Promising Light (40 page)

She looked down at the ground, her
eyes wide. “This was a bad idea.”

“Hurry up, they’re coming!”
Matilda said, already a foot down the wall.

Grace eased herself onto the wall
and moved down the solid stone. It took more strength climbing up,
but it took more effort going down. And time, which Grace didn’t
have, as Matilda kept pointing out. With still another fifteen feet
to go, Grace heard voices below them, and her foot slipped. She let
out a shriek as she slid down the face of the wall. She tried to
catch herself, but her palms scraped against the bricks painfully,
and her feet struggled to find a foothold. She fell onto her ankle
awkwardly, and their connecting rope pulled Matilda into a heap
next to her.

Matilda swore, grabbing the robe
and untying herself. Grace did the same as she heard shouts behind
them. Her palms were scraped open, and her fingers fumbled with the
rope. Matilda shoved Grace’s hood over her head, then pulled her
onto her feet. Grace saw the guards running toward them. Grace’s
ankle stumbled, but she forced herself to jog after Matilda. She
held her hood in place, knowing her distinguishing characteristic
was her long blonde hair.

Matilda suddenly took a right, and
Grace ran after her. They wove through streets and houses as the
guards called out for them to stop. Grace wanted to look back, but
she kept her eyes on Matilda’s flying red hair.

Matilda pulled her into an alley,
grabbed her wrists, and frantically whispered in the Cosa language.
Just as she finished, the guards ran into the alley. Matilda ran
toward them, pulling Grace behind her. “What are you doing?” Grace
asked, breaking away from her grip.

“We’re back under the spell!”
Matilda yelled. They slipped right past the guards; Grace was so
close she could have touched one of them. The guards went the
opposite direction, and Matilda led Grace to the streets
again.

“That was close,” Matilda said,
panting. “Now they know someone’s in the city. We might have to
find the others sooner than I thought.”

They weaved through a few blocks of
houses, and then the city became more congested. They approached a
tavern. “Wait here,” Matilda said. “This tavern is protected with
Cosa magic, so everything is revealed in its true form. If Chad is
here, I’ll bring him back out.”

“I thought I was supposed to go
with you,” Grace said.

“If I’m not out in five minutes,
follow me,” Matilda said, then ducked into the tavern.

Grace leaned against the wall,
panting. She looked down at her palms, each of which were bleeding
from various cuts. She gritted her teeth, examining the scrapes and
small bits of dirt. She glanced around for some water, but what she
found was for the horses, and it smelled funny.

A minute later, Matilda came out of
the tavern with a tall, lanky man. He had a brown beard and a
hesitant smile on his face. Matilda motioned for Grace to follow
them. Grace trailed behind them, wondering if he knew she was
there.

“You’ve heard about Lisbeth’s most
recent prospect?” Matilda asked.

“The noble?” the man repeated. “Of
course. Her picture’s everywhere. They’re saying Dar’s
involved.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, they have arrest warrants
out for him,” he said, his hands in his pockets.

Grace’s eyes widened. She hoped Dar
had the sense to change—but what about the Cosa revealing spells?
Her stomach felt sick as she thought about him being arrested. Chad
had to help; otherwise, the risk would be for nothing.

“He’s not involved,” Matilda said.
“At least… not in the way you think.”

Chad looked at her in surprise as
they stopped at the horses. “You’ve been talking to
him?”

“He came to me for help a couple
days ago.” Matilda looked around. “Can we go somewhere
safe?”

Chad hesitated, stroking a black
horse on the snout. “Sure. Let’s go to my place.”

Matilda raised her eyebrows. “Your
place, hm?”

“What, are you afraid we’ll end up
making passionate love again?” Chad said, winking at
her.

Grace made a face, blushing. With a
laugh, Matilda shook her head. “Not in the least. I’m afraid of
your neighbor. She hates me.”

Chad waved his hand as he took his
horse’s reins. “She’s probably drunk somewhere. Come
on.”

He walked down the street, and
Matilda winked at Grace. Grace let out an exasperated sigh before
following. She hoped Matilda told Chad she was there soon, or this
might get very awkward. “I need to wash my cuts,” she told Matilda.
“They’re all dirty.”

Matilda nodded to her. A few blocks
later, they were approaching what seemed like an apartment
building. Grace didn’t know how people lived like this. Even though
the last few weeks she’d been cramped, living out of a bag or off
of other people’s generosity, she couldn’t imagine living like that
long term. It was like an inn.

Chad lived on the second floor, and
his neighbor stuck her head out and glared at Matilda while Chad
was unlocking the door.

A small dog met him at the door. He
picked him up, snuggling with his face. Matilda walked around the
room, reciting her Cosa language. Chad whispered to the dog and
looked at Matilda with his brow furrowed. “Who else is here?” he
asked.

Matilda spoke the Cosa language
again. The feeling of being revealed only lasted a moment before
Chad stepped back, staring at Grace.

“Did Snowball tell you she was
here?” Matilda asked.

“You named him?” Grace asked. “He
lives here with you?”

“Nobles don’t understand the
concept of pets,” Matilda said, waving her hand.

Chad set the white dog down, and he
ran to sniff Matilda and Grace’s feet. Grace smiled at his
enthusiasm, aware of Chad’s gaze on her.

“Is she the noble Dar kidnapped?”
he asked.

“Dar didn’t kidnap me,” Grace
said, rolling her eyes. “I left willingly. Without telling
anybody.”

“Wait, you don’t actually believe
that prophecy, do you?” Chad asked.

“No, I don’t.” Grace glanced at
Matilda, wondering how much she should tell him about the ancient
texts.

“We need the help of a fellow
Avialie sympathizer,” Matilda said.

Chad went to the window, crossing
his arms. “Dar talk you into this?”

