Bluewing (15 page)

We reached the top of the hill that looked down on Iceliss and paused in the shelter of the trees. Below us, the village gleamed the color of ice and bone in the light of a full moon.

“We have to be careful that we aren’t spotted as we cross the snow to the wall,” I said to the others. “It’s bright tonight. Stay as close to the shadows as possible, and cross the shortest gap between the trees and the walls.”

Gabe and I hadn’t resolved our differences regarding his leaving me with the Wanderers and escaping alone, but there was no malice between us tonight. There couldn’t be. Ivy was in danger and every fiber of my being was focused on rescuing her.

“Let’s go.”

We crept down the hill, keeping to the shadows. When we reached the edge of the field that separated the village wall from the forest, we paused to divide up. Gabe and Juniper went first, skirting the perimeter until they’d gone as far as they could without crossing the blank stretch of white, then they were two fluttering shadows in the night as they darted across the field.

I waited until they had reached the safety of the far side and then I started after them.

Light flickered on the wall. A soldier lighting a match. His back was to us. I ran across the snow with my heart in my throat.

Almost there.

I reached the weak place in the wall and followed the others through the space between the cold pieces of metal. On the other side, a piece of darkness detached itself from the shadow of a house and slipped forward to meet us.

The Blackcoat.

“Bluewing?” a gruff voice asked.

“Here,” I said, stepping forward. My face was hidden by my scarf.

The Blackcoat pressed a roll of paper into my hand. “Here are the instructions for her rescue. She’s in the holding cell inside the Farther offices.”

“Thank you. We’ll be in contact soon,” I said. “I’ll have someone meet you in three days.”

The Blackcoat nodded and vanished down the alley, leaving us alone. I unfurled the paper and found a scribbled set of instructions.

The key to the holding cell is located inside the third room of the Farther offices. Be sure to replace it to stall detection. The holding cell itself is in the sixth room on the right. You will gain entrance through the back door, which is guarded. It is unlocked, and the guard will be away for ten minutes between the changing of the guard at midnight. This is your only chance, so move quickly.

I lifted my eyes from the paper to scan the half-hidden faces of the others.

“Let’s go.”

~

We found everything just as the note described. A guard leaned against the frame of the back door, smoking. The cig glowed like a star in the darkness, and when he exhaled, the smoke mingled with the white puff of his breath.

I pressed my back against the wall of the house behind me and motioned for the others to wait. Somewhere, a dog barked. The wind whispered over the street and fanned our faces, and far away, I heard the clatter of boots against stone as a patrol passed by. The tension threatened to strangle me. Was my sister all right? Would this soldier leave as the note had promised? What if we couldn’t find her, couldn’t free her?

Just before the Farther clock in the village market clanged to announce midnight, the soldier straightened, flicked his cig onto the ground, and vanished down the alley.

“Now,” I whispered.

We found the door unlocked as the note had specified. Gabe and I slipped inside while Juniper lingered on the stoop, keeping anxious watch.

The office rooms smelled of dust and furniture polish, and an underlying scent of fear and danger clung to everything like smoke from the soldier’s cig. My blood thrummed in my veins, beating like little fists at the pulse points in my wrists and neck.

“This is a little different than last time, isn’t it?” Gabe muttered under his breath as we crept down a dark hallway, counting the doors.

I didn’t reply. My voice had dried up.

We stopped at the third door and I turned the knob. The floorboards creaked beneath our feet as we entered a study lined with shelves and cabinets. I scanned the darkness, looking for any glint of metal.

“Where’s the key?”

I searched the desk while he examined the shelves. I found nothing but papers and a couple of empty whiskey bottles in a drawer.

“Here it is,” Gabe whispered, snatching the key from a ring behind the door. “It says ‘holding cell.’”

We went back into the hall. I struggled to breathe as we crept down it, stopping at the sixth door. It was metal, with a slot for food near the bottom. I nodded at Gabe, and he inserted the key and twisted. I yanked the door open as soon as the lock clicked.

“Ivy?”

She was just a tiny shape huddled in the far corner, her face a scrap of white in the darkness.

