Page 73 of Horn of Winter

“Sorry,” I said, covering my mouth for the umpteenth time.

“I think we need to get you upstairs and into bed.”

“We have a job to do tonight, remember?”

“Yes, and you’re not going to do anything in your current state. I’ll keep watch while you sleep, and we can swap over around four.”

Which would only give me five hours, given it was already close to eleven now, but it was hardly fair to let him do the entire shift when this was my idea in the first place.

“As long as you do wake me to take my turn.”

“Scout’s honor.”

Amusement lurked around my lips. “Somehow, I’m not really envisaging you as a Boy Scout.”

“In that, you’re definitely right.”

I signaled for the bill, and once paid, he picked up my suitcase and led me up the stairs to our room. It was low-key and quaint, with old-fashioned but pretty wallpaper, a comfortable-looking double bed, and a dressing table that also held coffee-and-tea-making facilities. The ensuite, while small, was perfectly formed and quite modern by comparison.

Eljin placed my bag on the floor next to his. “I actually have a couple of tricks up my sleeve to make things a little easier tonight.”

“Do tell.”

“First off, we break and enter. As far as I can tell, she’s not interwoven the building fibers to prevent entry, so we should be able to get in without her being any the wiser.”

“Just as well I brought some silicone gloves, then. I gather you’ve also checked for any security measures the building owners might have in place?”

“Indeed. And before you ask, yes, I’m quite capable of getting into that room without a key. We relic hunters have by necessity a wide range of skills.”

I smiled. Lugh had often spoken of said “wide range” of skills coming in handy on multiple occasions. “What if she’s got magical measures in place?”

“Your knives should give us warning of that, shouldn’t they?” When I nodded, he added, “If therearesuch measures, we still have option two in play.”

“Which is?”

“Good old-fashioned motion sensors. We lay one at the external exit and another at the top of the stairs, with the signals sent to my phone.”

“Won’t she see—or at the very least, feel—the weight of them through the wood song?”

“Not these ones. They’re miniaturized and have the weight and look of a freckle. They won’t affect the song.”

Meaning they likely used the same sort of technology as the bio trackers I’d run afoul of a couple of times, though bio trackers used the body’s natural electromagnetic field to fuel a constant, low-level signal that allowed tracking. It was doubtful a sensor could plug in to the wood song. “Will they last the entire night?”

“Guaranteed six hours before needing recharging.”

And using them would also give us backup if either of us fell asleep during our shift. “Let’s get this done, then, while there’s still people downstairs to cover any noise we might make.”

He pulled what looked like an Apple AirPods case—only slightly smaller—from his bag, then headed out, leaving our door open as he moved to the old staircase. After opening the little pod, he carefully picked up what did indeed look to be a largish freckle and placed it at hip height on a spindle a third of the way down from the top of the stairs.

“Okay, let’s test this thing.” He dug out his phone. “Head past the freckle, then come back up when I give the word.”

I did so and, when he nodded, clattered back up. As I passed the freckle, his phone rang softly.

“Perfect,” he said. “Let’s hit the rear door.”

He headed there while I went back into our room to retrieve a knife and the gloves. Once the second sensor had been placed and checked, I pressed the knife against the other room’s door. There wasn’t even the slightest flicker of light down the fuller.

I handed him a pair of gloves, then stepped back and motioned him to do his thing. He donned the gloves then pulled a lockpick out of his wallet—seriously, did all men carry one, just in case it was needed? Or was it just the men I knew?—and got to work on the door. He was a little slower than Mathi, but still pretty proficient.

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