Page 18 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

The hatch opened once more, and Siobhan stuck her head back through the hole. “Safe.”

“Go,” Cross said roughly. “Quickly.”

I swept my long, dark wool cloak out of the way, and stepped onto the first wrung of the metal ladder. It wasn’t very high to climb, but the scum on the bottoms of my boots made me move carefully, afraid I might slip as I ascended. Siobhan reached a gloved hand out, and I took it, allowing her to help me the rest of the way out into the clear night air.

The air smelled of salt and the sea, and even the faint odor of fish was a welcome change after so long below ground. Sucking in a breath, I practically laughed with relief as I looked around, taking everything in. We’d arrived behind what looked to be some sort of boat house, if the barrels and nets covering the ground were anything to go by. Behind Siobhan, I could see a sliver of a long dock, water lapping at its edge, and the masts of several tall ships.

I stepped out of the way of the ladder to allow Bael to climb out, and squinted into the darkness near the harbor. “I thought we were coming out near the wall.”

Siobhan didn’t respond to me directly, but shook her head as she shot a meaningful look at Cross. She addressed him the moment he pulled himself out of the hole in the ground. “The gate is down, like we expected, but there are only two guards.”

Cross frowned, then turned to me, finally addressing my question. “The wall is over there.” He pointed to somewhere beyond my eye-line. “It surrounds the entire city, and the eastern gate is at the harbor. Usually, this gate remains open to the road, even at night, because traders come in at all hours, but the gate is down.”

“Why?” I asked, thinking I already knew the answer.

“Because we’re in the city,” Aine’s drawl answered.

I turned to see her climbing up the last rungs of the ladder. Arson stood beside the hole, his hand outstretched as if to help her, but she didn’t so much as glance at him.

“No one knows for sure that we’re here,” I argued.

Aine brushed dust from her knees and straightened. “Do try to be serious. Of course word has spread by now, and as I thought you knew, the lord and lady of this city are no supporters of ours.”

“They won’t be a problem much longer,” Cross said with a shadow of darkness behind his usual smile.

Aine raised an eyebrow, looking interested. “Only time will tell if that’s an improvement or not.”

“Try not to make new enemies.” Bael eyed his sister warily. “We can hardly afford any more.”

“Right,” Cross straightened. “Let’s carry on then. There are two guards on the outside of the gate, but there shouldn’t be any trouble as long as…” he trailed off, glancing at Bael.

“Just point them out,” Bael said, without inflection.

I frowned, but said nothing. In the past, I might have argued over the necessity of Bael killing two random guards, but since the castle had fallen I’d had to get far more comfortable with the use of force.

Cross led, with Bael directly behind him, as we crept single file through the harbor. The wooden planks beneath my boots creaked softly as I paced back and forth, my thoughts drifting to the dangers lurking in the darkness around us. Every shadow seemed to hold a hidden threat, every rustle of the night breeze sending a shiver down my spine.

The wall came into sight, the huge wooden gate looming, casting long shadows over the already dark harbor.

Suddenly, a distant crashing noise echoed through the quiet night, followed by the sound of voices raised in alarm. We exchanged worried glances as the commotion drew nearer. Shadows flitted along the alleyways leading to the docks, and the unmistakable clatter of armored boots on cobblestones filled the air.

Cross’s gaze hardened, his eyes scanning our surroundings for any sign of danger before he positioned himself protectively in front of us, and drew his sword. “Rebels.”

7

LONNIE

THE DEADEYE DISTRICT, INBETWIXT

Time felt as if it stopped on the dark, windswept dock, and I froze. Then, all at once, movement erupted around me.

A shout cut through the night, piercing and terrible, sending fear pounding through my veins. “For the Dullahan!”

Cold dread washed over me, the sound of those words bringing back too many memories and sending me running. Sound was everywhere, roaring in my ears, and my feet were moving before my mind had fully caught up with the far too familiar sight of black, hooded cloaks.

Across the dock, Cross gritted his teeth as he swung his sword, the metal glinting in the pale moonlight. Behind him, Siobhan shot one arrow after another into the oncoming crowd, but for each enemy she sent toppling into the harbor, it seemed two more would appear out of the darkness.

I ran a few paces, only to come skidding to a shocked halt. I stared in disbelief at the space between two buildings. Where a moment before there had been no one, there now stood one of the many black cloaked figures, his face completely obscured by a hood.

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