"There's another riot on the western side of the city," Riya said. "I need all available soldiers to convene at the corner of Perrit and Finch to help calm things down."
The five soldiers—all Forcadelian—seemed confused, especially as Riya had another four soldiers behind her that could've also helped with this supposed riot, but didn't disobey, turning and jogging toward the city without another word. Their sour-faced Severian lieutenant, however, didn't budge.
"I haven't heard anything about this," he said. "And I don't believe that—"
His words died on his tongue as he fell forward, victim of a swift punch to the back of the head.
"Jax!" I hissed at him.
"We don't have time for this," he said. "Those soldiers are going to know there isn't a riot pretty quickly."
"Nor do we have time for arguments," Luard said behind me as he and his guards appeared from the darkness. "Onward!"
Once we were clear of the border, we formed a perimeter around the Niemenians as if we were escorting them. A heavy fog had rolled into the city, obscuring the moon and casting a halo around the few torchlights. Our first stop was the Wicked Duck, where the Niemenians quickly readied their carriage for departure—or more importantly, the large trunk of Niemenian ore that sat beneath Luard's seat.
"This is where we leave you," Jorad said, casting a nervous look around before bowing to me. "We will do our best to rouse the forces."
"Wait until you see the explosion," I said, adding, "Just in case."
"Will do." He bowed once more, and Aline did as well.
"Good luck, Your Highness," she said with a soft smile.
They disappeared around the corner, and I couldn't help but feel a little worried. I didn't like giving up resources. What if their entire contingent turned on them? What if they weren't believed? What if—
"Don't fret," Luard said, coming to drape an arm around me. "If this fails, we'll all be dead."
"Thanks…"
Every second they took to pack and prepare was agony. The border guards Riya had sent away would soon realize they'd been sent to the wrong place and Maarit might sound the alarm. The sooner we were on the boat, the better.
A whistle echoed in the night, and fear slid down my back.
"We have company," I said to the Niemenians.
"And what in the Mother's name is this?"
Maarit appeared in the alley, flanked by five soldiers who were blocking us from leaving. I ducked my face behind the Niemenians, my fingers closing around the knives hidden under my Severian jacket.
"I've grown tired of this sticky city," Luard said, his voice loud and obnoxious. "I want to continue my journey down to Forcadel to see my sister."
"We have a curfew, Prince," Maarit said. "It's for your own safety."
He released a loud sigh, and Ivan stepped forward. "Captain, my sincerest apologies. But I also think it's a good idea for the prince to leave. With all the riots in the city, and with his penchants for nightly prowls, it's a recipe for disaster. We'd like your blessing to take a vessel out of the city tonight."
Maarit surveyed him for a long time, as if she were trying to figure out what the game was.
"Captain, I have to agree with him," Riya said. "It'll be one less thing to worry about while we try to calm the city down. I think there's a fishing boat or two still in port."
Finally, the Severian nodded. "Fine. Tell the commanding officer I said to allow the prince and his staff onboard and to take them down to the city. Pay them a sum of fifty gold coins for their trouble."
"Of course," Riya said, saluting Maarit before turning to Luard. "Your Highness, if you please, it's just a short ride in the carriage."
Maarit stayed to watch the final preparations of the carriage. Jax and I climbed onto the back while Riya sat up front with Ivan. Hagan and Nils rode behind on their horses, and Asdis sat inside with Luard. Elisha, I hoped, had enough sense to follow behind us and stay out of sight.
Finally, after an eternity, Ivan snapped the reins and we moved forward.
Once we were in the open street, Luard opened his window and poked his head out to wink at me.
"See? I told you I'd be useful."
As the carriage rolled through the empty streets, Luard set to divvying up the ond into individual bags. Every torchlight we passed outside the carriage set my heart aflutter, but we weren't bothered at all, especially with Riya sitting on the front bench with Ivan.
We left the Niemenian carriage in an alley as Luard finished with the ond. Riya, Jax, and I continued onto the docks where we found one small fishing vessel—a schooner with two masts already converted for upriver travel. Riya marched toward the captain's quarters and banged loudly on the door.
"Open up!"
The light flared inside, and the door opened. "What's the meaning of…oh…" The captain, a short, squatty woman with more wrinkles than smooth skin, opened the door. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"
"I'm here on behalf of Captain Maarit," Riya said. "We've gotten reports that this ship has been harboring known fugitives." She nodded behind her to the rest of us. "Team, take prisoners."
Jax and I went downstairs to wake and round up the crew. They cried out in protest, but once they saw our uniforms, they quieted almost immediately. I didn't like how easily Maarit's fear-based regime had taken over this city, but I also couldn't argue that it was useful in this case.
While we distracted the crew with a series of inane questions about their mates, cargo, and past, the Niemenians and Elisha snuck on board with the ore.
The captain, sitting amongst her bewildered sailors, crossed her arms in fury as she stared down Riya. "We ain't got nothing illegal. I promise your boss that."
"I have my orders," she said, waiting on the gangway.
Elisha's curt whistle pierced the night air and I nodded to Riya. "We'll just see what we find during our search of the vessel," she said.
