We dash out of the hill with the others. I see he’s put his beast-charming to good use and created a diversion.
We find a gap in the line of soldiers ahead. The vampire judgemen supposed to keep watch on the rocky outskirts havedeserted their post to go see what the ruckus was with the birds gliding into an outpost. It created an opening, which we jet through before they can return.
We take to the shadows and breathe deeply once we’re safely secreted away in Olhav’s streets.From here, it only gets worse. More sentinels the deeper we go. More chance of getting caught.
Skar is right. I am being reckless and careless bringing us into this damned city.I’m sure my mother is fine.
But I have toknow.
Lukain is nearest to me, and I shoulder him, whispering, “See? Look what a dhampir can do.”
He frowns at my attempt to vouch for Garro’s nice words last night. “He used his beast-charming. Which I don’t have.”
“Sure. But it was his ingenuity that thought of it.” I click my tongue and continue out of the shadows with the others. We creep our way down the roads.
Hours later, we make it to the tip of the Military Ward where the Chained Sisters’ house is kept off the main road. My heart hasn’t settled from my throat in just as long. Every step, every alley we cross, every corner we turn, makes my fear of discovery spike.
Against all odds, we get there. I finally let out a rickety breath once the house comes into sight. The Chained Sisters’ abode is hidden within a ramshackle grouping of other hovels and busted buildings, looking more like an abandoned tenement than a staging ground for rebellious women.
Strangely, we’ve spotted fewer guards in the Military Ward than in the districts surrounding it. Almost as if Aramastun Wyvox hasn’t yet gained complete control over Barnabac Craxon’s soldiers and Red Spawn—his countless minions and thralls.Possible allies, if they can be roused to our cause?
As we emerge from an alley and creep toward the house, Skar stops us with a raised fist. His eyes dart left, seeing or hearing something down the road far before I do.
My heart gallops, resuming its breakneck pace.Fuck. Made it this far just to get caught at the very end!
We’re halfway across the street. No barrels or awnings or alleyways or buildings to hide behind. Only a slash of shadow from the moon, cast from the roof of the Sisters’ abode itself.
Down the road, shadows appear on the ground, from a street unseen. I can see the shapes of their broad-brimmed hats in their shadows before I see their bodies. They’re seconds away from marching around the corner and spotting us right here in the middle of the street.
Skar’s hands work in a flurry. He throws them wide, hissing, “Shoulder to shoulder,” and upturns his wrists.
The shadows cast from our bodies swirl and coalesce, foisting into the sky in front of us like a black wall thrust out of nothing. The inky patch merges with the small copse of shadow from the building.
We stay still, inhaling sharply as a quartet of soldiers turns the corner.
“You hear that?” one of the vampires asks the others.
They’re staring straight at us . . . and seeing nothing. Skartovius has blanketed us in darkness. I can vaguely see their shapes through the gloom, but on their side it’s just a dark wall. If we weren’t already hiding in the shadow of a building, that “dark wall” would lookcompletelyout of place.
I can only hope it’s enough.
Agonizing seconds pass.
“No,” says another. He fingers dance on the hilts of his swords. These are not soldiers we want to mess with—they are Aramastun’s specialists.
Shrugging, the judgeman says, “Continue our route.”
And they move down the road, turning the corner, disappearing down another street and out of sight.
Skar lets his shadow wall drop.
My breath hisses out of me, ragged and unsteady.
“Let’s get off the fucking road,” Skar growls.
No one argues with him this time. After all, it was Skar who told us this would be dangerous.I should have believed him. I shouldn’t have argued for the sake of arguing.
We give the coded knock on the front door of the Chained Sisters’ house.