“This way,” Renée said before taking off with a ground-eating stride.
Valek, Onora and Innis followed. After ten minutes, he hoped the teens wouldn’t ditch him. At least the effort to maintain the pace kept his mind occupied. His injuries throbbed with pain, and he didn’t have any spare energy to conjure up various dire scenarios for his missing wife.
The street lamps emitted enough light for them to skirt security patrols, avoid busy intersections and cut through an impressive number of alleys. Then it turned tricky.
Renée scrambled up a dilapidated shed and crossed a high fence to get onto the roof that was connected to a row of houses. Innis accomplished it with equal ease. Valek sweated as he climbed and almost lost his balance on the fence. Onora touched his elbow to steady him.
Once on the roof, they stayed on the top of the buildings, winding through the quadrant. The place resembled a maze, and Valek didn’t have the strength to track their location.
Penny’s Arch turned out to be a thick walkway between two buildings. It arched high up in the middle, as if the structures had shuffled closer together and bowed it.
Valek scanned the area, noting the brief patterns of the original structures that emerged from the unorganized mess. He didn’t know what he’d expected—a giant hand pointing to a specific section? Maybe if he used magic...
Valek lowered his mental barrier and was immediately assaulted with the thoughts of the thousands of people all around him. He raised his shield again, cursing. The entire endeavor had been a waste of precious time.
About to ask Renée to lead them back to HQ, Valek noticed that one area was darker than the others, but there was a bright glow right next to it. As if all the lanterns had decided to huddle together instead of spreading out.
Assassins were creatures of night and shadows, and if they’d set up an ambush, it would be in the darkest part of the city. And if there wasn’t a naturally dark spot, then they wouldn’t hesitate to create one.
“Renée, can you get us where it’s dark?” Valek asked, pointing to the spot.
“Yes. It’s near the entrance. There are two routes. Which one?”
“The fastest one.”
“There’s a wall.”
“Up or down?”
“Down.”
“I can handle it. Let’s go.”
Another race through the city. More pain and the conviction that his arm was about to rip from his shoulder. The trip blurred into one test of endurance. He kept his gaze trained on Renée’s back, concentrating on the next step.
Shouts pierced his fog. Two more of Fisk’s guild members joined them. Their mouths moved, but it took him a moment to decipher their words. And when he did, they made no sense.
“Slow down. What’s this about sweepers and lamplighters attacking?” he asked.
“They’re the sweepers for Fisk and Yelena’s surveillance team,” Innis explained. “They were running for help. Guess the scouts missed the ambush.”
The word zipped through him. “What ambush?”
“The lamplighters. Or people dressed like the lamplighters. They attacked with...” He swallowed, afraid to continue.
“With what?” Valek kept his fists pressed to his side to keep his hands from grabbing the boy’s shoulder and shaking him.
“Torches.”
Cold dread numbed Valek’s pain. “Where?”
“This way.”
He pulled his daggers and noticed Onora and the others doing the same. They raced after the two sweepers, heading toward the bright spot he’d seen from Penny’s Arch.
Except when they arrived, it was no longer ablaze with light. Instead, the dark area had spread, encompassing the entire street. Valek signaled for everyone to slow down. No sense rushing into another ambush.
They found the scouts first. The two young men had been knocked out, but their pulses were strong. Fisk lay crumpled on his side next to one of the buildings. He was unconscious as well, and had a large, fist-sized burn on his left temple. Blood dripped from a cut on his cheek. Valek suppressed his fury, keeping a firm grip on his magic.
“The lamplighters formed a circle around them and forced them up against the building,” one of the sweepers explained.
“How many of them?” Valek asked.
“At least a dozen.”
Lovely.
“Over here,” Renée called. “I found Lyle and Berk.”
Valek crouched beside them. Peppered with cuts, bruises and burns, the two...boys looked in worse shape than Fisk. But their chests rose and fell with even breaths. “Are they the bodyguards?”
“Yes.”
Incredible.
“They’re good,” Renée said in their defense. “They were just outnumbered.”
“Any sign of Yelena?” he asked the group.
No response.
Onora appeared next to Valek. “A word?”
They moved away from the others. “Did you find something?”
“I’ve an idea of which direction they’re headed.”
“Let’s go.” He stepped past her, but she touched his shoulder and he bit back a scream of pain.
Onora showed him her bloody fingers. “You’re in no condition to go anywhere. I’m surprised you made it this long with the amount of blood you’ve lost.”
Valek growled at her, “I’m fine.”
She stared at him. “Twelve of them. Two of us. Think you can handle six with that shoulder?”
He sighed. “I’m listening.”
“Go back to HQ and take care of your injuries. I’ll discover where they’ve taken Yelena. Then I’ll return, and we can plan a way to get her back. Together.”
She was right. Yet his heart didn’t agree. It slammed against his chest, trying to rally the troops, get the body moving, or else it threatened to break out and go on without him. “What if she doesn’t have the time to wait for us to plan?”
“If they wanted her dead, we would have found her body.”
She was right. But could Valek trust her?
Onora met his gaze, sensing his hesitation. “She’s my friend. My only friend. Ever. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“What about Sergeant Gerik?”
“He’s not my friend. He’s my brother.”
LEIF
By the time Leif wrestled control back, Rusalka had taken them far away from the wagon and its precious cargo—Mara and his father. None of the patrol members had chased after him. Leif dismounted and walked Rusalka, letting the horse cool down. He needed to cool his raging thoughts, as well.
Impotent fury burned in his chest over what Mara had done. She’d commanded Rusalka to go home, and the horse hadn’t hesitated. Damn. This was the exact reason why he’d wanted Mara to ride Rusalka. So she’d be safe. But she’d refused, and now she was caught, along with his father. Double damn.
Trying to suppress his fear and anger, Leif considered his next