cheek. I cannot afford to miss even the tiniest gnat flying past my face.
I’ve got to be fully aware of everything that’s going on around me. Each wisp of wind. Every shadow. The slightest movement.
It works.
Metallic blood blooms within my mouth. I’m pulled out of my fatigue, the fog of my brain clearing.
Nerves on edge. Body in pure survival mode. I’m going to get us down to the Lower.
Or be captured trying.
Because I’m pretty sure whatever or whoever’s behind us isn’t friendly.
And if we’re caught, there’ll be worse to come.
Even now, near rock bottom, there’s still always worse.
And worse stops us before we round the boulders that mark freedom.
“Where are you headed, officer?” someone calls from a ways behind us.
We stop. Imi gives me a look, clearly conveying don’t say a word.
When we turn to face the voice, I see another officer’s quickly headed toward us.
We walk toward him, and the closer we get, based on the highly decorated sash adorning his uniform, it’s safe to assume he outranks Imi by years of service and then some. He’s stopped under an umbrella of trees and waits for us to come to him.
“Another thief,” Imi says, giving him a flippant wave like it’s so annoying to deal with Basso thieves when a war’s waging. “Caught him with a pocketful of apples from the market.” I assume she abandons the climbing the palace wall story since we’re nowhere near it.
The officer doesn’t respond. Despite my better judgment, the suspense killing me, I allow my eyes to strain upward. Just below the rim of my hat, the officer stares back at me.
Damn it.
I quickly veer my sight toward the ground.
“Why’s he wearing black pants?”
Double damn it. Basso rarely wear black. It’s part of the Dogio dress of richly dyed garments in black, red, and gold. Basso are always in earthen colors.
“Who knows…” She snorts. “Probably stole those too.”
“And why are you out here in the middle of nowhere? The prison’s that way.” He nudges his head back the way we came.
“Right. I got information that he’d stolen and hidden more in the woods, but the ass can’t remember where he hid it.”
More silence from the guard, like he’s trying to decide whether we’re suspicious enough to waste his time on or not.
Finally, “Get back to your post, officer,” he says, voice gruff. “I’ll take care of the boy.” He grasps his blade, then smiles in a way that leaves zero interpretation as to how exactly he plans to take care of me.
“No. It’s fine. I won’t burden you with him. I’ll take him right in, then head to—”
“I said: report back.” The officer’s voice drops an octave lower. “And be quick about it.”
Imi slowly hands over the rope.
As she gives him her end, she pauses, flashes me a quick yet serious look.
I jerk the rope from his grasp.
We take off running.
“Hey!” he shouts, blowing his whistle. “Stop!”
We bound toward the woods.
This is not ideal. This is not us being discreet. This is us making a huge scene and having to fight our way out.
Vesper bells ring.
Imi reaches into her jacket, grips a small, metal explosive similar to the hundreds I’ve seen the Night use. She pulls a pin away from it. There’s a spark.
I veer to the side when she tosses the explosive. It’s small, sparks crackling out of the top, and flies past with a quick zipping sound through the air.
There’s a low rumble, a small flash, and a billowing rush of smoke and sulfur.
I’ve heard that rumble every so often from my cell. Always from a great distance away but loud enough, I recognize it. It’s from the memory I relive every night before falling into restless sleep: the Coliseum erupting in chaos, a bleeding Nico pulled away from me, then a low rumble, a flash, and darkness.
Again, it’s effective. The explosion stops the officer. He’s nowhere to be seen.
“This way!” I say. “Other side of the boulders.”
I’m out of breath, dragging, running on pure adrenaline and survival. Barely managing to keep the forest floor and the sky from flipping on end as my eyes go in and out of focus.
We round the boulders, and I spot the entrance to the den as Imi’s eyes search back and forth over the ground, toward the rocks, the trees.
I quickly brush away the moss and leaves, open the wooden slat hiding the metal ring, and then open it up.
Imi swears and tumbles in.
I pray she landed in the net as I hastily gather