“No, I want to help the shape
changers. Jeshro says the tigers know where the ancient texts are…
but elders have said that for two hundred years, and no one knows
what it means.”

Chad raised his eyebrows. “You’re
looking for the ancient texts?”

“The Protectors are, too,” Matilda
said. “So, we need an answer soon.”

“Really? That’s it? That’s how
you’re going to convince me to help you?” He shook his head at
Grace. “Would you like to have a try instead?”

She may have been more persuasive,
but Matilda said, “Come on, Chad. Will you help us or
not?”

Grace’s shoulders tensed; she was
going to drive him away. “We really do need your help.”

“We need to meet the others soon,”
Matilda told Chad after shooting a glare at Grace. “If you don’t
want to help, you could tell us about another Boren who
will.”

“Who else is there?” Chad
asked.

“Dar, Sierra, and Evan,” Matilda
said.

Chad stared at her.
“Evan?”

“The Protectors had him for two
years,” Matilda said. “They tortured him for the location of the
ancient texts, but it was paired magic.”

“He’s alive? Well, that’s
amazing.” Chad sat down on the messy bed, pushing aside clothes.
“What about Seth?”

Matilda just shook her head. “No,
we pulled out his body.”

After a moment, he smirked at her.
“How did you get them to trust you?”

“I helped them,” Matilda said,
putting her hand on her hip. “And Dar has always trusted
me.”

“Well, of course. I wasn’t talking
about him.” Chad paused, looking at Grace. “What’s in it for
me?”

“The pleasure of saving an entire
bloodline,” Matilda said. “If you’re in it for anything else, then
we need to find a different person. The Protectors can offer more
money and it’s technically safer to side with them.” She shrugged.
“We don’t have much to offer.”

“Defying the Protectors, running
from death,” Chad said. “That’s all you have, though? The tigers
know where they are?”

Matilda nodded with a
frown.

Chad looked at Grace again. “Why
are you doing this?”

“I want to help them, too. After
they told me about the prophecy… well, I don’t want to do that, for
sure. But the ancient texts might have a hope. We might be able to
save them.”

Chad stood up and grabbed a bag.
“So you’re not sleeping with Dar?”

Her face warmed, and she crossed
her arms. “I wish that aspect of my life wasn’t so interesting to
everyone.”

Chad shrugged, grinning. “That’s
what everyone who knows about Lisbeth’s prophecy is wondering. No
one really believes the kidnapping hype. I just said that to annoy
Matilda.” He winked at Matilda, who pursed her lips.

“They don’t believe it?” Grace
asked.

“Well, like I said, those of us
who know about the prophecy.” Chad started to pack up a bag.
Apparently, he was going. “Everyone else thinks Dar is a scoundrel
who should keep his hands away from innocent Lady
Grace.”

Grace pinched the top of her nose;
she couldn’t imagine what was going on back in court. What was Lady
Rebekah saying? What did her friends and her brother Kyler think?
She suddenly missed Kyler and Jocelyn with an ache and wanted to be
back with them, getting ready for another Victory Day. But
everything that came with that life—the prince, her father—held her
back from this one.

“Well, we need to hurry,” Matilda
said. “We broke through the revealing spells on the way over the
gate. We need to find the others as soon as we can. I’ll make the
two of us invisible to everyone but you, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Chad said,
packing up some more things. He tied up his bag and picked up his
dog, sighing. “I’m going to have to find a place for
you.”

“Don’t leave her with the devil
neighbor,” Matilda said.

“She’s nice to dogs,” Chad said.
“She just doesn’t like people.”

Matilda rolled her eyes and chanted
in her language. While Chad was talking with the neighbor, Matilda
made faces at her. The neighbor asked where Matilda was, but Chad
said she’d already left. They walked outside and headed for the old
well.

* * *

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Kale and his companion dragged Dar
away from the tavern, no doubt to the town jail. He fought down
panic. The rope they’d tied around his wrists wasn’t magical. They
reached a sparsely populated area, and Dar grinned.

He changed into a squirrel. He
dashed off as the men yelled out in anger. He’d been considering
changing into a wolf or lion, but he didn’t want to bring more
attention to himself than necessary. Though he wouldn’t mind giving
Kale a bite on the leg or something worse.

He scurried up a nearby tree,
watching the men scour the area. He changed into a bird and flew
around the city, searching for Grace or Matilda. The sun hung near
the horizon, and the figures on the ground grew darker and darker.
As he circled the city, he searched for Grace, Matilda, or Chad.
After no sign of them, he headed for the gates to help Sierra and
Evan.

A crudely built building stood next
to the gates; the guards used it for emergencies. Dar remembered
times when men and women were caught smuggling drugs into the city,
and his father would be called to the building. He and Evan tagged
along once or twice, and a few more times when his father didn’t
realize they were there.

Jared stood outside of the
building, speaking with some men. Dar couldn’t tell whether they
were Protectors from Renaul or Rahudan guards. A guard stood by the
door, his sword out, his eyes watching. Maybe they were hiding
Sierra and Evan in there.

As he neared the building, his body
suddenly shifted of its own accord. He fell through the air,
flailing as he tried his hardest to change back into a bird. The
Cosa magic was strong, through. The air whistled in his ears as he
fell, and he covered his head as he crashed into the tree near the
building. He tore through leaves and branches that scraped his arms
and face. His knee bashed against a thick branch, and he reached
his arms out. The side of his chest hit another branch, and he just
barely held on so he didn’t fall and hit any larger branches.
Panting, he lay against the branch, listening to see if anyone had
heard his fall. How could they not have? It’d been about as
graceful as a lion at a tea party. His only comfort was that no one
was around to see it.

Yells filled the air, and footsteps
neared the tree.

“It was around here,” Jared’s
voice echoed. “Search the area.”