“There’s something else on this mountain,” she said.
Taniel tried not to shiver. “What do you mean?”
“Cave lions.” She indicated the ground, pointing to tracks that Taniel could barely see. “We’ve hunted them before. The dogs know their scent.”
Taniel felt relief wash over him. There’d been something so sinister about her statement. He realized his hands were shaking. “Oh,” he said. “There’s lions on all the mountains. That could even be Julene—the monks said she used that form when she fell among them.”
“I don’t think that’s it.”
Taniel felt his heart beat a little faster. “Pole!” he called. “Get back here.”
The girl had gone on ahead, some thirty paces, and was squatting on the trail, picking at the ground. She ignored him.
“No?” Taniel asked Rina. “How can you know?”
Rina spread her hands and spoke in her ever-quiet voice. “Because there’s at least fifty.”
Taniel heard more than one of the Watchers swear. Bo sputtered, making warding signs in the air with his hands.
“What?” Taniel said. The word came out more forceful than he’d intended.
Rina said, “Farther up. Past Ka-poel, where the trail widens. They came down off the slope and fell in behind the Kez.”
Taniel glanced at Bo. “Can she summon them?” he asked. “I’ve heard stories about Privileged who can—”
He was interrupted by Rina’s laugh.
“What?”
“They’re not with the Kez,” she said. “They’re hunting them.” There was a note of hysteria to her quiet voice. “They’ll hunt us too when we go up there. Kresimir above, they’ll hunt us.” She pulled the dogs closer to her and stared at the tracks on the ground.
“Cave lions don’t hunt in packs,” one of the Watchers said.
They all seemed to turn to Bo at once. He looked back at them, his face tired and haggard. He felt the air tentatively with gloved hands like a doctor feeling for a broken bone under the skin, a warm thread of sorcery touching Taniel’s senses.
All he said was, “There’s something wrong on this mountain.”
Nila acquired a cart for the laundry. One of the many workmen attending the St. Adom’s Day Festival helped her build it out of an old washtub and the base of a four-wheeled vendor’s wagon. She couldn’t bring herself to ask one of the guards, though they’d likely do it without protest. Word had spread that she’d rejected Olem. The soldiers were still courteous, but not like they’d been.
For three days she used her new cart to collect the laundry, so that the guards would get used to the idea. It made sense—she had more work to do than usual, what with half the staff of the House of Nobles skipping out on their duties to attend Mihali’s feast. The lack of help left her alone in the basement to do the laundry more often than not, and she was able to amend her usual route to pass down the hallway to Jakob’s room.
Nila quickly realized that night would be the hardest time to sneak Jakob out of the building. With the halls deserted, it would be difficult to hide him. During the day, however, the number of people in the House of Nobles was almost overwhelming. The feast going on outside made it impossible to keep track of everyone who came and went, and once out of the building she’d be able to melt into the crowd.
On the morning of the final day of the festival she wheeled her clothing cart down the halls of the House of Nobles. She made her usual stops and collected enough clothes that she’d be able to conceal a child, before turning down the hallway to Jakob’s room. She passed men and women, soldiers and clerks, nodding and smiling to everyone.
The guard wasn’t at his station. Nila gave a sigh and whispered a prayer of gratitude to Kresimir. Only Jakob’s nurse would stand between getting the boy to freedom.
Nila checked to make sure her truncheon was still in her cart. She didn’t want to use it, but she would if the nurse gave her trouble.
She came to an abrupt stop. The door to Jakob’s room stood open. It was never open. She forced herself to continue on, wheeling her cart past the door, glancing inside as casually as she could.
The room was empty. No nurse. No Jakob. Had she made a mistake? Did they move Jakob to another room this morning, or even out of the country?
She checked the hallway for soldiers and went inside.