“Try again.”
He admired her optimism. She followed him as he crossed the Citadel, staying in the shadows. Her passage was soundless, and when he glanced back at her, her skin and clothing appeared darker, as if she was turning into a shadow. Valek remembered Janco commenting on how well Little Miss Assassin blended in with her surroundings. Janco hadn’t detected magic, but he didn’t always pick up on the more subtle users, like Reema. It was a bad time to open his magical senses so Valek added it to the list of things he still needed to discover about Onora.
When they reached the secret entrance to Fisk’s HQ, Valek said, “Here’s the story. My injuries are due to a fight with The Mosquito. He used magic and, if you hadn’t come along to help, I’d be dead. Oh, and you had no intention of carrying out the Commander’s order to assassinate me.”
“Except for the fight with the bug, it’s true. Why the change?”
“You tell me.”
It didn’t take her long. “You don’t want Yelena to be mad at me.” Her brow crinkled. “Why?”
He waited.
Onora shook her head, truly puzzled.
“Because she considers you a friend. Yelena doesn’t have many friends. And none who have also been—” there really was no way to say this gently “—raped. You share that in common, and it forges a bond. I don’t want to ruin that for her...or you.” He sensed she needed it more than his wife.
“Thanks.”
He nodded and tapped the code on the door. Hilly opened it. Her gaze slid to Onora.
“This is Onora. She’s going to be staying with us.”
She stepped aside, letting them in. Hilly took one look at his bloody tunic and said, “I’ll fetch Chale.”
“Thanks. Can you tell Yelena I’m back?”
Hilly paused and turned around. Her tight expression warned him before the words left her mouth. “She’s not here.”
He stilled as a number of emotions fought for dominance. Fury rose to the surface, but his battered body couldn’t produce the energy to sustain it. Instead, a tired anger laced his voice. “Where is she?”
“She’s with Fisk, two bodyguards, Tweet and a four-person surveillance team. They’re wearing disguises. She’s fine.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“They went to check a glass roof in this quadrant. They should be back any minute—”
“Not helping.”
“I don’t know.”
Valek tightened his grip on his knives. He hadn’t realized he’d drawn them.
“I’ll go,” Onora said.
“No. She knows the Commander sent you. We’ll go together.”
“Renée! Innis!” Hilly called into the kitchen behind her. “Report for backup.”
“We don’t—” Valek tried.
“They know all the problem spots. And they can fight.”
Two teens raced into the room. Both were about sixteen years old. Renée was a sturdy-looking girl with pale skin and red hair, but Innis looked like a stiff wind could blow him over. Nonetheless, their determined expressions warned him that arguing would involve too much energy. And he needed every ounce to find Yelena. They tucked daggers into hidden sheaths. Valek figured he’d ditch them if they couldn’t keep up.
Without a word, he strode to the door and headed out. It took another minute for his brain to catch up with his body. He had no plan, and therefore no direction and no way of finding Yelena. Valek stopped and sorted through the limited information. Hilly mentioned a roof. A rudimentary plan formed.
“I need to get onto a roof, or the highest point in this quadrant, without scaling a wall. Can you get me there?”
Renée and Innis exchanged a glance.
“Penny’s Arch?” Renée asked.
Innis nodded. “Safest bet.”
“This way,” Renée said before taking off with a ground-eating stride.
Valek, Onora and Innis followed. After ten minutes, he hoped the teens wouldn’t ditch him. At least the effort to maintain the pace kept his mind occupied. His injuries throbbed with pain, and he didn’t have any spare energy to conjure up various dire scenarios for his missing wife.
The street lamps emitted enough light for them to skirt security patrols, avoid busy intersections and cut through an impressive number of alleys. Then it turned tricky.
Renée scrambled up a dilapidated shed and crossed a high fence to get onto the roof that was connected to a row of houses. Innis accomplished it with equal ease. Valek sweated as he climbed and almost lost his balance on the fence. Onora touched his elbow to steady him.
Once on the roof, they stayed on the top of the buildings, winding through the quadrant. The place resembled a maze, and Valek didn’t have the strength to track their location.