In the aftermath of the Ashen Choir attack, Benedict and Kirion scoured the area to find where they ran off to. Following one of two different sets of faint footprints away from the farm brought Benedict to the city, where all trace of them disappeared. Benedict might have Sensed them were Kirion not around to see him. He kept his rifle to his shoulder as he walked back to the farm, eyes scanning the area for any sign of the Choir coming for a rematch. They never did.

  Shiyo’s watchdog leapt between rooftops and watched. At least she kept it around. Shiyo herself stood with the porters, leaning on a shovel near a large, deep hole. Black-cloaked bodies lay inside, unmoving as Godwik and Binner heaved dirt over them.

  “Find anything?” Shiyo asked.

  Benedict put the rifle back into his coffer. “They’re gone as far as I can tell. I honestly worry they’re hiding somewhere.”

  Shiyo lowered her voice to a whisper. “Did you try sensing them?”

  “Not with Kirion so close,” Benedict whispered back.

  “Well, they won’t find anything here now,” Godwik said as he finished patting down the dirt.

  Binner looked at Benedict. “That weapon of yours is loud; someone must have heard it. They’ll probably be suspicious, especially the guards.”

  “We were defending ourselves,” Benedict said.

  “That might save us for now,” Shiyo murmured. “but some of the guards might be in league with the Choir on this, remember? We must tread carefully.”

  Binner stared at the grave. “All for a delivery.”

  Kirion joined them shortly after the grave had been finished. “I think that weapon of yours well and truly scared them off, Benedict. I can’t find them anywhere.”

  “Are you sure they’re not hiding nearby?” Benedict asked.

  “The Ashen Choir rarely stays nearby after such a stunning defeat. Trust me, they’ll wait until we’ve let down our guard to attack again, and they’ll be far more underhanded. I still hunted through every potential hiding spot.”

  “That doesn’t soothe my worries at all.”

  “Just accept that we’re likely safe for now.” Kirion pointed to Benedict’s coffer. “If you don’t mind, may I see that weapon?”

  With a sigh, Benedict drew the rifle, removed the magazine coffer, and handed it over to Kirion. He stared at the weapon as if he were a starving wolf, taking in every detail and imagining the possibilities.

  “Where did you get this?” Kirion asked after sufficient admiration.

  “I designed it with Celica,” Benedict replied.

  “Think she’d be willing to make me one, too?”

  “Isn’t that a little loud for someone who sneaks about?” Shiyo asked.

  Kirion handed the rifle back to Benedict and turned his nose up to Shiyo. “When caught in the open, even the best of us can ill afford to ignore such an obvious advantage as one of those… what do you call that thing, anyway?”

  “We’ll call it a gun,” Benedict said.

  Kirion kept fawning over the rifle, mostly focused on how great it would be against any monster he could think of. “And you picked it up immediately! That shows how incredible it is!”

  When he turned thirteen, Benedict had gone with his father to an outdoor shooting range, where he received his first firearm: a tiny .22 rifle. It was old but was the easiest thing in the world to shoot. Despite that, it took him a couple hours before he could reliably hit cans at fifty yards, but he didn’t stop until he took out a line of twenty without missing once. He ran through over a hundred rounds that day to get there. Maybe it would have been more believable if he’d missed a couple shots on purpose during the battle.

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  “The sighting system isn’t that hard to get used to,” Benedict said. “It’s little different from a crossbow.”

  “I want one more now. Maybe I could get one for free as a reward for—ow!”

  Shiyo had buried her fist in Kirion’s ribcage. “We accepted this job without reward. Do not take advantage of a scared woman.”

  Kirion massaged his side where her fist connected. “That was surprisingly painful.”

  Celic was kind enough, she’d probably do it, Benedict thought. His imagination ran wild. They could be hurting her, assaulting her, or worse. As horrible as it was to think about, she may not even be alive anymore if she resisted too hard.

  “Ah, everyone’s awake!” Ordra called as he walked into the camp with Amalyn. His voice turned grim when he looked at the grave. “What happened?”

  Godwik explained everything about the Ashen Choir attack, from the threats to the battle itself and the escape. Benedict and Kirion filled in where they had searched after the battle.

  At the end of the explanation, Ordra whistled. “That explains a lot.”

  “We’ll have to move fast,” Amalyn said.

  “We should have a good couple of days before the Choir attacks again,” Kirion said.

