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We reached the east embankment and waited behind in the shadows of a narrow alleyway, watching as the orange skies faded to dark blue. The suns finally set behind us. I turned south and saw the stone barrier that lined the cliff edge. It was tall enough that no child could climb it, but was meager beside the dam that sliced the sky beside it.
The first signs of smoke billowed into the air. Small puffs grew to large clouds, casting charcoal streaks into the sky as the wind blew across the dam. I watched the guards along the top edge point to the smoke, their shouts muffled by the raging flames that burned crimson against the night. The guard closest to me abandoned his tower and ran along the ridge to the west side of the dam, joining the other guard. They left the dam behind, running in the direction of the burning town house.
Three hooded figures stood watching the blaze, sharing quick words with each other before scaling the edge of the dam. Each one jumped deftly from merlon to merlon before disappearing into the smoke-filled neighborhood on the far side of the river
The Shades had been set loose. It was time for me to scale the wall.
I slipped out of the alley, leaving Nikolai alone.
A horse reared in the lane, and I leaped out of its way. I pressed my back against the wall of the tall embankment, my chest already rising and falling in heavy breaths. I closed my eyes and took three breaths to center myself.
My eyes flashed open with sharpened focus. I pulled out my bow and loaded the grapple arrow. I aimed directly above my head at one of the crenelated busts of the watch tower. It anchored itself securely with only the tiniest crack. I tugged on the rope to check its latch. It didn’t budge.
My cloak swayed in a soft wind that carried the scent of oil and smoke as I climbed the rope. I could hear the panicked screams of people all over the city now. Good. With everyone distracted we had just become invisible.
I slid over the edge, landing on the stone ridge the Shades had just abandoned. I kept low as I peered down the outer base of the dam. Even in the dark, I could sense how high we were over the bay. The lights of the port houses looked like the smallest of stars against the night. The only structure that existed between the smooth wall of the dam and the ports below was the narrow patrol bridge, wide enough for one person to march back and forth. I glimpsed a dark hood facing toward the smoke that now filled the sky.
I grabbed the blowpipe tucked into the holster at my side and launched the dart at her right shoulder. It hit. The Shade turned her head and fell. She would sleep for hours.
I pulled out the small vial Nikolai had given me and shook it. A bright blue light erupted in the glass. I bounced the glow off the steel of my blade, sending a streak of blue light across the sky. Too quick to catch the notice of anyone, except for Syrra and Nikolai, who were waiting for the signal.
I looked down at the Shade’s body. Her limbs were splayed out at odd angles, completely unconscious, but alive. She hadn’t seen me. She hadn’t fallen off the edge. I’d be able to spare her life in this.
I moved back toward the wall as Nikolai climbed over the edge. People lined the street, staring up at the black mass of smoke and flame. No one noticed the Elf and his large pack scaling the dam. I hoped it would be the same for the others.
“The Shade?” Nikolai asked, pulling off his pack.
“Unconscious.” I helped him set the large metal clasps he’d designed. They anchored around a merlon in a perfect fit. Nikolai pushed the bundle attached to the clasp over the edge. It tumbled down the wall, transforming into a rope ladder that rested inches above the stone walkway below. I hoped all his measurements turned out to be just as exact.
Riven and Syrra appeared at the other side of the dam. Riven stood tall, even with the heavy weight of our supplies clinging to his back. He turned his head, checking in on our progress. I raised a hand and he nodded before unfurling the pack and casting their ladder down below.
I descended first, not bothering to use the steps but trailing down along the wall in freefall before catching the ladder at the last moment. I stepped onto the walkway without any hesitation.
“Show-off,” Nikolai muttered. He stepped down the ladder with the chain of explosives. They were bulky, packed on top of one another, protruding from his shoulders. I stood below ready to catch him or a bag if they fell.
But they didn’t.
Nikolai winked as his foot touched the bottom of the dam.
“I’ll be right back,” I told him, pulling the fallen Shade up over my own shoulder and climbing the ladder. Her body was light. She was smaller than most Shades, short like Gerarda. Though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she wasn’t the Dagger. Her long chestnut braid had fallen around my arms. I left her leaning against the top wall, out of sight from anyone below. Ready for me to grab her as we left.
I caught movement at the edge of my vision. A figure dressed in a black hood was running along the dam, racing toward the rope ladder with a bow and arrow drawn.
The Shade’s partner.
I unlatched my own bow and notched an arrow. I aimed the shot, my gut plummeting to the bottom of the dam as I did what needed to be done. I loosed the arrow, tears falling from my eyes as it flew at the Shade. It hit her square in the chest.
Instant death. It was the only grace I had to give her. She’d seen too much. She’d seen me.
Her body fell into the ravine, crushed by the thunderous spouts of water that churned the canal below.
Her bow lay on the walkway, discarded and forgotten, but not her arrow.
A groan echoed against the dam. Nikolai had fallen, holding his thigh where the Shade’s arrow had pierced it.
“Don’t touch it!” I shouted, scanning the skyline and riverbanks for any more visitors. There were none. At least not yet.
I slid back down the ladder, barely using it to stop my fall, the stone echoed with the impact of my landing. I got to Nikolai just before Syrra, his hand clasped around the shaft of the arrow, moving to pull it out.
