A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Castin walked in front, followed closely by me and then Kovin. I whispered directions every time we came across a split in the halls. The key Vali had given us was light, and I kept tapping my pocket to make sure it was still there.

It was hard not to compare this escape with my last one. Castin reminded me of the knights. He paused at every corner, fingers tightening around his sword hilt, and carefully looking to see if the hallway was empty. But there was something more instinctual about his movement. Something less disciplined. Sneaking around came naturally to him. He approached every corner confidently enough, going through the familiar motions of checking for guards. He was comfortable being quiet and unseen. It had been different with the knights, who had been more comfortable in the fight. In the midst of a battle they knew exactly what to do. They had been ready to take down any Deoran who stood in our way.

We moved as quickly as we could while keeping cautious. For a long time we didn't run into any guards. If Vali had managed to make the king's poisoning look like an assassination, they would have pulled guards from all over the city to protect the other nobles and search for the assassin. If it was as chaotic as West Draulin had been after Lord Tandrael's death, even Kalvahi and Kassia would have a hard time controlling everyone. They wouldn't want to waste too many guards on the prison.

At one corner, Castin drew back so quickly that I nearly walked into him. He pressed himself flat against the wall, and I carefully leaned across him to peek around the corner. The hallway stretched in both directions. The way to the right was clear, but the way to the left, where we wanted to go, was blocked. A guard stood down near the next intersecting corridor. I ducked back behind the wall.

"This one is up to you," I whispered.

Castin didn't move. "He'll raise an alarm before I can run up and attack. Even then, he'll have a chance to prepare."

"Do you remember that trick we played on Arow, when he was chasing me for that loaf of bread?"

Castin nodded.

I stepped past him. The guard saw me almost immediately, and called down the hall. I did a decent job at pretending to be surprised. If I had been better dressed, or at least cleaner, I could have pretended to be Deoran and tricked the man that way. Instead, I turned and ran down the right branch of the hall.

The guard drew his sword and bolted towards me, shouting. I faked a stumble so I could glance back and gauge the distance between the guard and the corner hiding Castin and Kovin. Then I snapped my fingers.

In one swift movement, Castin stepped around the corner and drove his sword into the man's stomach. The guard's momentum didn't stop. He crashed to the ground, pulling Castin down and forcing the sword further through his body. Years ago, Castin had simply stuck out his foot and tripped Arow. Of course, this situation was entirely different, but as Castin rolled away from the man and yanked his sword free, I realized that Castin himself was different.

He seemed unfazed by the blood that was now staining his tunic. "Someone probably heard that. We need to run."

He was right. I started down the left hall, eager to put as much distance between us and the body as possible. There probably weren't many guards nearby, but the last thing we needed was to be found by even a few of them. With Kovin barely managing to keep up, and me being relatively useless in a sword fight, it all came down to Castin. And while my opinion of Castin's ability to fight was higher than it had even been before, I doubted he would do well against a group.

We made it down a few more twists and turns without meeting any trouble. We were getting close to the doorway. That certainty made my caution falter, and I turned a corner without looking first. Castin was too close to catch himself and he skidded into me, sending us both to the floor. I rolled to my feet instantly, the little folding knife already flying out of my hand.