  “Show them, Amalyn,” Ordra said.

  Amalyn spread out a map in front of her and pointed to a small area to the east. It wasn’t marked on the map as anything but a wood, though someone had circled it with a pencil. “We need to go here. There’s a building in this area the Ashen Choir is likely using to hold the women.”

  Shiyo side-eyed Amalyn. “And how is it you found this out?”

  “Don’t worry about things like that.”

  Benedict traced the curves of Amalyn’s body with his eyes. There was a high chance she used that particularly potent weapon. Her victim could have been a member of the guard or of the Choir; he wasn’t sure which was more likely.

  “The magistrate might be glad to be rid of us and our meddling,” Binner said.

  “Given his insistence that we not do anything, he may well be in on it,” Godwik growled.

  “There’s no evidence of that,” Amalyn said.

  “His complaint about us getting in the way of an investigation isn’t entirely wrong from a practical standpoint,” Benedict said.

  “Especially if he doesn’t know some of his guards are working with the Ashen Choir. We won’t assume guilt until we have proof.” Ordra traced his fingers over the map, following roads. “It’s likely the Ashen Choir will want to attack us again. Kirion, what are the chances they will attack us on the road if we just leave?”

  Kirion shrugged. “High. The Choir doesn’t like it when someone challenges the authority it thinks it has. Leaving their territory won’t satisfy them.”

  “Safest way might be going back toward Lorvath,” Shiyo said, looking at the map. “From there, we circle around the city, keeping out of sight of the city walls. It’ll be long and uncomfortable, but initially they should be under the impression we aren’t heading toward their little building, especially if we make a show of it.”

  “If the kidnapped women are in danger, we need to help them sooner rather than later,” Benedict said.

  Ordra looked at the sky. “Then we make this a sneaky exit. Going through the east gate is too risky. The Choir would have observers there for sure. If we go south, we can get off the road here and go through the woods. May be difficult, but I’m sure we can do it.”

  “And what do you mean by ‘sneaky’?” Kirion asked.

  Shiyo smiled. “He means we go at night, obviously. It looks like some time before we could reach this place, anyway. We go by night, and that’s just less chance to be noticed.”

  “I’ll see how heavily guarded the gate is.”

  Everyone else spent the afternoon resting, especially the porters, who had to drive the wagons. Benedict’s version of resting involved sitting near the fire with his sketchpad. He kept drawing Celica and wishing she would be all right. If she wasn’t, what would he do?

  Benedict and Kirion approached the gate through tall grass, both keeping low to avoid being spotted as they neared the light. Behind them, the wagon sat in the shadows, nigh-invisible in the dark of night. Shiyo and Ordra remained with the porters there, just in case. Ahead of them, lanterns surrounded the gate and lined the upper wall. Two guards stood there, weapons out and ready.

  “So, it’s just these two?” Benedict whispered.

  “Yes,” Kirion whispered back. “No one’s on the wall in this sector. I checked thoroughly.”

  “Sure this will work, then?”

  “We’ve done this before.”

  With the silence expected of a thief, Kirion drew an arrow and twisted. His arrow flew into a pot twenty paces away, sending the sound of a shatter everywhere through the air. Both guards, in a display of low intelligence and high enthusiasm, shouted and charged with their spears ready.

  Their charge didn’t last long, as they realized their noisemaker could be hidden in the tall grass. Instead, they probed the grass with their spears while calling out to anyone who may be there. Benedict held his breath as he watched. Amalyn was in there somewhere, far enough away from the pot she was safe from the arrow. Without knowing where she was, however, his mind conjured images of her being stabbed before she was ready.

  He needn’t have worried. A slender, feminine silhouette rose from the grass and moved close to the guards as they walked away. Her hand glowed, and she slammed them into the nearer guard’s neck. He fell like a ragdoll, thumping to the ground and warning the other. He had no time to react as Amalyn smacked him, then he, too, flopped into the grass.

  A light appeared in her hand that she waved above her head. Benedict and Kirion nodded to each other, then dashed to the gate. The heavy doors required them to move and secure a slightly less heavy drawbar before they pulled them open.

  Once the wagon cleared the gate, Benedict and Kirion pulled the doors closed. Amalyn replaced the drawbar from the other side and vaulted over the gate. Benedict looked into the darkness and willed Celica not to worry. They were coming.