“Lia,” she whispered. “It’s you.”

She was well enough to speak, at least. I exhaled. “We’re going to get you out of here.” I crossed the room to her side and felt for chains. It was too dim to see much.

“I’m not bound,” she said.

“Then let’s go.” I grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet. She leaned against me, and I wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Leaning together, we headed for the cell door where Gabe waited for us.

“Gabe?” Ivy asked uncertainly, peering at him in the gloom.

“It’s me,” he said. “You’re safe now, Ivy. Don’t worry.”

She nodded and nestled her head in the crook of my shoulder. I squeezed her tighter against me, wanting to be sure she was safe and solid and in one piece.

We went out into the hall, Ivy with me, Gabe relocking the door behind us and then hurrying ahead to replace the key in the room where we’d found it. My sister and I reached the door to the outside and met Juniper on the stoop. There was still no sign of the soldier yet, but we had to hurry.

“Can you run if it comes to that?” I asked Ivy.

She nodded again, and I gently freed her hands from around my waist. “Then be ready to do so if I tell you. We might have to move quickly if the soldiers spot us.”

The wind swirled around us as we exited the building. Ivy had no cloak, and she shivered. I draped mine around her shoulders and tugged her close, sharing my body heat with her as we walked. “Come on. If we move fast, you’ll be warmer.”

We slipped down the alley and into the street, heading for the point in the wall where we could make our escape. The sound of our feet against the cobblestones matched the thudding of my heartbeat. Darkness painted us invisible. We turned the corner and passed the Assembly Hall. My eyes traced the familiar shapes of the windows and doors, the carvings of snow blossoms. Everything seemed harsh and strange now, like memories filtered through a nightmare. Behind us, I heard the clip of soldiers’ boots as a patrol drew near.

“Hurry,” I whispered.

We reached the wall and followed it to the gap. Gabe went through first, his cloak slithering after him and his heels scraping the slats. Ivy followed him. Juniper looked at me.

“Your turn,” he said.

I shook my head. “I’ll go last.”

He didn’t argue. He squeezed through the narrow opening like a fox through a fence.

I took a moment to glance behind me, to make sure that no one had followed us. The alleyways were silent. A puff of wind stirred my hair, and the shadows flickered. My heart stuttered—was someone there? But at second glance, the movement was only a piece of curtain fluttering in a window.

I ducked through the gap in the wall and followed the footprints of the others toward the trees.

~

I dug up one of the supply parcels that Adam and I had buried months ago, and took the cloak that wrapped the other things. I shook off the bits of dirt that remained and draped it over Ivy’s shoulders. Snow fell gently around us, bathing the world in redemptive white. It gathered in Ivy’s hair and caught on her lashes.

“Thank you, Lia,” she said. “I didn’t think anyone was going to come. I thought—”

She broke off and shivered. Her teeth were chattering. I glanced at Gabe and Juniper.

“Let’s get her home,” I said.

Juniper carried her because she was too tired to make the entire trek. Village life had softened her, and prison had leeched her final bit of strength. She laid her head against his shoulder and shut her eyes. I went ahead, and Gabe brought up the rear. We were a grim group despite our victory. Something ominous hung in the air and tinged every breath I took, something that tasted like uncertainty and pain. We were bringing my sister back with us at last, and she would be safe in an ironic sense of the word in that she was now safe to freeze or starve or be kidnapped by people who wanted her blood. And where did that leave us now in regards to the overthrow of the Farthers in the town? Jullia was our only contact with the Blackcoats, and Raine’s grip was tightening every day around the necks of those who remained in Iceliss and under his control.

And on top of it all, we were still no closer to rescuing Adam and Ann.

An hour slipped past as we climbed over rocks and fallen trees and crossed frozen streams. Ice glittered around us, slick and black in the darkness. The trees were all straight and foreboding as sentries, keeping watch over our furtive movements. I scanned the blackness for any glitter of red eyes, any hiss of hot breath, but nothing stalked us this night.

Finally, we spotted the curve of the mansion ruins rising from the field of snow blossoms ahead. Everything was gray and faded in the moonlight.

