The Broken Eye(269)

There was something totally empowering, even intoxicating, about walking unseen. Here were the drafters of the world, the cream of the Seven Satrapies, and they couldn’t even see her. No wonder the Order’s assassins loved these cloaks, even without using them to their full potential. This was amazing.

It was also surprisingly challenging. Teia was used to ducking and dodging through a crowd, but it was one thing to brush past someone who barely saw you, and something altogether different to actually get run over by someone who didn’t see you at all. That, and the fact that the shimmercloak completely cut out her peripheral vision, made simply moving at a walk almost exhausting. She was constantly turning her head, sneaking glimpses of everything, adjusting the paryl bubble as the evening crowds head back across the bridge from Little Jasper to their homes on Big Jasper.

She was lucky that Andross Guile hadn’t chosen to ride. As a Color, much less as promachos, it was his prerogative. He’d chosen instead to walk, which she hoped meant that he wasn’t going far. She should know where his home was, but the truth was, she’d spent all her time in the wrong neighborhoods. Still, it was an odd thing for a man who just a year ago had seemed practically an invalid. That he walked also meant that he’d picked up four more Blackguards, and an equal number of Lightguards. Six Blackguards might seem overkill, but it was a time of war, and Andross was the promachos. Teia barely counted the Lightguards, other than to note their presence. Pretenders.

Once they were in the open streets, following was much easier. They didn’t go far, either, and soon Teia saw the Guile estate. Its dome was, of course, gold. The great doors were black oak, studded with garnets. The great crossbeams were black oak over forever-burning atasifusta wood, which had been set alight to announce the Lord Guile was in residence. The garnets picked up the red glow and reflected it beautifully in the fading sunlight.

The Guile estate was so large it was home not only to one of the tallest of the Thousand Stars, it also had a small yard and garden—enormous luxuries on the overcrowded island.

Sentry boxes stood on either side of a thick, tall gate sheathed in iron. Some estates had simple wrought iron gates, presumably, Teia thought, to let pedestrians see through them to show off their owners’ wealth. But open-iron gates were a terrible idea for a city full of drafters: stick your hands through the gaps and draft freely. The Guiles valued their privacy or their defense more.

And here’s where it gets sticky.

Suddenly, Teia had to ask herself just how much she wanted to follow Andross Guile. He might well simply go into his home and go to bed. All she had was wild guesses and intuitions. She could be risking her life for simple curiosity.

The Guile guards opened the gate for them. Two of the Blackguards slipped inside, weapons drawn, while two kept an eye on the guards, despite that the men were older and must have served the Guiles for decades. The last two waited with Promachos Guile, carefully scanning the crowds who gave them wide berth.

Teia took a deep breath and started moving. How good was she at using this cloak? If she did it wrong, this was going to be the shortest infiltration in history.

Tucking her fears into a pocket, she strode confidently. She drafted her bubble of paryl mist around her. Maybe it would help.

Someone jostled her, stepping into the seemingly empty space in the crowds where she was walking. Her paryl bubble broke apart silently, but she simply formed it again and kept moving. Andross went inside, one Blackguard in front of him, one right on his heels. The last two, Presser and Essel, nodded at each other, then Presser slipped inside while the Lightguards stood around, shifting, not even professional enough to stand still when at rest.

Teia didn’t mind; it meant they took up more room, and gave her more space to move.

The petite, curvy Essel would wait two seconds, scanning the crowd once more, then come in and shut the door immediately. Teia pressed herself against the closed side of the gate and slipped through the crack right in front of the woman.

Andross Guile was supposed to wait for his security detail to reform, but he was halfway to the house.

A young Blackguard with a shaven head, Asif, stood at the front door with the Guile guards. He perked up at the sight of his compatriots. Standing guard all day with house guards who don’t welcome your oversight of them was not a favorite posting for a Blackguard, especially when one had to do it alone.

Then Teia got lucky. Andross Guile went inside and his slave Grinwoody stepped outside, blocking the door. “The High Lord bids you to head to the back barracks, there to await his pleasure.”

“The back?” Asif said. “But from there we can’t even see who comes through the gates, much less who’s in the house.”