B0161NEC9Y (F) (18 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Shanti sauntered beside Alena, noticing each Graygual, his positioning, and level within the army. Near the orphan house, most of the Graygual were lower rung, and bore surly expressions. Their movements were jerky and their focus fleeting. They would be easy to take down.

Near the prison things became a lot dicier. One and two slashes turned into three and four. Movements turned graceful and stances balanced. The Graygual there had hard expressions, watchful and focused.

“Do new fighters ever enter the city?” Shanti asked as they neared the prison. She lowered her eyes as they passed a Graygual. He eyed them for a moment before his gaze moved on. Here, unlike the Hunter’s camp, the women weren’t invisible, they were just not considered a threat. That was a very big difference.

“No. He is cut off from getting any more soldiers, I think.” Alena started to chuckle. Her hand touched her breast before gliding through the air to land on Shanti’s shoulder. “Smile as if you just told a joke.”

Shanti’s smile probably looked like a grimace.

A Graygual across the street glanced at them. His gaze lingered on Alena for a moment but stuck a little longer to Shanti. Sweat beaded on her brow. Her knives felt hot against her leg. Her back felt cold without the weight of her sword. This was a terrible idea.

“If he keeps staring I’ll cut his eye out,” Shanti muttered, her smile slipping. She forced out a laugh.

As if hearing her thought, Alena said, “This is a bad idea. You don’t move like us. You look…dangerous. Like you’re about to kill someone.”

“I might be if he keeps staring.” Shanti forced her gaze to the ground.

“Lower your head a little more. You look defiant.”

Shanti gritted her teeth and tried to push away the intense urge to run at that Graygual and stick a knife in his gut. “With my eyes on the ground I can’t check anyone out.”

They ambled a little further up the road. The prison loomed off to the right, a Graygual and an Inkna standing in front. Two more Graygual walked up from the side, their faces grim as they both went inside.

“I wonder why there are so many guards…” Alena looped her arm in Shanti’s, pulling her close. She leaned in with a smile. “There aren’t usually so many.”

“You are very good at pretending to be happy while being terrified.” Shanti drew her
Gift
in and slammed her shields home. “We shouldn’t go close to that Inkna. If he gets curious, he’ll figure out what I am.”

“We can’t very well turn back. The Graygual you silently threatened is now following us.”

Shanti risked a glance behind them. The Graygual was still on the opposite side of the street, but he’d started walking after them.

“
Flak,
”
Shanti quietly swore. Another Inkna had shown up at the prison, not far from them now. “Why are they so heavily guarding men behind bars?”

“Unless Lucius took the elixir…”

“The what?”

“I gave Lucius… What’s wrong?”

Shanti went rigid, feeling the poke of power against her shields. Alena staggered a moment later, letting out a whimper of pain.

“This situation just got worse.” Another poke pushed against her shield. The Inkna was now looking right at her. “Get us out of here!” Shanti hissed.

“There’s nowhere to go. We can’t just turn around! That’ll be obvious. And for God’s sake,
smile
or you’ll get us both killed.”

Shanti let a grin twist her mouth while gazing vaguely ahead, catching the Inkna still staring in her peripheral vision. Alena gave her arm a tug, leading her across the street. They’d be closer to the other Graygual, still keeping pace, but it would be infinitely better than that Inkna getting more curious.

Alena grunted as another poke hit Shanti’s shields. The woman sucked in a ragged breath, her face turning white. Shanti let her smile fade and gave an exaggerated stumble, pretending to feel the pain just as acutely.

“He must be relatively weak if he can’t tell I have shields up,” Shanti said softly as Alena put her head down. She was lagging behind now, clutching Shanti’s arm in a claw-like grip.

“Can’t you feel it?”

“I can feel him poking me. Look at him. He’s just trying to make us suffer.” Shanti felt her ire rise. “He has no idea what suffering is. I could give him a lesson…”

“Look
down
!
”
Alena wheezed. “You look like you’re about to go on a killing spree.”

“I
feel
like I’m about to go on a killing spree. He has it coming.” Shanti risked a glance behind. The Graygual was still back there, keeping pace, his face intent. His scowl was aimed at her.

“If he only has a little power, I’d hate to see what a lot of power is like.”

