
He nodded. “We’ll haul you up, don’t worry. Ceun is our best thief, so he’ll go with you.”
Ceun smiled. He had a lot of empty sacks looped in his belt.
“Let’s anchor the ropes.”
We picked a spot right above the big tree centered almost perfectly under the aqueduct. Unfortunately the open foundry doors looked right at it, so anyone coming outside might see us. We’d have to stay in the tree and not get too low. Danello pulled out the iron spikes and Aylin had the hammer. She handed it to Danello.
“Time it with the hammer strikes,” I said. I’d been worried about the noise pounding the spikes in would make, but with the doors open, no one would hear us. The only good thing about them working late.
Clang!
Danello swung the hammer.
Clang!
He swung again. He kept it up, hard strikes in unison with the smiths, until both spikes were deep in the stone. Quenji and Aylin tied the ropes around them and gently lowered the ends into the tree below.
Awfully far below.
“Don’t look down,” Danello said, putting his hand over mine.
“Too late.”
“I’ll go first this time,” he said, looping the rope around his arm. We’d all put on heavy gloves for the climb. “I’ll tie the ends to the trunk so it’ll be easier to climb down. You should be able to hook your legs around like Quenji did before.”
“Be careful.”
He chuckled. “If I was doing that, I wouldn’t be here.”
I smiled back, but my heart was lodged in my throat, making it hard to speak. But I could pray.
Saint Saea, Sister of Compassion, hear my prayer. Let Danello reach the tree safely. Let us all find what we seek and make it out without dying.
He climbed, hand over hand, down the rope that looked so thin. I alternated between watching him and scanning the yard and windows, but no one walked outside or looked out. The clock tower chimed again, three bells.
Leaves swallowed him just before the darkness, then the rope went slack. I heard no crunch or thud or sounds of falling, so he must have made it to the tree. The rope wiggled, then grew taut. Seconds later the other rope started wiggling. Both stopped, looking solidly attached and at a faint angle to the aqueduct.
“I’ll take the left one,” I said, and Aylin went to the right.
Quenji and Zee helped us slide off the aqueduct and get a firm grip on the rope. My arms strained, but I held on, moving hand over hand same as Danello had, my legs and feet wrapped in the rope under me. Ten feet down and my arms burned, shaking with every inch. Judging by the grunts next to me, Aylin was having similar trouble.
“Ah!” she cried.
I couldn’t see her, but a ripping sound echoed up—the sound of someone sliding down a rope way too fast.
NINETEEN
“Aylin!”
She didn’t scream, even though she had to be terrified. Branches cracked and snapped, but the sounds quickly stopped.
So did the hammering at the forge.
I climbed, willing my arms to keep moving, stop shaking, and anyone who might come outside to not look up at the tree. I didn’t look down, but my ears strained for the shouts of alarm that would get us all arrested—or worse.
None came. The hammer strikes resumed.
Branches and leaves scratched my feet, then calves, and I was in the canopy. Danello grabbed my legs and guided me to a heavy branch near the trunk. I collapsed into him.
“How’s Aylin?”
“About ready to throw up,” she answered, “and my hands sting, but otherwise okay.”
“Rope burn,” Danello said. “Would have been a lot worse without the gloves.”
Aylin snorted. “Would have been a lot worse if I’d let go.”
Danello climbed over and shook one of the ropes, then the other. “Rest a bit while you can,” he said. “We might have more climbing to do.”
“Oh, joy,” Aylin muttered.
Ceun made it to the tree easier than we had, but small boys were always good at climbing.
“Patrol,” Danello said softly, and we all froze.
Peering through the leaves, we watched the soldiers walk by in the well-lit foundry yard. Both wore chain armor and heavy swords on their belts. Not pynvium though. They rounded the corner.
“Let’s go.”
We started climbing again, heading toward the rear of the building. With luck one of the branches would get us close to a third-story window. Quenji swore no one ever locked windows that high, so we’d probably be able to crawl right inside.
We reached the end of the limb. The thick one we were on didn’t reach the building, though a few smaller ones did.
“Stay here and keep an eye out for the patrol.” I stepped carefully onto the limb that reached nearest a window, inching along, testing my weight. The closer to the end I got, the more the limb dipped. I climbed back. “It won’t hold me.”
“How ’bout me?” Ceun asked. “I’m small.”
