“Gods, Lea, shut up!” Val screamed. I flinched against Les’s back. He stirred but continued to watch Nik and Grape Leaves.
I’d tipped him over the edge. I had to keep him there. “Who’s your lapdog?” I motioned to the man in the hat.
“A friend of the Family,” Val said. “Don’t worry about him.”
“He was in Fabricio’s the night of the fire.” And just like that, I knew which restaurant housed the entrance to their home.
Val shrugged. “He gets around. He helps us get around. That’s really all you need to know.”
“He’s the reason you’re here?” I asked.
“No. We know Marcello Saldana is here,” Val said. “It’s the only reason you’d flee to Rennes. The only reason being in Yvain makes you no longer feel like an orphan. After all these years of searching for him and all we had to do was follow you.”
“And you thought you’d bring Marcello to your lunatic of a Family head, hoping he’d prostrate himself before her, beg for her forgiveness?”
“I don’t give a shit about any of that. I just do what I’m told.”
I laughed. “Yes, that’s been clear since the night of the fire.”
Val jerked his sword out of its scabbard. The metal rang sloppily in the dark night. The Da Vias beside him followed his lead. “Fine then. If this is the way you want it, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
I tightened my grip on my sword. Val charged. Les pushed off from me to defend against Nik and Grape Leaves. He was outclassed, but I couldn’t think about him now. I could only help him if I survived.
Val lunged at me, the other clippers swinging left and right. I raised my sword to defend myself, but he feinted to the right and let another clipper rush in. It was a new move for Val. He’d always relished being in the center of the fight. He’d changed.
I barely had time to switch my stance. My sword blocked the attack of the Da Via with red diamonds on her mask. Our swords rang against each other. The echo bounced off the brick walls of the alley. My ribs roared in pain. My grip on my sword faltered. I twisted to protect my back from another Da Via with red splashes of color on his mask, like spattered blood.
He feinted, too. Someone’s boot connected with the side of my right knee. Only my off-balance stance saved me from a broken joint. I stumbled away, barely managing to stay on my feet. My ankle ached at the rough treatment, and my ribs practically hobbled me. I couldn’t fight this way. Not if I wanted to live.
Les parried Nik’s blows. Grape Leaves circled behind him, taking advantage of Les’s distraction.
I pulled out a knife. One smooth motion, clean and quick . . . I whipped the blade at Grape Leaves like Les had taught me.
The blade wobbled in the air. The dagger struck Grape Leaves between the shoulder blades, hilt first. Painful, but not damaging.
Nik Da Via shouted. Les had scored him on the arm.
Val looked over his shoulder at Les. He changed places with Nik, who turned to face me. I rushed after Val, but the three others closed the gap. I’d have to go through them if I wanted to place myself between Val and Les. We needed to get out of here.
I pulled out three smoke bombs. The Da Vias weren’t the only ones who knew how to use them.
I hurled them between the legs of my opponents. They exploded, gray smoke flooding the alley.
“Les!” I stepped away from the smoke and the coughing Da Vias. “Les!”
A shadow dashed at me. I raised my sword.
Les erupted from the smoke. He grabbed my hand and yanked me after him. I gasped in pain.
We passed by the man in the cylindrical hat. He shouted to the Da Vias, but Les and I darted around a corner.
I couldn’t keep up. This wouldn’t work. The Da Vias would catch us.
“The canal!” I panted. We turned left and sprinted for the water and his boat where we’d left it. Les grabbed the pole and shoved us away from the street.
I struggled to catch my breath, my arm pressed against my side. Every movement sent pain coursing through my body.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Les said as he pushed the pole. “I wasn’t sure how long the smoke would last.”
I took another deep breath, wincing at the pain. “It’s all right. We had to get away.”
He moved us quietly while my thoughts raced. They’d find the entrance to Marcello’s tunnel. We’d led them right to it. We couldn’t stop them, not without help.
“I scored one of them,” Les said. I nodded. “I coated my blade with poison, like you suggested.”
I closed my eyes, calculating, trying to decide if the poison would work fast enough to grant us any advantage. They would still outnumber us.
Ahead, a bridge arced over the canal. Les pushed us beneath, into a deeper darkness. There was no way out of this, no plan I could think of.
We reached the other side of the bridge, and Les steered us out. A shadow flashed over him. I shouted a wordless warning, but the noose dropped over his head and pulled tight.