Valkyrie Rising ✓

Chapter Thirty-Two

Anders, Milhov, and I stand behind the Krasne Pravitko, eyeing the building's façade. Viry surround themselves with beauty: landscaping, fountains, paintings, sculptures, architecture. The brickwork on this building, like most Viry structures, has designs built into it, leaving gaps between the bricks. It actually looks a lot like Shark's rock wall.

I interlace my fingers and pop my knuckles, stretching my joined hands over my head, swaying to loosen my shoulder muscles. I kick off my heels and begin scaling the wall. The brick is rough under my skin, but I climb past the second row of windows, then the third, Milhov and Anders behind me. My arms shake a little by the time I reach the fourth floor, but I hold on fine.

Through the window, I see our target at a desk, reading some papers. Who else would be working during the Induction Festival?

"What's the plan?" Milhov whispers when he joins me on the opposite side of the window.

"Can we slide the window open?" Anders says from beneath us.

Milhov reaches with one hand and tries, then shakes his head.

"We wait," Anders says, climbing up to my other side.

There's a distant crash, then shouts much closer. Dmitar looks up, staring at the door, but doesn't move otherwise.

"Atta girl, Kaja," Anders mutters. He swings over to the window ledge and slams his elbow through the glass. He scrambles through the opening and is on Dmitar before the latter can yell for help.

Once I'm through the window, too, I turn to help Milhov. He drops the rope off his shoulder. "We tying him up?"

"Better," I say. "We're bringing him with us."

"I'm not going anywhere," Dmitar says. At least, I think that's what he says. Anders has a pretty good grip over his mouth.

"Wanna bet?" Anders wraps an arm around Dmitar's neck. After a minute or two, Dmitar stops fighting, his body going limp.

"What was that?" I say. "Did you kill him?" I go to feel for a pulse.

"Relax, it was a chokehold. I was on Shark's floor before Hejae got me. I know what I'm doing."

"Let's get him out of here before the guards get back, if that is what we're doing," Milhov says.

We wrap the rope around Dmitar's body, so even if he wakes up, he'll be restrained.

Anders goes out the window first. We balance Dmitar's feet on Anders's shoulders as best we can, so he can support some of the weight on the way down. Milhov and I hold the other end of the rope, lowering Dmitar with every step Anders takes. It's a lot like tug-of-war, except backwards. And I don't have Kaz to fall into should I fail.

Anders gets to the ground and pulls Dmitar the rest of the way.

"Ladies first." Milhov bows toward the window. I climb out, afraid the guards will crash through the door any second. What did the girls and Lovro do as a diversion? I hope they were able to get away safely.

Once the three of us are all on solid ground, Anders throws Dmitar over his shoulder and we run a block to the east gate. I breathe a relieved sigh when I see the shuttle waiting, everyone else on board.

Hejae's eyes are huge when he sees Dmitar over Anders's shoulders.

"Go, go, go!" Milhov says, swinging into the bus behind me.

We take off just as Dmitar's guards burst through the gate. Too close. I'm still struggling to catch my breath. I don't breathe normally until we are back in the cave entrance to the Kuzabn compound.