Chapter 63
Nobody wanted to linger on goodbyes and good lucks, so Marlow, Gideon, Lark, and Niall left shortly after waking. They headed down the narrow alley, Marlow leading the way. This was her city, and it was a pleasant change, being the one with steady feet after so long in Bedwyck.
Felix and August stayed behind. They’d be alright. She knew they could handle it. Felix wouldn’t quit until this was done.
And the aesling . . . well, he’d certainly surprised her. He’d shown he could stand up to Felix. If he’d wanted to disappear and leave them to face this alone, he could’ve. Easily. And yet, he was still here. Either he was an idiot, or he genuinely wanted to help.
Or maybe it was just self-preservation. A desperate attempt to save himself.
Either way, they had a real shot at ending this. Of saving Atheran. What did she care what his reasoning was?
And it didn’t matter what she thought of him. Felix would kill him when this was over.
The thought left a foul taste in her mouth. It didn’t seem right, killing him now. He was entitled and irritating, sure, but he was here, same as them, fighting against this thing. Felix had to see that.
She frowned. Arunas help her, she was siding with a royal.
“You’re still sure about this?” Gideon asked. He’d agreed with her plan last night, but in the light of day, the reservations were etched on his face.
She nodded, then glanced over her shoulder, nervous energy flickering through her. Lark and Niall walked hand in hand. If they were worried, neither showed it.
“I won’t hold it against you if you turn back,” she said.
Niall wrinkled his nose. “Mar, you’re good and all, but you really think you can do this without us?”
“That sounds like a me problem, doesn’t it? You guys were grand before we showed up and wrecked it all.”
“We were stuck in a cellar,” said Lark. “Anything’s better than the mind-numbing boredom. Besides, I’ve been dying to use these.” She patted a satchel tied to her belt.
Niall held his hands out at his sides, Lark’s hand rising with his, their fingers still intertwined. “We signed up for the resistance. We knew what we were getting into.”
“Now stop being sappy and focus,” Lark added.
Marlow gave them a quick smile, then continued on, leading the way through Copperhill, past the imposing ministry building.
It was early, so they didn’t have the crowds to use as cover, and the Watch were out in force, but they made it to the Torlaeth District without drawing attention.
She stopped across the street from the massive armoury, hidden from view.
It was a fortress with two sets of thick walls and endless checkpoints.
Raesarinn had people study the blueprints extensively, looking for a weakness and finding none.
There was no way to get inside the building without clearance.
Fortunately, getting inside wasn’t the goal. They only needed to make it look like they were trying. A commotion that large would draw the Watch, the ministry, and probably the attention of the aesran herself. Every resource would be pulled to meet the threat.
But they wouldn’t be there. And if Geocraes was on their side, by the time they realized nobody was actually breaking in, August would have already closed the tear.
She looked back at the darkness looming over Fallowmoor. Hopefully, the next time she checked, there would only be a dull grey sky as far as she could see. But there was nothing she could do to help with that problem, so she focused on the massive walls before them.
“The alarm bell’s up there,” Marlow said, nodding to an officer on top of the wall. “We need the alarm to sound, so leave him alive. The rest are all yours.”
“Brilliant.” Lark bounced with excitement, her smile radiant.
“Niall, as soon as she takes out the ones at the gate, you tear a hole through it.”
He gave a playful salute and flared the orange rings around his pupils. “Got it.”
Menders were known for their ability to fix, to clean, to mend, but they were just as skilled at breaking and disintegrating. Not much use for that skill in the current job market, but he was a hell of an asset to the resistance.
“Remember, we’re not actually trying to get in,” Gideon added. “The hole’s for show. Make it big enough to squeeze through, then leg it out of there. They’ll go mad searchin’ the place for whoever broke in, expecting us to be working on the inner wall.”
Marlow eyed the guards again. “Soon as the alarm goes, we get back to Felix and get the hells out of the city.”
They stood in silence for a moment, then Marlow shot Lark a look that she hoped said I’m ready and not I’m out of my head terrified.
Either way, Lark got the point. Her rings shone the pink of an elemental, and she tossed a handful of lead balls in the air. Marlow couldn’t keep track of a single one as they flung out away from her.
One guard dropped, and then three in quick succession. The officer by the alarm bell didn’t even notice.
Marlow glanced at Niall. “Go.”
He bolted for the gate. The last officer spotted him, and the clang of the bell split the air just as Niall reached the door.
Come on.
Marlow bit her thumbnail, eyes scanning the wall. How long before every officer inside the armoury came pouring out?
But Niall was fast. He disintegrated a hole in the heavy wooden door and was back at their side before reinforcements arrived.
The instant his hand closed around Lark’s, they were running.