Release: Davlova: Book One (30 page)

I debated trying to go in the back way, through the den, as I’d done in the past, but after everything that had happened, they would have changed the code. Besides, what was the point of subterfuge? We’d live through this night and see the end of the hill, or we’d all die trying. There was no sense in pretending.

I knocked on the door. It opened immediately, although only an inch. A bright, wary eye peered out at me. It widened comically in recognition.

“Misha? Holy Goddess, what happened to your face?”

I reached up to touch my bruised eye. It was strange that I could forget how bruised it was. “Nothing. I need to see Frey. Is he here?”

I was afraid Lorenzo would tell me no, that Frey was somewhere in the mob that filled Lower Davlova, but to my relief, he nodded. “He’s here.” He opened the door a bit wider to glance up and down the sidewalk. “You alone?”

“Yes.”

He let me in, closing and latching the door behind me. “He’s in the projection room. You know the way.”

I found Frey pacing the length of Anzhéla’s office. He looked older than he ever had, and utterly exhausted, but by the time I’d finished telling him my plan, his eyes were bright with excitement.

“The only problem,” I concluded, “is getting through the wall. Do you know of a way?”

He laughed cynically. “If I did, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“What about the black market? You guys must have contacts—”

But he was already shaking his head. “Nothing came from inside the wall. We bribe shippers and smugglers and shop owners, but it’s all done on the outside.”

“All right.” I’d figured that might be the case. Like Frey said, if they had a way in, they’d have used it already. “I may have another way of getting in.”

The question was, could I bribe a priestess? And even if I succeeded, could Frey rescue Anzhéla and open the gate for the mobs before I’d escaped Upper Davlova with Ayo?

It was time to find out.

The biggest issue we had was how many people to take with us. Faced with breaking Anzhéla out of Benedict’s house, Frey could have used a small army. But getting that many people through the wall would be too conspicuous. Our chances of succeeding were considerably higher if there were only a couple of us. Besides which, a good portion of the people we may have counted as allies were already engaged somewhere in the city, waiting for the wall to come down. There was no time to troll the mobs, looking for them.

“Maybe I’m over-thinking this,” Frey said. “Benedict won’t have guards on his house. Not with the gates about to fall. He and his men will be on the front line.”

Whether it was true or not, we had no way of knowing, but it made sense.

“Sure wish I’d managed to get that radio up and running,” Frey grumbled. “It’d make this a lot easier.”

“You couldn’t get it to work?”

“It works fine. It’s just a matter of getting one set up for each our various partners in crime. Right now, I can talk through them, but every one of the units is here. Nobody else wanted to risk siphoning the electricity.” He laughed. “The funny thing is, by tomorrow, it won’t even be illegal.”

He sent one of the remaining clan kids running somewhere with a message instead. “Pull up your shirt,” he told me while we waited.

“Why?”

“I can tell by the way you’re moving that your ribs still hurt.”

Frey’s jaw clenched when he saw my abdomen. Ugly yellow bruises stained both sides of my ribcage. He poked and prodded, judging which ribs were cracked by how hard I sucked air between my teeth. Eventually, he wrapped my entire midsection.

“I can barely breathe,” I said when he was done. But the limited mobility helped ease the pain.

Shortly afterward, we were joined by two large, scarred men who looked like they’d been making a living in the back-alley boxing rings of Lower Davlova. Frey also recruited Lorenzo. He was young, and certainly not as muscular or scary as the other men, but he was quick on his feet and plenty smart.

We left the theatre without fanfare and made our way north and east, to the first quadrant.

The crowds here were lighter. There was still a mob at the first quadrant gate, but otherwise, the streets seemed deserted. Even the docks were empty of people. Fishing vessels and leisure yachts bobbed merrily in their ports, unconcerned with the politics of the city.

I led our group to the temple. It was far busier than it had been on my previous two visits. The pews were filled with women and children, seeking refuge from whatever violence was to come. The priestess who greeted us stared in wide-eyed alarm at Frey’s muscle-men.

“The Goddess will not grant sanctuary to men,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “Only upon a special dispensation—”

“We’re not seeking asylum. I need to see Dharma.”

She was surprised, but I suspected she was also relieved. Telling men as big as Frey’s guards to leave obviously wasn’t a task she relished.

I led the group off to the side, to the dark corner where I’d met Dharma in the past. I had a feeling she wouldn’t be happy to see me.

I was right.

“What are you doing here?” She wouldn’t yell in the temple, but her angry whisper had the same effect. “The priestesses won’t take part in your revolution!”

“No,” Frey said dryly, “but they’ll sure step up for a place in the new government when the time is right, won’t they?”

Dharma ducked her head. In her heart, she was still a clan kid, and Frey was second in command. Only Anzhéla would have held more sway. And Frey knew that. “Benedict’s taken her,” he said, pushing his advantage. “I’m going to get her back. That’s all.”

Dharma nodded, sniffling. “I’d do anything for Anzhéla. You know that. But I have no power here. I’m only a novice. I have no authority over the other priestesses. And even if I did, I couldn’t convince them to fight.”

“We don’t need you to,” I assured her. “The only thing we need is for you to take us through the wall.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she took a step backward. “Are you insane?”

“I know you can do it. You told me yourself that the library is on the upper side of the wall. The temples were built as a bridge between the two cities. The priestesses told the Council that they’d closed all passages, but I know it isn’t true.”

She looked around in alarm, but there was nobody within hearing distance. “I could be thrown out of the temple. I’d lose my place here—”

“Nobody has to know.”

“And,” I pulled a small bag of coins out of one of my pockets, “we’ll make a donation.”

She eyed the bag, thinking, but I knew she’d relent. It was only a matter of time.

