Beneath the Veil Read online

  "I want to help, Dae."

  He took both my hands. "I know you do, love. And you need to believe that your role, to stay here in case you're needed, is just as important as anyone else's."

  I didn't bother trying to argue. "So what are you going to do?"

  Daelyn nodded toward the clothes hanging by the fire. "I'm going to get dressed in the clothes you so thoughtfully prepared. Lir and I are going to get Moravian, Penryn and Gilder, and we're going to get the rest of those women and children out of Alyria tonight, before Rosten can torture any more information out of that bastard Barnabus."

  And Galya, I thought but didn't say. I stayed silent while I helped Daelyn dress and while I watched he and Lir leave me behind. I had nothing else to say.

  Daelyn might tell me my most important role was to stay behind, but I didn't believe him. I couldn't stay here, idle, while he and the others went out and worked. I couldn't stay here knowing my sweet friend Galya was in Rosten's foul grip.

  My plan was very simple, and required little thought. I waited until Lir and Daelyn left. Then I dressed myself as I'd dressed him, and I went out into the hall. I headed for the House of the Book, and to the prison.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Galya had become more than just my friend. I couldn't leave her to Rosten's care. I made my way through snow-covered streets to the House of the Book, and I watched, hidden in a doorway from across the street as the guards paced back and forth in front of the doorway. I could fight both of them to get inside, but then I would have to kill them. I didn't want to do that.

  I searched the walls of the round building. The lowest windows were much higher than head level for even a person much taller than I. Yet there were many of them, and they circled the building's entirety. I waited until the guards had paused to light their cheroots, and I snuck down the alley along the building's side. The only doors were in the front, so I didn't worry overmuch about running into any soldiers here.

  On the side facing away from The White Palace, a tall brick and stone building loomed. At street level, it contained a sweet shop. The next two levels boasted delicate ironwork balconies and decorated windows. Apartments for wealthy lords who hadn't been invited to live inside the White Palace itself. No lights burned in any of the windows, though the hour was not terribly late.

  I took off my gloves to fit my hands into the crevices between the bricks and climbed high enough to grab the lowest balcony. The metal was so cold it burned my hand. I welcomed the pain, for it helped me to keep focus. Fortune and the Invisible Mother were with me. The long glass doors that opened onto the balcony were uncurtained, and inside I could see no fire had been lit. No rugs carpeted the floor, no chairs or sofas made places to sit. Nobody lived in this apartment.

  The snow had tapered off for a bit, but now came down as thick as feathers from a down pillow. The White Palace disappeared beneath a veil of white, and even the House of the Book, so close I could almost reach out and touch it, faded in front of my eyes. The sound of boots thudded on the street below me, and I shrank against the glass apartment door. The black cloak I'd donned to hide myself in the night was now as conspicuous as a blemish in all the white.

  "The Book Monster wants us to tramp around in this?" One voice said. "Piss on him. He's not paying us near enough."

  "Hold your tongue. We're not doing it for the money. We're doing it because it's right. What will happen if we don't? Women will overrun this country, that's what."

  A low laugh from the first solider punctuated the snowy barrier between us. "You're an idiot if you believe that. Me, I'm doing this only because it's better than being clapped in irons. Though on a night like tonight, I say I wouldn't mind being inside, even if it was in Rosten's workroom."

  The second man gave a grunt, and I realized they were directly beneath me. "I'd shut up about that, if I were you. Lord Rosten don't take kindly to those who don't follow what he thinks."

  "Piss on Rosten, and piss on the Prince Regent," said the first man conversationally. "'Tis too fucking cold to worry about either one of those bloody gits. C'mon, let's go. At least out front we're sheltered from the wind."

  They tramped back toward the front of the building. I unclenched my fists and my jaws. Rosten didn't own as many of his soldiers as he thought he did, but when the time came, would that matter overmuch? A soldier would fight for whatever side paid him.

  From my space on the balcony, I could stare directly across into the lower edge of the windows in the House of the Book. The light inside was dim and flickering, but bright enough for me to see the wide ledge into which the window had been set. It looked wide enough for a slender man – or woman, in my case, to crouch there. The problem was once I got onto the ledge, where would I go? The walls were smooth and without hand or footholds. I wouldn't be able to crawl down. The ledge was wide and deep but not high enough for me to stand, which meant I'd have a difficult time jumping back to the balcony. I had no idea if the window would even open without being broken, and if it did, how would I get down the inside?

  Daelyn and Lir were right. I was impulsive. I didn't think before I acted. I straightened my spine. They had made acting from the heart sound like a crime, and I didn't think it was. Still, I hesitated. What should I do next?

  Through the snow, which muffled most other sounds, I heard a low, yipping moan. It could have been a dog. My imagination turned it into Galya's voice. She was screaming, tortured by Rosten in his workroom. It would have been impossible for me to hear her out here, but that's what my heart believed.

  Without a second thought, I jumped. I hit the ledge and grabbed for a hold on the sides. The snow hadn't coated the entire inside, but the part I landed on was slick. I slid. I grabbed at the walls. One of my fingernails tore, and I bit my lip to keep from screaming at the sudden, intense pain, but I kept my balance.

  I teetered for a moment on the edge, then pulled my legs up and tucked myself into the recess. It wasn't as big as I had estimated. I had room to sit, but not kneel, or turn. My side pressed against the glass, and by twisting my head I could stare down into the hall I had walked with Daelyn not so long ago. Anyone inside could look up and see me, but the hall was deserted.

  I heard the noise again, fainter this time. It could not be Galya. I knew that. I didn't care. I twisted my body in a painful contortion until I could press my fingers along the edges of the glass. Was there a catch, a latch, some sort of way to open them? But not from the outside, fool, I heard Lir's voice whisper. I pushed it aside. He had no place in this mission.

  I could see a latch on the inside. I pushed against the window, praying it would not break and send me tumbling down to the hard granite floor with broken bones and shards of glass. A wind came up and whipped the hanging edges of my cloak. I pushed harder. The window gave a little, and I pushed a little more.

  The window had not been meant to open from the outside, but neither had it been designed to keep people out. The latch broke easily under the pressure, and the window opened inward with a creak that stung my ears. Heat from the oil lamp just below the window singed my frozen hands, but I didn't care. I could get inside.

  I swung my legs inside to get a more secure seat. The distance to the floor was too great to jump, if I wanted to save my ankles. I'd brought no rope. The only things I had were my cloak and my long-sleeved vest. I shrugged out of them and twisted the lengths of bulky fabric together. They didn't reach the floor, but would take me low enough to jump. I wrapped the top edge of my makeshift ladder around the metal window frame and prayed it would hold my weight. Then, before I could think about it more, I lowered myself toward the floor.

  I was still more than the height of a tall man away when my knot loosened, the cape gave way, and I fell the final distance. Again, I was blessed with the Invisible Mother's protection. If I had been closer, I might have injured myself. As it was, I was still high enough I could twist and turn my body into some semblance of the Crouching Cat. I landed on my feet and hands, which