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“Probably for the same reason they stopped chasing us once they saw where we were going. They think there isn’t a back door.”
I looked at the wall behind the building for a door of any kind, or even a window, but it seemed like the crowd of people were right. There was just a brick wall.
“Of course,” Bennett continued, “there is always a back door for us.” He stretched out his hand in an invitation for me to grab it.
Lanue. That was our back door. Sometimes I got jealous of Shadow blood. It would really make my job as the assassin a lot easier.
I grabbed Bennett’s hand and the two of us Lanued into the pub. The sensation was so odd, as if my body had become a shadow itself, so light I could simply float through the air. I didn’t think it was something I could ever get used to.
One second we were outside the pub, and the next, we were through the wall and inside of Jack Hacker. The pub was. . .empty. The bar was filled with bottles but empty of people on the stools. The wooden tables around the room were bare, and it didn’t even look like there were people working in the kitchen. The pub itself had a cabin feel to it, having cobblestone floors with a roaring fire in the back. Horns of different animals hung on the walls along with a tapestry of the royal family, which did not include Bennett.
“Where is everyone?” I was confused now at the long line of people waiting outside to get in.
“The real action happens downstairs.” Bennett led me across the pub to a set of stairs hidden behind the bar. As we made our way down the stairs, shouts and the dinging of different bells filled my ears before the room below opened up to my view.
I gasped, “Holy—”
The basement of the pub was enormous. There had to be at least four hundred people down here, and with the line to get in around the block, practically the entire damn kingdom was here. There were three different rings in the room and each of them had a fight going on at the same time. The sound of fists on faces made the hair on my arms stand up but seemed to make everyone else cheer. The bell rang on the ring furthest to the right, signaling that the fight was over. The adjudicator raised the young man’s arm in the air, signifying his victory. Different groups of men walked up and down the aisles of the wooden bleachers that lined the entire back wall, collecting their debts from the people who just lost their bet on that fight. In the far corner, there was a group huddled around a burly man holding a clipboard which was where I would assume people signed up to participate in one of the rings.
There was so much to take in. I tried to scan the room for any sign of someone who could possibly be aligned with the Red Bones, but let’s face it, I would have pegged this room as the entire Red Bone army when I first walked in.
Suddenly, something caught my attention, and I scanned the room to make sure I was right.
Wait a second. . .There’s no—
“Pull your hood up, now,” Bennett said urgently as he dug a scarf out from his pack and handed it to me. “And wrap this around your nose and mouth.”
I did as he ordered as the realization set in. There were no women here. Not a single one. None in the stands, none collecting bets, and obviously none in the rings.
“Bennett,” I whispered, “why are there no women here?”
In Veladis I’d heard of boxing but had never attended any matches. However, I knew of some of the ladies in the castle who loved to go to them so they could swoon over the men who fought.
“Although my father has a lot of progress to still make on equality in Veladis, my mother was the one who made it socially acceptable for women to be involved and accepted into night life activities. In Vicinus, it seems that it still isn’t the case. From what I remember, a woman caught outside of her house at night unaccompanied could go to prison.”
My eyes widened. “And you failed to mention this until now?”
He shrugged. “I forgot.”
I looked at him, dumbfounded. How the hell could he forget? He hadn’t even been gone for that long.
He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Now let’s go catch some Red Bones,” his lips so close to my face I could feel them curve up into a smile as he pulled away.
I followed close behind him and thanked the stars that I was already wearing somewhat masculine clothing. My breeches and boots wouldn’t bring any attention, and thankfully my hair was still pulled back under my hood.
A bell went off to my right, signaling that yet another fight had ended, and the crowd erupted with cheers and boos. Although it was freezing outside, the walls here were damp from the moisture of people’s bodies. It was hot, really hot, and the cloak and scarf weren’t helping. Nevertheless I kept scanning the room for anything that could possibly resemble a meeting. Why would anyone meet down here? It didn’t make sense; it was way too crowded, and there seemed to be no separate rooms to branch off to. Someone could easily eavesdrop on conversations in the stands. If the Red Bones really were here planning something, they would need a place with more silence so they could focus, someplace free of distraction. A place the typical civilian would simply overlook. A spot people wouldn’t look twice at because they’re on their way to where the real action is. . .
I grabbed Bennett’s arm. “I think we should go back upstairs.”
He turned to me. “Why?”
“Because I think—”
Suddenly, a large hand was wrapped around my wrist, squeezing away the circulation.
The man grabbing me was twice as tall as me and four times as wide, with a bushy mustache and a shiny bald head. He smelled like cigar smoke, and the potency of it made me want to gag.
“Where’s your wristband, young man?” he asked, showing a smile with a few missing teeth.
