A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Eighteen

Just as Evrik had once guessed, most of the soldiers who had been left behind to guard East Draulin were Native Zians. The downside was that Deoran spies, when dressed up in armour, looked exactly like Native Zian soldiers.

Kassia had a group of them stashed around a corner of the hallway. She gave them instructions in brisk Deoran, and handed Castin off to one of them. Then she accepted a white cloth from one of them and wiped at Mayah's bloody nose.

"We're going to walk down to the port," she told us, her tone as light and friendly as if she was talking about a casual stroll. "If any of you try to call an alarm, I will kill you before they can kill me. So behave—" she shot me a look, "—Finagale. No tricks. Castin is going to be taken around another way, but we'll meet up again in the port. No need to make a fuss about him. Lady Mayah, you and I are going to walk arm in arm, because we're old friends." Kassia handed off the bloody cloth, ran her hands through her hair quickly, then linked her arm with Mayah's. "Finn, go ahead and trail behind us like a puppy. That's what you're best at."

The jab wasn't very effective, given everything she had just been spouting about how smart and underestimated I was. But my head was still pounding and I knew better than to test her again. She was ready, and I had no doubt that a knife would appear in Mayah's stomach before I could make a single move to escape. I had to bide my time and hope Kassia slipped up later.

A pair of Deorans took Castin in one direction. Kassia led Mayah in another, talking brightly, like nothing was wrong. One of the disguised Deorans walked behind them, looking every bit the attentive Zian soldier on guard duty. The other Deoran kept pace beside me.

Nobody tried to stop us. Mayah was a good actress, even under threat. Whenever an actual guard seemed suspicious, Mayah easily made up some story about her new Navirian friend. It didn't help that none of these guards really knew her. If Tannix had been forced to try this trick on any of his knights, it wouldn't have worked. I found myself trying to come up with some way to subtly warn the guards that something was wrong, but Kassia's warning repeated itself in my head time and time again.

It was even easier once we left the castle. Kassia chose shadowy side streets and deserted courtyards, taking us on a route through the city she had already mapped out. If East Draulin had been back to normal, it might not have been possible. But everywhere we went, there were still ruins and boarded up buildings whose owners had either been killed, or hadn't returned.

At least the fake friendship between the ladies was over. Mayah walked a step behind Kassia, and they were speaking in that fake, icily polite way nobles did when they weren't bothering to hide their anger. I followed, as slowly the pounded in my head faded away and I could start to think clearly.

When Kassia abruptly stopped walking and dragged Mayah into the shadows between two buildings, my mind still wasn't working at full speed. It took me a moment to realize we had reached the port. In front of us, a small ship was crawling with soldiers. Voices carried through the night air. Voices speaking Teltish.

One of the soldiers shoved me into the gap with the ladies and pinned me against the wall. Kassia and her men whispered back and forth in Deoran. After some time, Castin and the two other Deorans appeared in the shadows beside us. Castin was thrown to the ground at my feet. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up onto his knees. It was hard to get a good look at him in the dark, but I thought he seemed all right. All things considered.

"Kassia," I knew speaking up was a risk, but I couldn't help myself. "They've discovered your ship."

"Astute observation, Finagale," she replied. "Are you offering to help? Actually, I have an idea. You're going to steal me a ship."