twin Sparrow teeth for everything they were worth. Harmony.
Inge squinted around, then slumped back. “Nothing.”
When she turned to Pa, Fie whispered, “Move.”
She reckoned that when the prince had thought to come to Crows for help, he hadn’t banked on crawling through the lowest gate of Cheparok on his hands and knees.
“Their witch-signs are good,” Inge croaked behind them, tweaking a fold of her yellow robe. “Ken me, you two. You’re marked men. Any spells you use now can and will be traced to you. We take the tag off when you leave the city.”
“So don’t make trouble,” the female Hawk sneered. “And don’t stay long.”
She jabbed her spear toward the gate just as Fie and the boys ducked round the corner.
Pa retrieved his blade, climbed back into the wagon, and smacked the reins without a word. The oxen lurched forward. Fie and the lordlings fell in with the Crows once they passed the gate, not chancing a look behind them. Nor did Fie chance dropping her stranglehold on the Sparrow teeth.
The wagon creaked into the lowest ring of Cheparok. The city rose above them in circular tiers, each smaller and higher than the last. Buildings lining the mud street down here were little better than walls of lumpy baked plaster and woven palm screens, most clustered near a dirty canal that curved down the road until it bent out of view. Pa followed that canal, then turned a corner, then another, until they’d slipped into a narrow alley away from the busy street.
“You’re clear, Fie. Well done.”
Fie let the teeth go. Wretch took in their coats of muck and covered a snort, but the lordlings had other concerns.
“They just took most of your money,” Tavin said, angry. “I can’t—we’ll—I’ll report them once we reach the fortress—”
Pa waved a hand and reached into his robe. “Fret you not, lad. Aye, they took most of the coin I had”—he drew a long, slim leather pouch from behind his back—“in that purse. Tell them you only have ten naka, and eight is what they’ll take.”
“They shouldn’t take anything at all,” Jasimir said. “I won’t forget.”
The other Crows traded looks. All Pa said was “Let’s get you to your cousin first.”
Tavin nodded to the city’s higher tiers. “There’s a Markahn in Second Market waiting to hear from me. He’ll pass the signal to the Floating Fortress once we find him, and then Governor Kuvimir will light the plague beacon.”
“Second Market? Good luck.” Swain pointed at the plaster wall over the wagon, marked with soot-darkened curls and slashes. Easy to mistake for the work of a lazy vandal, but the two crossed black thumbprints made a sign Fie would know anywhere.
The lordlings looked baffled. Fie tapped the thumbprints. “This is a Crow mark. And this”—she waved at the wall—“is a map. Here.” She indicated a square capped by a curve on the eastern side of the city. “That’s the Crow shrine. And these”—she traced a series of spikes—“are the markets. Second Market is…” Fie counted the patches of market in each ring and pursed her lips at what she saw. “… bad. Bad for Crows.”
“We’ve got ‘No one sells to Crows.’” Swain ticked off his fingers, reading down the symbols by the market. “Let’s see … both ‘hostile guard’ and ‘bribe the guard,’ so be open to a fair number of options there … And ‘no masks.’”
“I’ll deal with the guards,” Tavin said. “But why no masks?”
Fie sighed. “Draws notice. Just keep your hood up instead.”
“Fie…” Pa started.
“Aye, Pa.” Fie unstrapped her own mask from where it hung around her neck and tossed it into the wagon. She should have known her work was far from over. “I’ll bring the boys back to the shrine after.”
“I’ll go with,” Hangdog said, abrupt. Pa started and stared at him. “At least to Fourth Market. Buy the flashburn and the soap-shells.”
Pa traded a look with Fie. She gave a tiny shrug. She’d already be reckoning with a prince and his fussy pet Hawk. If Hangdog wanted to fuss, too, at least one of them would be useful about it.
The string of naka clinked as Pa slid coins free and passed them over. “Here. Be safe. I’ll see you four at the shrine.”
* * *
“The sign says water-lifts are that way.”
Fie scowled, already sweltering under the heat of her black over-robe. But since he’d kept his topknot, Jasimir had to stay covered, so Tavin had to stay covered, and so she had to stay covered lest she draw notice.