The neighbourhood with the boardinghouses was quiet and dark, with only about half the streetlamps lit. A few more would have been nice, since it would have made it that much harder to spot us in the dark above. A half-moon cast enough light to see, but it didn’t make it easy.
We’d sneaked out of the villa one at a time, and though the guards in the main house saw us, they must have been used to us leaving by now. And no one tried to stop us. Whether or not they told Onderaan we’d left was something I’d deal with when we got back.
If we got back.
Ceun arrived with Quenji, the new pack leader, and another boy, Zee. More of the pack had wanted to help, but we figured the more we had, the more likely we’d be caught. All of us carried empty sacks on our belts and backpacks with supplies.
We stood on the top landing in one of the boardinghouses closest to the aqueduct. The window was already open and just big enough for us to crawl through and climb up the outside of the building to the roof.
“Last chance to change your mind,” I said.
Ceun smiled. “We all go.”
Quenji ruffled his hair. “There’s lots of good stuff to steal in there. We’ll eat for a year.” He laughed. “We could eat for months just from the stories. People talk about you, Shifter, but we’ll have truth to tell, not gossip.”
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.
“OK. Time to climb.”
Quenji went out the window first, coils of rope slung diagonally across his chest like a sash. He crawled up the brick like a lizard. 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-colourful 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 only gone a few steps 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. 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 it was around the crenellations along the front and sides of the building. They looked more decorative than solid though.
Danello followed my gaze. “It’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 OK. 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 buildings, 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 to hold the rope in case 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 bad.
He slipped out on to 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 down 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 on to the aqueduct. He lay there, gasping.
“Are you OK?” 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 about halfway across, 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. No lamps out here.
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 foundry sat below, a lot clearer from this angle. It was L-shaped, sitting on a hill, the taller section was maybe living quarters or offices, and looked like any other brick building. 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 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, but how many?
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, but 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 centred 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 smiled.
“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 wasn’t in it. It 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.