But guards ran frantically on the floors below, their shadows thrown against the walls by the bright flames. Their footsteps clanged on the metal balconies, joining the din.
She avoided aiming for the guards and instead fired at the glass-covered diamond floor of the courtyard. The glass shattered with just a few shots from her and Teo.
The guards below tried to take cover, but the glass floor collapsed beneath them. They all fell into the pool of diamonds below them, and the diamonds began to swallow them like quicksand.
As pandemonium rose around them with prisoners and guards shouting on all ten floors, she and Teo climbed the ropes toward the landing of the tenth floor. They slipped onto it and joined the fray of scrambling guards, their stolen uniforms covering them as they raced across the balcony.
The guards ran, some nearly falling over the railing in the confusing darkness. Explosions below still sounded, spaced just moments apart.
Aina raced between the guards, but as she neared the corner of the walkway, a hand latched on to her shoulder.
“Stop there!” the guard shouted, pushing her shoulder so she spun around to face him. “I saw you come up from the floor below. Who are you?”
She slammed her fist into his nose. He fell back toward the wall, blood pouring down his face from his broken nose.
Another guard slammed into her as Aina turned to run, and she fell, her hands grasping for the railing to stop herself from flying over.
For a moment, she imagined herself falling to the floor and bleeding out on the diamonds.
Shaking her head to clear the image, she stood and raced around the balcony, pushing past guards in her way, and reached the other side where Teo waited for her near a set of wide double doors.
She passed him his gun. Before heading through the doors, they both glanced back once. The guards were all too busy running toward the explosion and the fleeing prisoners to pay them any attention.
Teo pushed open the doors to a wide hall, bright with fluorescent lights. A voice called out to them, but they sprinted down the hall without looking back, their footsteps echoing loudly. This hall would lead to the rest of the Tower, and from there, they would reach the reception ballroom.
Another wide door faced them at the end of the hall, with a padlock. Teo withdrew a large set of keys that he must have stolen from a guard.
“Ryuu isn’t the only one who can open doors for you, is he?” he asked as he tried a few different keys before getting the correct one.
She let out a shaky laugh as he pushed open the door. The sounds of the pandemonium in the prison were still too close for her to relax. As they shut the door behind them, some of the din died down.
Half of her, whatever was left from her parents’ faith, was tempted to send a quick prayer to Kalaan and Isar for the prisoners to get out safely. But the other half knew that people had to save themselves in Kosín. She hoped the prisoners would escape, whether the Mothers listened to any of their prayers or not.
Her heart ached as she thought of her own parents, Ynes, and Raurie’s and Ryuu’s parents—all those who hadn’t escaped. There was nothing she could do for them. But if even one Inosen returned to their family safely tonight, then she would feel like she’d done something to honor the parents she’d lost.
42
They’d reached the levels aboveground by exiting from the tenth floor of the prison, but the Tower itself rose roughly thirty stories into the air, and the nearest path to the ballroom was still a few floors up.
They ran, orange lights on the walls flicking past in a blur. They took cover behind corners whenever Diamond Guards sped by them in the opposite direction, toward the prison. Time ticked by steadily, and each time they had to hide from a guard, Aina cursed with impatience.
Soon, an alarm went off. A cacophony of bells rang above and below them, blending with the sound of guards running toward the prison. Every few feet they ran, she expected a guard to appear and shoot them where they stood.
As they raced up another flight of stairs, yet another bell joined the din, this one rhythmic instead of resounding.
“That’s eleven,” she shouted to Teo as she counted the chimes. “We only have an hour.”
Aina led the way, picking up the pace. There were so many twisting corridors and stairwells that it would be easy to get lost, but she kept replaying Ryuu’s voice reciting the Tower’s layout and focused on reaching the ballroom where Ryuu and Raurie waited for them.
In the eastern wing of the building, they ran up a spiral staircase through one of the Tower’s many turrets. Torches were spaced along the walls. The orange flames made their statues gigantic on the stone steps as they ascended. Alarms continued blaring, but soon they were high up enough that the noise was smothered under the thick floors, and all she could hear was their footsteps and her own racing pulse.
At the top of the staircase, they skidded to a stop, panting heavily to catch their breath. A new hallway extended ahead of them, the walls lined with paintings and statues. Three chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their gold light gathering in small pools along the hall.
Aina beckoned Teo into a shadowed alcove. A pair of Diamond Guards stood in the center of the hall, off to the sides, working iron pulleys like the ones Aina had seen in Ryuu’s mansion.
“Looks like they’re closing off this part of the Tower,” she said as, seconds later, a heavy iron gate began to slide out of a crevice in the ceiling. The metal screeched, setting her nerves on edge as it lowered to seal off the next part of the Tower. “Do you have any more darts?”
When Teo shook his head, she pulled out a pair of knives. There was no time to waste looking for another route, and no time to be merciful.
Without another thought, she ran toward the guards with Teo right behind her. Her footsteps pounded across the stone floor, but the screeching sound of the lowering gate was so loud that the guards didn’t even turn around.
Ten feet away, she threw her knives one by one into the guards’ ankles. They dropped to their knees, abandoning the pulleys in front of them.
