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Another hour passed as I continued reading, marking some pages for my father to explain. But one sketch drove me to my feet. I ran to our rooms and hunted through my travel pack, hoping that it was still there after all the insanity of being captured by Bruns.
It was. Thank fate!
Dashing back to Fisk’s office, I compared Onora’s drawing from the Commander’s castle to the sketch in Bavol’s file. They matched. I sank into the chair, mulling over the significance. Onora had drawn the saplings that Owen had carried all the way from Sitia. He called them Harman trees, and they had to be important with a capital I. Now Bavol also had a picture of them, but there wasn’t an explanation to go with it.
I growled in frustration. So close! However, this could be a clue that Owen’s Master Gardener might have worked with Bavol at one point. And they needed a place to work close by. Maybe even one of those glass hothouses. I returned to my reading, hoping for another clue.
“What are you scowling at?” I jumped at the sound of Fisk’s voice. He stood in the doorway.
“Bavol’s notes. Did you have a productive afternoon?”
His light brown eyes shone. “I finally found Lovely Adara the perfect dress for her wedding.”
“You’re seriously excited about that? At a time like this?”
“Yes. She is extremely picky, and her father promised me double payment if I found her one within the week.” He tapped his bulging pocket and coins rattled. “He hated to pay, but once again I proved I can find anything in the Citadel.”
I grinned at him.
Fisk held his hands up. “Oh, no, what did I say?”
“Have you found a structure made of glass in the Citadel? Or maybe a building with lots of windows? Perhaps with greenery growing inside it?”
“No, but...” Fisk moved to his desk and dug through the drawers. “Tweet mentioned a green glass roof, but I thought I’d translated his report wrong.”
“I’m amazed you understand him at all.” Tweet’s tongue had been cut out at a very young age, so he communicated with a variety of hoots and whistles. Hence the nickname.
“We both grew up on the streets,” Fisk said, as if that explained everything. He withdrew a notebook and flipped through the pages. “Ah, here it is. Tweet tried to look inside, but a man spotted him and chased him off with threats of harm if he returned. I figured he’d found a skylight and was peering down into someone’s bedroom. People don’t like it when you spy into their private rooms.” His tone made it clear that the very concept amazed him.
I suppressed a smile. “Where was this glass roof?”
“Not far from here. I can have someone take another look.”
“I need to go and see it for myself,” I said.
“But Valek—”
“—said I can get some fresh air. Besides, once he kills The Mosquito, the others will be too frightened to come after me. Plus it’s close, and you’ll be with me. Right?”
“I don’t know.”
I tried another tactic. “We can bring along a couple bodyguards, if that makes you feel better.”
“Bodyguards? You do realize most of my people are underage.”
I stared at him.
He fidgeted under my scrutiny. “Well, I do have a few members who are skilled fighters.”
“Please, Fisk. I’m going crazy in here. Valek was okay with me leaving as long as we stay nearby.”
“If anything happens—”
“It won’t.”
“—Valek’s going to kill me.”
“I’ll kill you if I have to stay inside one more moment.”
“Sorry, but Valek scares me more.”
“That’s ’cause you’ve never seen me cranky.” I stood.
“All right, but we’ll need disguises. And if Valek asks, you forced me at knife point.”
“Chicken.”
“Damn right.”
* * *
Our disguises turned out to be a family. Fisk played the father, I took the role of mother and the bodyguards, Lyle and Natalie, were dressed as our children. The irony was not lost on me. With blond curls and chubby cheeks, Lyle was so adorable, I had to resist picking him up and hugging him.
As Fisk and I strolled hand in hand, I asked, “Are they even armed?”
“To the teeth.”
“Must take after my side of the family.”
Fisk chuckled. “They’ve been bugging Valek for lessons, and he’s been kind enough to work with them when he has time.” He squeezed my hand. “He’s going to make a wonderful father.”
I squeezed back in agreement. We walked for a while in silence. I enjoyed the fresh air and the afternoon sunshine warming my black hair. One of the guild members had pinned it into a sedate bun and used makeup to age my face. My future had stared back at me in the mirror.
Fisk navigated the maze of streets and buildings that comprised the northwest quadrant of the Citadel. Constructed from a variety of building materials, the once-organized grid of residences was now a labyrinth of homes, apartments and shacks.
“Tweet said he’d meet us near there,” Fisk said. “It’s a bit tricky to find.”
“Good. Is anyone following us?”
“No one has taken the least bit of interest in us.”
I considered the speed of his reply. “You have more people shadowing us, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“How many?” Or rather, just how scared of Valek was he?
“Two scouts and two sweepers.”
“Sweepers?”
“They follow behind and ensure no one is trailing after us.”
“Ah.”
When we drew closer to our destination, Tweet appeared as if from nowhere. He took my other hand and smiled shyly. We strolled another couple blocks in silence.
“Go with Tweet,” Fisk said. “He’ll show you and Lyle where the glass roof is, and the rest of us will meet you on the flip side.”
“All right.”
Fisk released my hand, and I allowed Tweet to lead me. Lyle, the chubby-cheeked blond, trotted at my heels like a lost puppy. We cut through a narrow alley, climbed a rickety series of steps and cat-walked between buildings until we reached a roof. Tweet stopped and pointed to an adjoining roof that was made of glass. Sunlight reflected off the surface, so I was unable to see inside.
Tweet put a finger to his lips and mimed tiptoeing. Understanding the need to be quiet, I crept toward the glass roof. My pulse raced as I drew closer and spotted green shapes. But when I reached the edge, disappointment deflated my excitement.
Algae coated the inside of the glass. All the plants Bavol had been interested in would need sunlight to grow. I peered through a couple clear spots, but dead plants and shriveled leaves occupied most of the room. It appeared nothing but mold and fungus grew inside.
I returned to Tweet, who shrugged as if to say it was worth a shot.
Not about to give up, I crouched down and described the glass hothouse to Tweet. “In order to build it, they would have needed large sheets of glass. Maybe you or one of your friends saw a glassmaker delivering them?”
He met my gaze and nodded. Lyle and I followed him off the roof and joined Fisk. I shook my head at his questioning expression.
“Back to HQ?” he asked.
Tweet piped up with a series of hoots.
Fisk groaned. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“What did he say?” I asked.
“There’s a glassmaker with a factory in the fourth ring of the Citadel who has been specializing in sheet glass for windows.”
“Great. Let’s go talk to him,” I said.
“I don’t know,” Fisk hedged. “The bounty hunters have been watching the market. And you said Val
ek only approved a short trip.”
“We’ll avoid the market. Besides, with these snazzy disguises, no one will suspect a thing.”
“You’re killing me, and not with your humor,” Fisk muttered. But he led the way, once again taking up his fatherly role.
We stayed away from the popular routes and avoided the deserted streets. Half the time I didn’t know where we were, but I trusted my guides. I smelled the sweet odor of burning white coal before I spotted the small factory tucked between two warehouses. The sign above the door read Keegan Glass.
A chime announced our arrival. Glass wine goblets, vases and pitchers decorated the display shelves. I gathered the “kids” close and told them not to touch anything.
