off the path until we were closer to the citadel and could see the dull shine of the metal domes and crystal spires, like a crown of authority dominating the skyline. The walls loomed above us as we circled the citadel. It was nearly five miles all the way around, but we only needed to check the first two secret entrances to the ruins beneath the city to know they were no longer a viable option. The doorways looked like they’d imploded, and were stuffed with rubble and blocked with huge boulders. Trevor moved closer to get a better look, but I grabbed his arm and pointed at the blinking red lights in the tree line. Security cameras.
“They’re probably all over the citadel,” Luke said.
“So what’s our move?” I asked, scanning the tall walls. My skin prickled at the memory of my feat at the trials; using the giant guillotine to slingshot over the spiked ramparts. I must have been out of my mind. Besides, the trials were over, and instead of games and challenges, the walls were now lined with archers. I counted a dozen just in this section. We were deep enough in the woods for cover, but I pulled up my hood anyway.
“There are six entrances,” Trevor said. “Maybe one of the smaller ones will be less guarded.”
“Too open,” Jazmine said. “We’ll disappear faster in a crowd. I say we walk through the front gates. They’ll be less likely to spot us, and they won’t be expecting us.”
We hiked into position, a rocky summit half a mile from the massive arched doorways. Jazmine was right, a long line of carts and merchants were being processed. It was slow but efficient. The guards were scanning everyone with metal detectors, seizing weapons, and peering under carriages with hand-held mirrors.
“We’ll have to leave our weapons here,” Trevor said.
“I’m not going in there unarmed,” I said.
“You’d be dead in a fight anyway,” Trevor said. “If any of us gets caught, we’d never be able to fight our way out.”
“Jacob predicted this,” Luke said. “So he made us these.” He unwrapped a leather parcel, displaying a row of sharpened wooden stakes.
“Aim for the heart, or the eye.”
I took two and tucked them into my coat. It made me feel marginally better, until we got close enough to see the guards were also checking people’s hands.
Shit. I was wearing a pair of dark gloves that covered the red marks on my skin, but I knew what they were searching for. They were searching for me.
I looked back at Trevor in a panic. We’d fanned out, sticking close to different carts and making small talk with the merchants, trying to assimilate. A man’s cart got stuck in a rut and Trevor and Luke helped him lift it out, then offered to carry some of his gear. Jazmine sidled up to a pair of jugglers and pretended to try and steal their balls, like they were playing a game of keepaway with her. She even took the belled jester hat off one of their heads.
I was the only one who noticed the checkpoint. The guards were making everyone remove their gloves, checking their palms and wrists carefully. There was no way I’d make it through, but now we were too close to abandon. If we left the line we’d call even more attention to ourselves. I searched around desperately and came up with a quick plan when I noticed cart full of berries. A young girl was sitting on the back playing with a bunny. I walked up beside the cart and when nobody was looking, I knocked one of the baskets over, spilling wild berries all over the ground.
The horse behind us reared up just as the girl tumbled out of the cart, reaching for the berries as if she could pick them all up. I grabbed her shirt to keep her out of harm’s way, pulling her out from under the horse’s hooves just in time.
“Cynthia!” Her mother scolded, lifting her dress. “I told you to be careful back there, now look what you’ve done!”
“I didn’t do it,” she said. “It must have been Mr. Hops.”
“Hurry up!” shouted the man behind us.
“It’s okay,” I said, “I’ll help collect them.” I leaned down quickly and grabbed two fistfuls of berries, making sure to squish them just enough to make the juice run down my wrists. The girl smiled at me sheepishly. A handful of young boys and even a few adults helped themselves to