But the gate still fell, threatening to close off their route to the rest of the Tower.
“Go!” she shouted, sprinting now.
She pulled her knife out of one of the guard’s ankles and punched him in the face when he tried to tackle her, but there was no time for the second one. Covering her head, she slid under the gate. Teo followed right behind her. The gate slammed shut on the floor inches away from where his fingers had been a moment ago.
She wanted to stop and catch her breath, but they had to keep moving. Rolling to their feet, they followed Ryuu’s directions the rest of the way. A window flicked by her view as they ran, revealing a heavy rain pounding into the walls of the Tower. They managed to hide from guards most of the time, except once when Teo had to put one into a sleeper hold before the man could shout for backup.
The next hall opened. A narrow corridor with a marble floor extended before them, its surface so polished they could see their reflections in it. Soft yellow lighting in cages of gold vines were spaced along the left wall. On the other side was a line of doors, swinging open and closed every few seconds as a flurry of people went back and forth carrying trays of appetizers. The workers were so busy, none of them even glanced at Aina and Teo.
Scents of meat and spices reached her, and she couldn’t help her stomach growling as they approached. Pots and pans clattered inside the kitchens, blending with the voices of chefs and servers shouting to one another.
They slowed down as they neared the kitchen doors, their gait casual as if they were guests for the party rather than two wanted outlaws who’d just incited a massive prison escape.
The kitchen doors swung open again. Two waitresses pushed out a cart loaded with champagne bottles and flutes. As the doors swung, Aina caught a glimpse of the kitchen.
At least twenty workers were in there, cooking meat on the large stoves, chopping vegetables on the tables, and setting up t
rays of food.
“Too many people,” she whispered with a shake of her head.
Teo nodded toward another door farther down the hall, open by a small crack.
They walked toward it, and Aina waited, listening. Inside, people were rummaging through pots and pans and speaking in low voices. She swung open the door.
Three kitchen workers stood inside the small pantry. Before they could do more than look up, she and Teo had each grabbed one of the workers, putting them into holds that made them lose consciousness in seconds.
The third worker had flattened herself against the pantry wall and looked too scared to do anything other than stare at them with an open mouth.
As Teo removed the jackets, aprons, and hats of the two unconscious employees, Aina placed the tip of a dagger at the third one’s jaw.
“You saw nothing,” she whispered. The woman gulped and nodded, then winced as the blade clipped her chin with the movement.
They tossed aside the Diamond Guard uniforms and donned the kitchen attire, Aina stuffing her scarf in the apron’s pocket. All three employees they’d attacked were women closer to Aina’s size, so while the uniform fit her well enough, Teo had to squeeze into the blouse and apron, ripping one of the sleeves in the process.
Fighting down a laugh, she asked, “Are you off to bake some cakes? Maybe an apple pie?”
He shook his head while tugging on the tight sleeves. “Shut it, or I’ll bake you into an apple pie.”
They left through the same door and made their way down the hall. According to Ryuu, if they walked straight for another few minutes, they’d reach a stairwell two floors above the balcony that surrounded the main ballroom where the princess would receive the black diamond.
A pair of Diamond Guards rounded the corner as they went. They both nodded politely at the officers, but the two were engaged in such a low, rushed argument that they hardly noticed the kitchen employees walking by them.
As Teo walked on, Aina dropped to a crouch and pretended to tie her shoes. Straining her ears, she caught snatches of the conversation.
Once the guards disappeared, she caught up with Teo and whispered, “They know there’s been a breakout. Apparently, they’ve taken most of the Diamond Guards out of the main part of the Tower to try to get the prisoners back.”
“At least there will be less of them around to notice us.”
She nodded stiffly. “You should go meet up with Ryuu and Raurie. I’ll find Kohl.”
“I’ll go with you, then. Let’s take him out for good.”
But she shook her head. “I want to fight him myself.”
He opened his mouth, about to protest. But then he took in the determined expression on her face and pulled her into a tight hug instead. She wrapped her arms around his back, and for a second, she wanted to stay here—safe from the threats, with someone she could always trust.
“I’ve always known you could take him on,” he said in such a nonchalant voice that she knew he meant every word. “But I’m still allowed to worry about you. Where will you look for him?”
“I think he’ll be on the balcony above the ballroom,” she said, pulling away. “If he’s going to shoot her, that would be the best vantage point.”
They set off then, and in moments they reached the staircase that Ryuu had told them about. Two floors down, a landing extended to the left and the hall ahead disappeared into shadows. Aina waved to Teo, and they split up. She took that direction, wondering how much time was left, while Teo continued down the stairs to the ballroom itself.
As she traversed the hall, dimly lit with yellow light bulbs hanging from the ceiling every few feet, she couldn’t deny her fear at heading on alone. She’d done everything on this mission with Teo, and telling him to go on and leave this to her made the task ahead even more daunting.
Touching the hilts of her knives for reassurance, she took deep breaths to gather as much energy as possible.
She’d need all she could to fight the Blood King.
She ran down the hall now, afraid that if she paused for even a moment, she might hear his voice telling her she needed him, that it was stupid to think she was anything more than his weapon. But she was done thinking what he told her to think.