“Fine,” she said at last, taking my coins. Whether she’d use them herself or give them to the Goddess, I didn’t know. She tucked them away inside her robe. “Follow me.”

We did. Through a door, down a hallway, through another door. It was a maze, and Dharma was obviously taking us the back way, in hopes of avoiding any of her fellow priestesses. “The passage to the library is the only way,” she said as we walked. “Nobody’s studying today. They’re all too busy dealing with the civilians.” It was slow going, stopping at each corner so she could peek around and make sure the coast was clear. Twice, we ducked into side rooms or closets to hide. Every minute felt like an age, but we finally reached the library. It was deserted, as Dharma had predicted. She led us through rows and rows of books, then back into a series of hallways. “Hardly anybody works the upper side,” she explained. “And any who are working will be in the temple, dealing with refugees, so we can’t go out that way. I’ll show you a door that will take you outside, but you won’t be able to get back in. Nobody will open the door for you. Not even me.”

“I understand,” I told her.

Next to me, Frey nodded his agreement. “You’ve risked enough.”

I had no idea how I’d get out with Ayo. And whether Frey snuck back out with Anzhéla, or whether he opened the gates for the rebels, I didn’t know or care. I only hoped I’d have enough time to do what needed to be done.

Another turn, and we were at a door. I knew it was the way out by the number of locks on the inside. Even a small army wouldn’t get through it from the other side. Dharma unlocked them, one by one, and opened it for us.

“Good luck.”

We exited into an alley. It had been just after dusk when we’d entered the temple. It was darker now. The alley was lost in layers of shadows. We looked around, waiting for our eyes to adjust. Behind us, I heard the steady clicks as Dharma secured each of the many locks on the inside of the door. On our side, there were no keyholes. There wasn’t even a knob.

We were truly alone.

At the end of the alley, we met a quiet, empty street. My heart began to pound. Somehow, I’d thought that once we were through the wall, it would be easy. But now, faced with the pristine boulevards of the upper city, the idea of passing unnoticed to Donato’s house seemed ludicrous, even in the dark. And how Frey and his oversized companions would get by, I had no idea.

Luckily for me, that wasn’t my problem.

I turned to Frey. “Do you know where Benedict lives?”

He nodded. “I was born here, remember? Lived here for nearly eighteen years.” He smiled, showing brilliant white teeth against his tan skin. “You sure you know your way?”

I looked around. “No.” I hadn’t even been to this particular portion of the upper city, but I had a good sense of direction. “But I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you will.” He frowned. “You’re not going to alert him, right? I’m trusting that your intentions aren’t to betray us.”

I shook my head. “He knows what’s coming.”

“But will you help him escape?”

I wanted to duck my head, to hide my face as I told my lie, but that would have given me away. I forced myself to meet his gaze. “Never.”

But the truth was, I didn’t know if that was a promise I could keep. Ayo was my true goal, but if saving him meant saving Donato, too, it was a compromise I was willing to make. At times, as I’d gone over my plan, I’d hoped to sneak into Donato’s house, find Ayo, and escape, with Donato none the wiser. But other times, I balked at the idea of not seeing Miguel again. I secretly hoped for a solution that would spare us all. Once we’d left the corruption of Davlova behind, there was nothing to stop us from building a new life, the three of us together. Not as a master and his servants, but with Miguel as my lover, and Ayo...

Not a slave. Somehow with us, yet safe.

Somehow, it would work. I
had
to believe it. Once we left the city, Donato could leave his beast behind.

But I couldn’t tell Frey any of that.

“My only plan,” I lied, “is to save the boy.”

Frey nodded. He held his hand out to me. “Until we meet again.”

I shook it, then did the same with Lorenzo. “Good luck.”

I turned left. They turned right.

And suddenly, I was alone.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

As it turned out, nobody looked at me twice as I made my way through the city. I was surprised at first, but then I realized they had no reason to be suspicious. I was dressed as any of their servants might have been, in simple clothes that were clean and well mended. I looked like I knew where I was going, even if I was less than sure on the inside. And, most importantly, I was inside the wall. They knew the gates might fall, but if they did, they’d be awash in a mob. But until then, everybody on this side was assumed to belong, even somebody who’d obviously taken a severe beating recently.

Whether or not that would be true for Frey’s group, I didn’t know.

The back door of Donato’s house looked as it always did, completely innocuous. The thought of what I might face inside made my heart pound and filled me with a mixture of fear and eager anticipation.

I wanted to see Donato.

Except I didn’t.

I wanted to find Ayo and escape.

But I didn’t want to betray Donato again.

I’d forgotten my bruises in the rush to get here, but suddenly, I felt them all. My head throbbed and my ribs ached. Tears threatened to fill my eyes. My hand shook as I reached for the doorknob.

I found the butler inside. He didn’t seem surprised to see me. He rose from his chair at the table to face me.

“He’s waiting for you.”

“Who?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Which one of them?”

He nearly smiled. “Both.”

I wiped tears from my eyes, angry at myself for not being able to control my emotions in front of this man I barely knew. “What’s your name?”

This time, he did smile. “Jenko.”

I nodded, still struggling to get my emotions under control. If Donato was angry, I didn’t want to see him. And yet, how could I not? And after the letter he’d sent, I didn’t expect anger. I expected tenderness. And yet faced with that, I’d never be able to leave him. I wiped again at my treacherous eyes. Jenko watched me with obvious sympathy.

Whatever plan I’d had suddenly seemed childish.

“What do I do?” I asked.

“Go to your master,” he said quietly. “He’s in the sitting room, at the end of the hall.” There was a gentle surety to his voice. This was the man who’d taken care of Ayo all these years. Who brought him hot chocolate and tended to his wounds. I had to trust he wouldn’t lead me astray.