“Come on,” Abghar said in a low voice. “We have to cover a lot of ground to get in place by dusk.”
I followed him down the alley, nodding when he put his fingers to his lips. There wasn’t time for catching up, even now. We worked our way at a fast pace, moving slowly south and west. We didn’t pass anything familiar to me, but anything I saw before would have been seen in the heat of battle and as I fled. And now, it would be seen from the eyes of someone trying to blend in with the knots of worried people, fear fresh and sharp in their eyes. The roll from the cart had actually helped with that, smearing us both with soot.
Every corner of the streets saw a patrol of Claws in blue uniforms embroidered heavily in white. They carried their swords naked, their eyes ever watchful. This time, no one fought back. No one lifted so much as their gaze. The city was beaten. Any move here would fail.
We passed a long line of people ending where a pair of monks were serving wooden bowls of soup and I edged closer to Abghar, speaking in an undertone.
“We can’t do this. We should leave now. There’s no one here left to fight with the Single Wing in this city.”
“If we do that,” he hissed back, “The Single Wing will see it as treachery. We agreed to come here and enact the plan. We must keep our word, or the rest of the family will suffer.”
“Even if it accomplishes nothing?” I asked.
He nodded, a cynical twist to his mouth. “That’s responsibility for you, Aella. Sometimes it means doing tasks that seem empty to keep the people you love fed and cared for. Sometimes it means doing things you know will hurt or demoralize you. But you do them because you love someone else more than your own happiness, more than your own fulfillment, more than your own life. It’s those little sacrifices that bring honor. That little giving of yourself bit by bit for someone else. And the funny thing is that often doing that is the only way to truly find your own happiness. Most of the time, happiness is found in someone else’s smile.”
I shared one of those smiles with him and memories of my nieces’ and nephews’ small grins filled me up as we strode toward our empty mission. We could do this. And then we’d escape the city and go back to the ones we loved. Just like we promised.
We bought a bowl of soup at a stand when it was a few hours past midday and shared it together quickly. I thought that perhaps I was tired. I hadn’t seen anything from my bees in a while. Or maybe there was nothing to report. Everyone would be getting into place just like we were.
I had my first vision when we finally reached the docks – just before dusk.
I stumbled as the vision flashed over me and Abghar gripped my arm. “Stay with me. What do you see?”
“Oska and Raquella at the docks,” I whispered.
I could see them clear as day and yet I could still feel Abghar’s hand on my arm and listen to his voice. Maybe I was getting better at this.
“They’re with a group of other people. They’re struggling to get to where they need to be. There are Claws off duty at the tavern they were supposed to meet at.”
My vision snapped back, and I shuddered.
“Keep telling me when you see something,” Abghar said calmly. “More information can only help us.”
He held on to me as we made our way along these docks. Unlike the rest of the city, they were full to brimming with people – sailors in light-colored clothing, Claws in their bright jackets, dock workers looking clean in their soot-free clothing. Nothing had burned here.
The scent of brine and wet wood was almost pleasant after all that ash and I sucked it in greedily.
Out at anchor, at least twenty ships were bobbing on the waves. I couldn’t stop to count them, but they seemed to be so many that I blinked at the sight, not sure if I was seeing what was really there.
I blinked again and another vision seized me. I gripped Abghar’s arm and whispered as I watched.
“It’s Alect. He’s with Royn. They’ve met up with someone they know. A Claw. They’re following him to the base of a tower.”
“Good,” Abghar murmured. His eyes were everywhere, watching the docks, but his hand wrapped over mine, leading me.
Another vision.
“I want it ready by tonight.”
I froze and Abghar had to pull me to remind me to keep walking. I was looking out from Le Majest’s belly over the slithering body of a spirit snake toward a large cage – big enough for a tiger.
“If I might ask, Le Majest, what do you hope to put in the cage?” I couldn’t see the speaker, but he sounded rattled.
“A trophy,” Juste sounded far too excited. I didn’t want to know what – or who – he was planning that for.
I shuddered as Abghar eased me against the wooden slats of a low shed. “What did you see?”
“Le Majest. He is distracted by decorations.”
“Good. Hopefully, he’ll stay that way until we grab his attention.”
Abghar ducked into a low doorway, pulling me with him and shutting the door behind him. Outside, the dock continued to bustle.
“Only two of you?” a voice in the darkness whispered.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust as Abghar made his introductions. It was a fishmonger’s shed. It had been cleaned after today’s catch – but not well – and the smell of dead fish lingered in the air. But under a canvas were barrels of oil and the little grimy man who was waiting for us shoved a lantern in Abghar’s hands.
“It’s a shame to burn any more of the city. Even for the Single Wing.”
“We need them distracted,” Abghar said.
“I won’t be with you when you do it,” the small man said. “I thought I could be when they came to me but ... I lost my boy in the fighting when the fools tried to take the city. I’ve lost too much. I don’t want any more of this.”
Abghar was nodding. “Can you get out without being seen?”
The man nodded. “Just make sure that when they catch you it isn’t in here. I don’t want anyone knowing it was me.”
Abghar caught his arm. “We’re not going to get caught.”
“That’s what they said when they attacked the Claws and tried to take the city. And now they’re lined up in stocks, rotting and mostly dead. They kill them in groups of ten every hour and they’ve been doing it since that night. My sister Madrin was killed this morning. My old mother the day before that. They don’t care how old or young you are. If they caught you on the streets that night, you’re dead. Causes and hopes are all well and good but what does that do for my family? What does that do for me?”
Aghar sighed. “Maybe you should get out of the city.”
“Where did you think I was going?” the man asked sourly. “I was here because I said I would be here. And now I am gone.”
He was out of the little shed before I realized he was really going. Outside the sun was sinking low and I was rocked with another vision.
Retger and Zayana crouched in an alley outside a fine house.
“You’re ready for this,” he was whispering to her. “Stick to the plan. I’ll be there with you.”
“What if one of the real Wings is there?” she sounded like she’d asked that question more than once.