He’d taken almost everything from her, but she still had her knives, and she knew how to use them.
She picked up the pace, running down the hall, accompanied only by the sound of rain lashing the outside walls of the Tower to her right.
Halfway down the hall, a figure stepped out of an alcove directly in her path. Aina skidded to a stop.
It was Tannis, her gold eyes shining like beacons in the dark hall.
43
Aina flung up her knife arm by instinct, almost slashing through Tannis’s throat, but she stopped at the last moment. Tannis watched her with a raised eyebrow. Neither of her hands had flicked to weapons.
In the dim light of the empty hall, they stared each other down, inches apart, waiting for the other’s next move. The only sound other than the rain was their steady breathing.
Killing Tannis was what Kohl would want her to do. Spark more enmity between his Blades, so one of them would take out the other and he would own the survivor.
But something was off.
Kohl had killed Kouta, not Tannis. And though Tannis had attacked her when they’d last met, now the other girl showed no sign of wanting to fight. Throwing stars still glinted at the holsters near her shoulders, but she kept her palms facing outward in a peaceful gesture.
“What are you doing here?” Aina finally asked.
After a beat of silence, Tannis tilted her head toward Aina. “You need to know the truth.”
When Aina frowned at her, Tannis beckoned her into the shadows of the alcove where the light failed to reach them.
“What truth?” Aina snapped. “Did Kohl kick you out too?”
Tannis shook her head with a grimace. “I’m on your side, not his.”
“You have a strange way of showing support.” Everyone in Kosín was split between sides or lying about what side they were on, and she was sick of it. Whatever Tannis was doing had only caused more problems. “Prove it.”
“Who do you think stopped Kohl from killing you last night? I took a tip from you—I kept a paralyzing dart between my teeth and blew it into his neck. Then I used a smoke bomb so none of his people would see me taking you away after you fell and passed out. I hid you in an alley, and then, once they all left, I brought you to Hirai’s.” When Aina went silent, she continued, “And who do you think sent Kouta Hirai the documents with information on Bautix’s political murders?”
“How did you know about that?” Aina asked. Her first instinct was to dismiss everything Tannis said as a lie, but that was what Kohl would want her to do.
“Kohl never goes to Rose Court, but he’s been attending secret meetings there for a while now. He thinks we’re so scared of him that we’d never go through his things, but I got curious.” Tannis shrugged. “Right before he gave you the Hirai hit, he went out again. I went through his office and found the documents about what the general is doing, and that Kouta Hirai was the next hit. I also found out that Kohl has been helping Bautix with these murders for years and hiding Bautix’s connections to the city’s arms sales. Kohl has funneled money from arms sales through the other tradehouses for years, to private accounts Bautix owns under different names. I knew they had history with each other, but I never knew how much until I found all this.”
“History? Why would Kohl work for a Steel?”
“Kohl only does what benefits him, you should know that by now. And because of their partnership, Kohl gets away with almost anything in the city. Besides, they’re afraid of each other.”
“Afraid?” Aina let out an incredulous laugh. Of the million people who lived in this city, Kohl and Bautix were the last two she expected to be afraid of anything.
“Didn’t he ever tell you how he got out of prison?” When Aina shook her head
, Tannis sighed and said, “Our old boss from the Vultures smuggled money and weapons to the rebels, but he was playing two sides—he also gave information to Bautix, who was rising up in the military at the time. Kohl caught a glimpse of Bautix, but didn’t know who he was until he was in prison and Bautix came to inspect the cells one day. Then, after Kohl killed someone in prison, a riot broke out. He escaped in it and ran all the way to the top floor of the Tower where Bautix’s office is. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it sounded like he almost killed Bautix too, and threatened to reveal that Bautix was selling weapons to both sides during the war—to the Steels and to King Verrain’s fighters. Bautix let Kohl go free and caught up to him a few years later.”
“What happened then?” Aina asked.
“All I know is that Bautix asked Kohl to put together a group to spy on a worship service and take out some Inosen. I think Bautix wanted a favor from Kohl, for letting him out of prison, and after the war, all Bautix did was focus on getting rid of Inosen. I was part of the group Kohl put together.”
“That’s where he saw me and my parents,” Aina said in a low voice. “He killed them for that job.”
Tannis’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know that. You mean he still recruited you, after killing your parents?” When Aina nodded stiffly, Tannis said, “I’m sorry, Aina. I really didn’t know. But it doesn’t surprise me. Did you know, I had friends here that died during the war for being Inosen? So I hated doing that job with Kohl. I thought their partnership was temporary, just for that job. But this information I found a few weeks ago proves they’ve been working together all this time. Bautix lets Kohl get away with almost anything, and Kohl helps him launder money from weapons sales and takes care of his dirty work whenever Bautix asks. I sent Hirai copies of what I found. I thought he’d be rich enough to do something about it. But he’s dead now, and Bautix is still getting away with his plans.”
After a lull of silence, Aina asked slowly, “So, when you were telling me that going after Kouta was an easy way to get myself killed—?”
Diamond City Page 27