“Yes, you would. C’mon. It’s not permanent. Push through the pain.”

“Easy for you to say,” Alena said through a stiff jaw. “You’re not the one in pain.”

“Yep. Supportive, though, aren’t I?”

“No, not really.”

They passed the prison, having no more information now than they had before they started this hazardous stroll. Shanti felt the mental pokes lighten before they disappeared altogether. Alena straightened up with a sigh.

“Not out of the woods yet,” Shanti said quietly, opening up her
Gift.
She kept it tightly around her, having no idea who she might meet around the next corner. Behind her, the Graygual kept pace.

Shanti felt fear spike in Alena. “He’ll want to question us. That might mean a trip to the Hunter…”

Adrenaline coursed through Shanti. She considered their options.

She could easily lie in wait and then kill the Graygual. He was only one man, with three slashes, and he wouldn’t expect much from her. She was acting suspiciously, but she was still a woman in a big frilly dress. The women here had given the Graygual no reason to suspect them of being able to fight. The problem was that trying to hide him in broad daylight, in a populated area, wouldn’t be easy. Besides, she’d probably get blood on the dress. That would attract all sorts of attention.

“Why didn’t I wear black or red?” Shanti muttered.

The other option was the one that made the most sense.

“C’mon!” Shanti grabbed Alena and started to run. “Let’s lose him.”

“But…these shoes…”

They clattered around a corner in heeled shoes and then ducked into an alley. Shanti had been this way before, knowing where it emerged. Unfortunately, that excursion had been in pants. The dress climbed the walls, stuffed into the small space. Behind her, Alena waded through her shiny purple fabric, pushing through like she was walking through mud.

“We can go to Fabienne’s house,” Alena huffed out. “She’s close by.”

The Graygual had paused when Shanti and Alena turned the corner. Shanti felt his indecision about leaving his post, but he was suspicious. He knew something wasn’t right.

Halfway down the alley, Shanti held her breath. He was on the verge of turning back.

And then he followed them. His determination spiked. He wanted to cure his curiosity.

“Faster,” Shanti urged, battling the material as the dress dragged along the dirty alley walls.

“I can’t…” Alena stalled, trying to turn sideways. She forced down the billowing fabric in panicked, jerky movements. “The corset…is making it hard…to maneuver.”

Shanti grabbed her by the arm and started pulling. “Push through it, Alena. That corset will feel like a lover’s embrace compared to what the Hunter will do.”

Shanti yanked Alena the rest of the way. She felt the Graygual approaching the alley. He’d probably pass by with a glance. Then he’d see them.

“Hurry!” She popped out of the alley and turned to pull Alena with her. The wall scraped the woman’s arm as she was dragged around it. They flattened against the stone, panting.

The Graygual did pass, but then stalled. Shanti’s breath became shallow as she felt his indecision once again. And then acute focus. He was tracking them.

“Shit.” Shanti leaned forward so she could see around Alena to the mouth of the alley. As she’d suspected, the walls had lines where the dresses had scraped away dust and dirt. “C’mon, we have to go.”

At a fast but noisy pace thanks to their shoes, they turned down a deserted lane. Toward the end, Alena pointed out another small alleyway. “We should go down there.”

Shanti glanced at the ground. Their heels were scraping away bits of filth. Nicely dressed women didn’t take to the alleys. Obviously only those up to no good in soft-soled shoes passed this way. Like she would have done in a normal situation.

This was anything but normal.

Shanti glanced at the alley. Then their dresses. “Bloody hell.” Shanti grabbed the other woman by the shoulders, and wrenched her around. A hem ripped. Alena gasped.

“It’s just a dress,” Shanti said, exasperated. She undid the back, exposing the laces of the corset. Without wasting any time, she started yanking, unlacing it.

“What are you
doing
?”
Alena demanded in a loud whisper. She reached back to stop the progress.

Shanti slapped the woman’s hands away and hooked her finger in the string and pulled. As she worked, the thing popped open, then caught in the dress. With rough but quick hands, Shanti ripped the dress open and down to Alena’s waist.

“Oh my God,” Alena gushed, covering her chest.

