“In a roundabout sort of way,” Gin growled, but he nodded just the same.
“Excellent,” Monpress said. “As I was saying, I’m no wizard, but I can guess that the Duke of Gaol is the one controlling the town. If there’s one thing living in Gaol taught me, it’s that the duke controls everything within his borders, no matter how trivial. The man doesn’t know the meaning of the word delegate. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a personal contract with every paving stone in Gaol. This level of attention to detail has gotten him where he is, but it’s also a tremendous handicap, which we are going to use to our advantage. Look here.”
He leaned over and began to sketch an outline of the citadel on the shed’s dirt floor with one of Josef’s knives, which Josef hadn’t even felt him take. “We’ll create a series of catastrophes, each requiring the duke’s attention. Mass destruction seems to play well to each of your strengths, so I don’t think this will be a problem. While the duke is putting out fires, I will locate and free Eli and the Spiritualist. Can you tell me where they are in the citadel?”
Gin nodded. “Once I’m inside.”
“You’ll be with me, then,” Monpress said after Nico translated. “Once we’ve set the first distraction, you’ll point me toward our targets. After that, you keep the attention off me while I do the extraction and then provide us with a quick getaway. You can run faster than a horse, can’t you?”
Gin’s toothy grin needed no translation, and Monpress turned to Nico and Josef. “We’ll be depending on you two after we finish the jailbreak. Your job will be to cause enough flash that any report of prisoners going missing is lost in the noise, but not bring so much heat down that you become prisoners yourselves, or die in the process.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Josef said. “Let me get the Heart and I’ll put a hole the size of a wagon in that outer wall. Maybe a couple. That should solve both the getaway problem and the distraction.”
“I leave that to your discretion,” Monpress said, making a mark at the corner of the citadel closest to the river. “We’ll exit here, at the stables, so make your first hole on the northern wall. We’ll rendezvous at the northern border of Gaol. I’ve got one final hideout there. Nothing fancy, but it should last long enough for a simple switch. From what I’ve seen, the duke’s reach ends at the Gaol border, so all we have to do is cross the line and we’re free. Aside, of course, from the usual pursuing guards and whatnot, but I’m sure you have experience avoiding those.”
“Tons,” Josef said, grinning.
Nico frowned at the diagram. “It’s kind of a blunt plan.”
“Circumstances have given me blunt instruments. You do your best with what you’re given.”
Nico’s mouth quirked at that, and she seemed satisfied. Josef, meanwhile, snatched his knife back and stood up, settling the blade back into his sleeve. “I’ll need an hour to get the Heart and get into position.”
“That’s fine,” Monpress said, standing up as well and dusting the dirt off his black, padded suit. “We’ll need full dark anyway, so that gives us just the right amount of time. I won’t be able to give a signal when we start. Can I trust you to be in position on time?”
“One hour,” Josef said, walking to the rickety shed door. “We’ll be there.”
He paused for a moment, listening. Satisfied the coast was clear, he opened the door and slipped out into the alley, Nico right on his heels like a little shadow. Monpress watched them go, a skeptical look on his face.
“The girl I’m not worried about,” he said and sighed. “But I have to admit, the thought of our success depending on that swordsman’s ability to sneak to the river and back without causing a scene is not very reassuring.”
Gin chuckled and settled down with his chin on his paws, his ears swiveling for any hint of sound. A moment later, Monpress sat down as well, and together they waited in silence for full dark to fall.
CHAPTER 17
Eli felt like a wad of kneaded dough. His breath came in ragged hiccups, his muscles ached, and his vision was almost black. The duke had called the first rest seconds before he passed out, but Eli wasn’t sure he’d made it in time. Passing out still seemed like a valid option. Currently, however, he was awake, more or less, and being carried down a long hall suspended between the bulky arms of two enormous men. The duke ghosted ahead of him, a tall, dark shape among dark shapes.
They’d gone down a dozen flights of stairs, and the part of Eli’s mind that wasn’t whimpering in the corner realized they must be deep underground. The air was old, dusty, and cold enough to make his teeth chatter by the time they finally stopped in front of a deep-set iron door.