The Niemenians were out of sight when we re-boarded the ship, but Nils was waiting by the ship's engine to kick it off. I did a quick scan of the boat to make sure the rest of my small crew was onboard, then ducked behind a stack of crates. From my slingbag, I found my mask and wrapped it around my face.
With a smirk, I walked to the gangplank then kicked it into the water.
"Oi!" the captain called from the dock as the engines rumbled to life. "What's the big idea?"
I stood on the edge of the ship, hanging onto the nearby rigging, then bowed with a flourish. "The Veil thanks you for your contribution."
In unison, the sailors' jaws fell open and the captain began to sputter wildly. Whether she was pleased or not, I had no idea, as her words were lost on the wind.
"And you're sure you wanted to do that?" Riya asked as I jumped down.
"The boat captain will tell Maarit that The Veil stole her boat," I said, glancing behind me. "If we're lucky, maybe Maarit will already be on her way when the gate explodes. Then she'll either have to double back, or she'll engage us with fewer soldiers. If we capture Maarit, we should be able to force the surrender of everyone else."
"That's a lot of ifs," Riya said with a look.
"But it's a smart risk," Luard said, walking out of the captain's quarters with a wine goblet. "Look who's suddenly become a strategic thinker."
I tried not to look too pleased with myself.
The thick fog made it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of us, so Jax and I sat on the bow of the ship, listening for the sound of the water against the gates. We moved slower than I wanted to, but it was the safer option with our limited visibility.
"There," Jax said, pointing to a faint light in the distance. "That's probably one of the gatehouses, so we must be close."
Finally, the gate materialized, large and foreboding and hundreds of feet tall. I just hoped we'd brought enough to destroy it all.
Behind me, Luard had his makeshift schematic of the gate unfurled on the deck of the ship. "Set the charges at each of the main hinge points. And for the Mother's sake, don't light up a smoke nearby. This stuff is highly flammable."
"How do we plan to climb the gate?" Jax asked.
Asdis procured a set of arrows that had ropes attached to the back of them—the ones I'd seen in Kulka. "These. We shoot them at the bars and then use the rope to climb up. It's supposed to be for scaling fortresses, but it should work on a gate, too."
"Let me see that," Jax said, a note of interest in his voice. "Where'd you get this and how can I get more?"
At the bow of the ship, Hagan caught the gate and Nils shut off the engines. Jax walked to the bow and aimed his crossbow upward, firing toward the first join of the iron bar to the pegs of the gate. The arrow cleared the bar then circled back down, and the specially-designed head connected with the rope, securing it against the bar. Jax tugged on the rope, then put his whole weight on it.
"I need one of these," he said, pulling himself to walk up the rope. "Oh yes, I need one of these."
Asdis joined him, and the three split up across the three levels of the gate, with Jax taking the top level. As soon as they were clear, Nils maneuvered the boat toward the other side of the gate, where Riya, Hagan, and I would place the other set of ond bags.
Riya whistled from her position at the back of the boat, and I followed her gaze. In the distance, there was a pinprick of light on the docks—perhaps a sign that Maarit was gathering her forces.
"Great," I said, swallowing my nerves.
We came to the other gate hinge, and as Riya used the special crossbow to attach to the nearest connecting point, I turned to Luard. "We shouldn't be long, but if that line of torches gets too close—"
"Quit flapping your jaw and get to work," he said with a look.
I smiled and pulled out my special climbing gloves. They stuck to the Niemenian ore as well as brick, allowing me to slowly walk up the length of the post. Riya and Hagan would take care of the lower rungs and the chains leading to the gatehouses, but I delegated myself to handle the highest.
With my gloves, I scaled the gate quicker than Jax had. When I reached the top, I stuck my gloves in my back pocket and stared out at Neveri in the distance. The gaggle of torchlights was now floating down the river. They'd be here within the hour.
I couldn't focus on that, though. The ond was in small leather pouches in my slingbag, tied together by a string that Nils had doused in oil. I was to place a bag every ten feet or so, securing the bag to iron with a little tack. Once I'd reached the end of the gate, I turned around and walked back to the center, using my sticky gloves to climb back down. There, Riya and Hagan were already with Luard on the boat, having picked up Jax's team from the other side.
"All good?" Riya asked.
"Hope so," I replied with a smile. "Let's get moving."
The boat's gears churned into action as they started moving with the current away from the gate. Luard handed me a bow and arrow with a special, flammable tip, a flint, and gave me a reassuring smile as he lit the arrow. I walked to the front of the ship and stood at the bow, aiming my arrow at the gate as we backed away from it.
Time, which had been running so quickly, slowed down, as the full weight of what I was doing resonated in my mind. If I shot this arrow, I would be most likely dooming everyone in both forts to death. There would be no warning, no escape. A hundred souls would be added to my tally.
"Brynna." Riya rested her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. This is the right thing to do."
I lifted the burning arrow, aimed at the center of the gate, and released it. It soared through the night sky, and for a brief, terrifying moment, I thought I might've aimed too short.
Then the world exploded.