“What is
with
you people? You still have a garment on.” Shanti slapped her elbows up and out of the way. With some finagling, she got the stiff corset off and tossed it to the ground. She did the dress back up as quickly as possible and then yanked the woman around again. “Let’s go.”

“But my—” Alena reached down to scoop up the discarded item. “These are expensive.”

“Stop wearing them. See? I just saved you money.” Shanti grabbed the woman’s arm and started pulling, intent on dragging her through the second alley.

“He’s going to wonder why we are traipsing through alleyways,” Alena said, panting once again.

“I think I’ve shown that I don’t fit in here. One suspicious Graygual is better than a city full of suspicious Graygual. Besides, he has to catch us to be able to ask.”

“This could raise their suspicions, though!”

“The men we killed not turning up for their duties will do that anyway.”

“No one ever mentioned you were a know-it-all,” Alena grumbled.

Shanti couldn’t help a bark of laughter.

They came out of the confined space and paused, Shanti scanning with both her eyes and
Gift.
Someone she knew waited a short distance away to the right. Keeping Alena to the side so as not to be seen, she inched along the wall until they had to cross the street. A few citizens ambled along, but none of the enemy lingered.

“Quick.” Shanti jerked off her shoes now that the way was clear of debris and ran, crossing the open space. On the other side, she led them around a bend before stepping into an alcove partially covered by a large, bushy plant. “Leilius.”

Leilius jumped. His arm flew out, a knife at the end jabbing at her chest. Shanti batted it away and gave him a shove, knocking him back against the wall.

“Oh, S’am, it’s you!” Leilius slumped and clutched at his chest. “I thought I was a goner.”

“Good reaction, though the chest would be hard to pierce. You should aim for a more vulnerable area. Listen—”

“S’am, you look a mess! Your dress isn’t on right, and your hair looks like you got caught in a whirlwind. You should’ve let them try to make Rohnan fit in that dress. He would’ve pulled this off better than you.”

“When people judge me, Leilius, I kick them somewhere soft that hurts an awful lot…”

Leilius shut his mouth.

“I need you to tell Rohnan to watch that prison if he can get close enough. We need to know who has the key and when we can force our way in. If at all possible, I’d love to know how strong the various Inkna are that pass him by. If he can feel it.”

“He’s already doing all that, S’am.” Leilius stowed his knife. “He’s got a good hiding place. He said to tell you that he can’t feel the Inkna from where he is, and he can’t get any closer. Then he sent me to wait in a quieter part of the city until you found me. Which is here. I’ve only seen one Graygual walk by, and he didn’t seem particularly observant.”

Shanti felt a rush of gratitude that she had Rohnan by her side. They had always been a good team. “We’re being followed, so we’re going to go into hiding for a few hours. I need to think of what we need to do next. Sneaking around seems like a better plan than dressing like a party favor.”

“It would probably work better if you looked like a lady.”

“And you’d probably get punched less if you stopped voicing observations.”

“Yes, S’am. Please don’t punch me.”

Alena ducked her head around the bushy plant. “Hurry! Someone just looked down the other end of the alley.”

Shanti sighed. “Nothing is going well in this venture.” She gestured Leilius out of the alcove. “You’d best move on. That man is annoyingly tenacious. He’ll probably walk by here looking for me.”

“That’s okay, S’am. I need to check in with the orphans, anyway. See if I can help.”

This time Shanti did punch him. Why couldn’t these guys keep their mouths shut? She jerked her head at Alena. “Let’s go.”

“What did he mean about the orphans? That’s the second time someone has brought them up.”

“Nothing. They just wanted to help, is all.”

“You’re having the orphans help? Through here.”

They cut through a yard, closing the wooden gate behind them. Shanti directed Alena to the little brick path that cut through the garden. It was a lovely little spot, even better to have this cultivated nature in one’s backyard. Shanti had to remember to tell Cayan she wanted something like this.

“Why’d you grimace? What’s wrong?” Alena looked behind them in a panic.

“Nothing. Sorry. My thoughts get away from reality sometimes. Here, this way.”

“I can’t climb a fence in a dress!”

“Yes you can. Probably.” Shanti pointed at the small path and then the border of flowers. “Careful to keep your feet out of the dirt, and make sure you don’t knock any flowers off with that horrible excuse for fashion.”