A few ghosts floated by before vanishing into the woods. Half an hour later, a poltergeist zipped across the road, doing flips and throwing rocks as it headed deeper into the forest.
Across the way, Ellery leaned forward as two spectral horses rounded the bend in the road. They didn’t make a sound as they galloped beneath us and vanished around another curve.
Thirty seconds later, the first call of a lathey bird sounded. It was followed by two more before a pause came, and the final three calls followed.
They’re coming.
I tensed before meeting Ellery’s eyes. She nodded to me before pulling her hood on and tucking her hair away.
And just like that, the Hooded Robber sat in her place. There was the thief I’d chased through the woods; the whole time, I’d believed it was a man, but it was Ellery beneath all that black and a simple hood hiding her face.
She could see through the mesh covering her eyes, but their beautiful, unique color had vanished. It had been smart of her to cover them; I would have recognized her instantly if she hadn’t.
My brief spurt of ire dissipated as the thud of horses’ hooves and the rattle of carriage wheels shook the ground.There’s a lot of them.
We had anticipated that possibility and planned for it, but I’d still hoped for a smaller number. There would be fewer guards that way.
Ellery shifted on the branch as I contemplated calling this off. We would have come a long way just to back out, but many things could go wrong.
I didn’t want to lose anyone here, and I especially didn’t want to loseher. I tried to hate her, but it was more difficult than I’d anticipated.
If I gave the signal now to call it off, then we’d be losing our first and best opportunity to strike against our oppressors. If I backed down because of her every time we had a chance to go at them, we’d never break free.
That couldn’t happen. Gritting my teeth together, I resolved to see this through. I would make sure Ellery and everyone else got through this, and when we did, it would be with a good chunk of Ivan’s money.
Pulling on my hood, I grasped the rope beside me and waited for the caravan to come into view.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-SEVEN
Ellery
For the first time,I was nervous about a robbery, but that was because there was far more thanmylife on the line here. Before, Scarlet could have slipped away if they caught me, and she still might, but it would be more difficult for her with so many of the king’s guards escorting the caravan.
And there were alotof them. At the front rode six guards on horseback; two horses pulled the first carriage with two guards on the bench, and an additional four guards rode with it, two on each side.
Another carriage appeared behind it. That carriage was escorted by four guards on the sides and two in the driver’s seat. All of them wore chain mail and helmets.
Sweat had cleaved my shirt to my skin hours ago; I couldn’t imagine what these men felt like under those helmets. A few had removed their helmets and settled them on their pommels to expose their flushed, damp faces.
The horses’ hooves dug up the earth as they kicked up dust that floated around those who came later in the line. Dirt coated their helmets, faces, and chain mail.
It hung heavily in the air and provided more cover for us. Since I couldn’t use my fog ability, and no one else involved in the robbery possessed the power, this dust cloud would help obscure us.
When the last of the procession rounded the bend, I tensed while waiting for them to get closer. The final carriage was our target. There was a chance it contained the least carisle as it was most likely the last one they filled, but it would be the easiest to take from the guards.
Judging by the four chests strapped to the top of it, there was plenty of carisle to make a difference in the towns, and we could still retain enough to build the army Ryker wanted. Unable to see inside the carriage, it was impossible to judge the amount of money within, but there had to be more.
My heart hammered, and adrenaline flooded me as the carriage rolled closer and my anticipation built. I’d never liked stealing, but I liked the rush that came with it, and I’d forgotten how good it felt.
I didn’t dare tear my eyes away from the last vehicle as it came closer. The bad thing about the final carriage was it had four guards at the back too, but we’d anticipated it would have more coverage and planned for that.
“Now,” I whispered to Scarlet.
She released the rock she’d held. It clattered and banged against the trunk before slicing through some brush below and hitting the ground.
A few guards glanced toward the rock, but most ignored the sound. Between the poltergeists and other creatures in the woods, the forest was never quiet, and there were always strange noises.
They were wrong to ignore this noise because a rope shot up across the earth as soon as the rock hit the ground. Tucker’s followers had pulled the hidden barrier up from where we’d buried it under the dirt.