Ivy stirred against Juniper. She opened her eyes and looked around. “Where...where are we? This isn’t Echlos.”

“We’ve moved,” I said, my voice so gentle it surprised me. “This is our new home now. It’s safer for the others. The Watchers won’t come here with all the snow blossoms, and it’s far from Iceliss and any soldier patrols.”

A muscle in her face twitched at the mention of Watchers, and I remembered her strange connection with one of them. I scowled.

“Let’s keep going. Jonn and Everiss will be frantic by now.”

When we reached the doorway that led inside, I finally found myself able to breathe normally. We’d made it. We’d rescued her and brought her home unscathed. A shiver ran through my limbs at the thought of what could have transpired, and a rush of images filled my imagination—the glint of guns in the moonlight, the crack of a voice yelling for us to stop, the color of blood on the snow. I scrubbed both hands over my face to banish such thoughts.

We were safe now.

Juniper headed straight for the cellar, still cradling Ivy in his arms. I paused in the ruined foyer as emotion prickled my eyes. I took a few breaths to compose myself, and Gabe lingered at my side, waiting.

“Are you still angry with me?” he asked.

I sighed. “No, I suppose not. You did what you ought to have done. I can’t fault you for that.”

“But you did.”

“Well...” It was mysterious to me how easily I was wounded by his actions. “Consider it forgotten.”

He smiled in relief. “And the rescue went perfectly,” he said.

“Yes,” a voice said behind us. “It did.”

Gabe and I whirled. I gasped aloud.

Standing in the shadows, his long dark hair hiding half his face, was Korr.

A SHIVER WENT through my whole body like a static spark. Everything was silent and roaring at the same time. I fumbled at my belt for my knife even as my mind spun with horror. We’d been discovered at least. I yanked out my pitiful defense and brandished it at him.

“Boo,” Korr said, smirking at us both as he stepped from the shadows and into the pale moonlight coming through the holes in the ceiling.

Gabe started forward, his face contorted in anger, his arm raised. “How dare you—”

The nobleman caught his brother’s arms and yanked him around into a headlock, laughing. “Easy, Gabriel. You never were able to best me in a fight when we were younger, and you certainly won’t now. You’ll only hurt yourself.”

Gabe struggled against his brother’s hold. “What are you doing here? How did you...?”

“It’s good to see you too, brother. How did I find you? It was as easy as setting a trap and laying out the bait. I noticed Ivy Weaver was making a lot of trips into the wilderness, so I arranged for her arrest and subsequent deportation...and then I arranged for her rescue. I thought someone might bite. And I was right.”

Gabe and I both went still as his words sunk in.

Korr chuckled. “And you did everything exactly as I hoped you would, right down to replacing the prison key after you used it.”

I shuddered at the realization that he’d been watching us the whole time.

“What do you want with us?” Gabe managed. “Are you planning to turn us over to Raine?”

“No. I wanted to see who was planning this little revolution.”

How did he know about that? My eyes widened. Korr grinned.

“Oh yes...I have ears everywhere. I caught wind of your plans, and I had a suspicion that Lia Weaver might be involved. But I didn’t realize you two were so cozy.” He paused. “I’ve been looking for you, brother. I feared you were dead.”

Gabe made a sound of derision that turned into a choke as Korr tightened his arm.

“Let him go,” I snapped.

He looked at me over Gabe’s head and dimpled. “You’re downright defiant in the face of peril. I’ve always liked that about you, Lia Weaver. It’s a quality you share with Ann Mayor.”

Ann
. I felt the blood drain from my face.

“Shut up, Korr,” Gabe gritted between clenched teeth.

“With that attitude, you’ll never get my help.”

Help
. That single word, dropped as carelessly as a stone into a pond, sent ripples of astonishment through me.

“Your help?” I demanded. What sadistic joke was this?

Korr
tsked
. “You do have a glaring character weakness, Lia Weaver. You write people off too quickly. You’ve never stopped to consider, for instance, that I might want all the same things that you do.”

He was toying with us. I wouldn’t fall for it. “You want the liberation of the Frost?”