City of Mages

Chapter 35: Quenti

"We have a problem." Runeo jumped from the tree, landing on the soft earth without so much as a sound. "The area just south of here is swarming with councilguards."

"What, were they guarding the entrance?" Quenti let out an exasperated sigh. Their detour into Attalea had gone well, so it only made sense they'd hit another obstacle this close to their destination.

"I don't think so," Runeo said as he walked past Quenti. "The way they're spread out, it looks like they're just guarding the entire perimeter."

The group had arrived at the outskirts of Cielo the night before. Rather than go with Quenti's instinct of heading directly toward the city, they had circled north of the mountain and camped a few miles north of where Quenti guessed the entrance was.

Despite having recently escaped the Haven, she hadn't paid attention to the landscape under the cover of darkness. The most she could give them was a vague approximation—a fact that had left her stomach twisted with guilt for the past two days.

"Which means they might not even know the tunnel is nearby," Quenti said with a small amount of hope.

"Doesn't help us if we can't get past them."

Quenti only gave a grim nod as she followed Runeo back through the thick trees.

***

They were still walking in sullen silence when they reached the clearing.

Lili and Alara had their supplies laid out on the ground in front of them, Alara counting weapons and Lili repacking the bags.

"Two bows, thirteen bronze-tipped arrows, seven wood arrows, four daggers, and two bolas," Alara said, eyes focused on the ground and still unaware that the others had returned.

"Don't forget the dull letter opener," Quenti chimed in.

Alara looked up at the sound of her voice. "I'll have you know, that dull letter opener has actually done well for me."

Quenti tilted her head at this revelation. Alara's dagger looked incapable of opening a letter, let alone stabbing anyone.

"What's the situation?" Lili said, ignoring their side conversation.

"Multiple patrol groups circling just south of us," Runeo answered, attempting to snatch a small piece of dried meat at the top of one of their packs. The bruya smacked his hand without looking up from her task.

"They're guarding the tunnel entrance?" Alara asked.

"I don't think so. They look more like they are just guarding the general area. Looks like they're expecting us."

Quenti swallowed. They had made it this far, but now, Khuna seemed more distant than ever. "There is no reason they would know we're coming," she said. "Who would have told them?"

"No one," Alara said. "This is how they do things. There are many secret entrances into the Haven. By design, no one person knows all of them, but they still need to protect and track everyone who comes in."

"But wait," Quenti said. "When I escaped, I didn't run into anyone on my way out. Was I just lucky?"

"It's possible," Alara said, "there's an uptick in perimeter guards in the days following bruya captures, for fear of retaliation or infiltration."

"For good reason, I guess," Lili said with a smirk.

"Well, it's a good thing we have you around to enlighten us, magite," Runeo said dryly.

Alara couldn't help but smirk.

"We can take them," Lili said, her eyes sharper than Quenti had ever seen.