Kate, stopping in the middle of pulling on her boots.
Edgar looked at her uneasily. “You don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do. What happened to you before you came to Morvane? You told me Kalen was lying when he said he knew you, but you were the one telling lies. He did know you from somewhere, didn’t he?”
“I promise, I’ll tell you everything as soon as we get out of here.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“It has to be. We don’t have time to talk right now.”
“Then what are you doing here? We can’t get out!”
“Ah, but I have some inside information.” Edgar pointed at the window.
“It’s locked,” said Kate.
“Not for long.” Edgar walked to the window. Kate heard the lock click and a tiny key sparkled in his hand. “All thanks to my brother,” he said. “Tom was with Da’ru in the testing room. He works for her and he told me where to find you. He risked a lot to get me this key.”
“Your brother works for a councilwoman?” said Kate. “What else don’t I know about you?”
Edgar threw open the window and looked out across a sheer drop. “The wardens are going to change guards down in that courtyard soon.” He dragged off his robe and pushed it into Kate’s hands. “Here’s the plan. You wear this. Go straight out of that door, turn right at the end of the corridor, and head down the first staircase you see, all the way to the bottom. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
“I can’t do that! They’ll spot me in a second!”
“They won’t. They’ll just think you’re me.”
“And how is that good?”
“Wardens don’t ask many questions if they think you’re one of them. Trust me, you won’t get caught.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Me? I’m going to climb down there.”
The last thing Kate could ever imagine Edgar doing was climbing out of a window into a place full of wardens and, from the look on his face, he wasn’t too sure about it either. He looked like he was going to be sick.
“All right,” she said, throwing the robes back into his arms. “But you’re using the corridor. I’m climbing down.” She pulled on her coat.
“You don’t know where to go!”
“I’ll manage.” Kate tied her hair back, twisted the skirt into a knot at her hip, and tucked the fabric into the waistband. Once it was secure she clambered out onto the ledge.
“Tom said there are hand- and footholds carved into the wall,” said Edgar. “It’s a secret way down, left over from when this used to be a warden’s room. Look to the right. You’ll see them.”
“I can see one,” said Kate, trying not to look down.
“Kate, please be careful.”
“I’m all right,” she said. “Go.”
Kate clung to the window frame, focusing upon the wall. The wind howled around her ears, swirling up from the square below, and the sun was starting to break upon the horizon, casting long rays of gold across the rooftops. She slid her foot into the first foothold she could find, let go of the window just long enough to grab the lower lip of a tiny stone arch, and then edged her way along, step by step, heading diagonally down the wall.
Darkness was Kate’s friend, for now, but at every moment she expected to hear a shout or a warning, or see arrows come spearing up past her ears. Nothing came and the secret path took her right to the ground, where an archway hid her from a pair of wardens who were just starting their patrol. She dropped down from the last foothold, freed her skirt, and ducked behind the stones, not daring to move until she saw movement off to her left. Edgar was there, hiding on the opposite side of the square, waving cautiously across the courtyard, which now looked much wider and dangerously exposed. There was no way either of them could cross it without being seen.
Something flapped above Kate’s head, and she looked up to see a crow perched inside one of the footholds. Silas’s bird. And if it was there, Silas had to be close.
Whatever Edgar’s plan had been, there was no time for it to work now. She could not risk leading Silas to him again. They had to separate. She had to find her own way out.
Kate did not see Edgar’s look of fear as she left without him, or see him crawl around a low hedge to avoid a warden who was heading his way. But Silas