“See if you can get to the window and tie the rope across.”
Aylin peered through the shadows. “Is that room empty?”
“Looks dark, but—Patrol!”
We froze again and the soldiers passed below. And stopped.
Aylin squeezed my hand. I held my breath. One of the soldiers knelt and picked up a broken branch. He glanced up into the tree.
Don’t see us, don’t see us, don’t see us.
He rose, tossing the branch away, and they continued walking.
I exhaled. Too close.
“Ceun, go for the window.”
He nodded and scampered across the branch. It dipped, but not deep enough to drop him. He reached the window and stepped off. The branch snapped up and bobbed, but no new branches fell.
Ceun clung to the window like a frog on a tree. He scooted down and pressed his palms against the frame, then lifted. The window opened and Ceun slipped inside. We waited, seconds ticking away, then he popped out. “Toss the rope,” he called softly.
Danello tossed an end, Ceun caught it. Both vanished back into tree and room. The rope stretched flat.
Danello didn’t waste time. He hung from his knees on a branch and scooted onto the rope. It held. He crawled across a lot faster than I’d be able to.
Aylin went across, not so graceful, but not slow either. Then it was my turn. I sat on the branch and slid back, hanging from my knees. Reached forward and grabbed the rope. My arms shook already and I hadn’t even done anything.
Just cross already.
I let go with my legs, tried to swing them up and onto the rope. And missed. I dangled, my arms screaming.
Move it, move it, get those legs up!
I pulled with all my strength and my legs caught the rope, then wrapped around. I said a quick prayer and climbed across, forcing my hands forward, sliding my legs closer.
Almost there.
Footsteps below. The patrol!
I hung thirty feet in the air, out in the open. I had no idea if I’d dislodged any branches. I couldn’t move without making noise, and even the small scrape of cloth and leather against rope might alert them.
They passed below.
I exhaled and started moving again, counting the inches until—
“Got you,” Danello whispered, scooping me up and pulling me inside. I sank to the floor, muscles demanding a week off, at least.
“Thanks. Where are we?”
“Storage room, I think,” he said. “Lots of boxes.”
And barrels, and crates.
“Nothing worth stealing,” Ceun said, closing the lid on one. “Tools and forge stuff mostly. One box of swords.”
“I guess it was too much to hope for to find pynvium in the first room,” I said.
“With our luck?” said Aylin. “Way too
much.”
“Ceun,” Danello said, “grab us three of those swords.”
“Sure.”
I stood, knees shaking only a little, and went to the door. I pressed my ear against the wood. No footsteps, no voices. That didn’t mean no guards though.
I tapped Danello on the shoulder and pointed to the door. He nodded and got ready to open it. I waited to the side with Aylin, both of us with sheathed swords raised like clubs.
Danello turned the latch and paused. Still no sounds outside. He opened the door and peeked out. “Clear.”
We went to the next room. Tried the door. Locked.
Danello watched the hall while Ceun stepped forward, pulling thin metal sticks out of a pocket. He got on one knee and stuck them into the lock. The lock clicked and he opened the door. We followed and shut it behind us. The room was dark, but gentle sounds of breathing floated about. Impossible to tell how many though.
Soldiers or Takers? I pointed to the door and held up my hand, thumb and index finger about an inch apart. Ceun nodded and cracked the door.
Hall light sliced inside, illuminating the foot of a bed. Good boots sat on the floor, with a sword belt hanging on the foot post. Soldier bunks.
We slipped out of the room in a hurry.
Danello went a few doors down and stopped at one across the hall. Another locked door. Ceun picked it and we went inside again, leaving the door open enough to see inside this time.
Dim, but not dark. More breathing, but also whimpers and moans. Six people lay chained to six beds. My heart soared. There were Takers here!
“Jovan! Bahari!” Danello said, darting over to his brothers.
Aylin ran to Enzie, surprise and joy on both their faces. I scanned the beds, saw Winvik and two I didn’t know, but no Tali. Why wasn’t she here too?
Guilt dampened my joy. I was glad we’d found them, but it wasn’t fair. Everyone else was here, even people we didn’t even know had been captured, so why not her? My stomach twisted. Had Vyand taken Tali with her?
“What’s hurting them?” Ceun said, his eyes wide.
“They’re being forced to take more pain than they can handle. The Duke’s trying to make unusual Taker abilities surface so he can use them.”