Palliako’s voice was unsteady.
“I don’t… um…”
She turned to look at him only to find him staring at her. Without thinking about it, she’d hoisted herself on top of the curved body of the trees that made the bridge. She was suddenly aware of the abyss beneath her, and only a few feet of sloping, oiled wood between her and the air. A wave of light-headedness swept over her, and she stepped back, heart racing.
“I’m all right,” she said. “I’m fine. Keep going.”
Yellow House was unmistakable once she saw it. Three floors high, each one narrower than the one below, so that every level had its own small courtyard looking out over the Division. The walls were the improbable color at the heart of a daisy, and the yard was half filled with men, women, and children looking up at the lowered stage and the people standing on it. The yard wasn’t more than a hundred feet from the massive stone sockets where the Autumn Bridge ended. But with so many eyes needing no more than a flicker to see them make the crossing to the back of the cart, it could as well have been a mile. On the other side of the Division, torches were drawing closer to the Autumn Bridge. She drew her two charges into the shadows beside the bridge.
“Stay here,” she said. “When you see the people in that yard turn away, run to the back of the cart and tell whoever’s there that Cithrin sent you and that you need to be hidden. You understand?”
The prince nodded.
“But,” Palliako said. “But what if…”
“Listen to my voice,” Cithrin said. “You can do this.”
She made her way to Yellow House’s yard, her eyes flickering over the crowd. Familiar voices came to her. Hornet and Sandr, declaiming to one another the way she’d heard them do a thousand times before. There would be someone in the crowd to lead it. There, in the rear, Cary sat in the middle of a group of five. As she watched, Sandr delivered one of the punch lines, leaning on the words too hard. Master Kit would have chided him for it. Cary was the first to laugh, and the crowd followed with her. Almost trotting, she made her way around the edge of the crowd. Cithrin saw Cary’s recognition by the change in the angle of her shoulders and the faintest nod known to humanity.
When she came to her side, Cary’s eyes narrowed. Cithrin leaned close, whispering in her ear.
“I need you to make the whole crowd look away from the stage for a few seconds. I know Sandr will kill us, but it needs to be done and done now. Can you?”
Cary’s smile was wicked.
“You should know by now, sweet sister, I can do anything. Good to see you again, by the way. You’ve been missed.”
Before Cithrin could say, I’ve missed you too, Cary lifted the hem of her dress up over her head and pulled it back. The woman’s breasts were larger than Cithrin remembered, with dark nipples made hard by the cool night air.
“My God!” Cary said, her voice carrying even over the players on the stage. “Is that mule on fire?”
Cithrin felt her eyes go wide and a violent blush rose up her neck through her cheeks and out to the tips of her ears. There was a flicker of movement from the bridge, and then Palliako and Prince Aster running as if dogs were at their heels. Cary pointed toward the street at the far side of the yard. On the stage, Sandr and Hornet were rooted as trees.
“Right over there,” Cary said, gesturing in a way that made her breasts bounce. “Honestly. On fire.”
Man and boy reached the rear of the cart. The stage shifted as they climbed in the back door. Cithrin imagined she heard whispering voices, but it might only have been her mind playing tricks.
“Oh, no,” Cary said and pulled her dress back on. “Sorry. My mistake. Please go on.”
There was a moment of utter quiet.
“And I… ah… I say no, Lord Ternigan,” Hornet managed. “There will be no wedding this day.”
“There shall!” Sandr shouted, stamping his foot. Voice and action commanded the attention of the yard with mixed result. “I’ll not be refused by the likes of you. So draw your sword and blades be true!”
The men pulled out wooden blades and began the fight sequence that ended the second act as Cary put her arm around Cithrin and angled her back toward the street away from the play.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Cithrin said.
“It’s only a body,” Cary said. “And there are just a few reliable ways to command attention with no preparation. So will you tell me now why I’ve just destroyed everyone’s concentration and halved my night’s take?”
“Look north,” Cithrin said. “What do you see?”