“Jenna says it will.”
“How did she get to be such an expert on explosives?”
“She worked in the mines.”
“At least tell me you’ve changed your mind about the dragon.”
“I made a promise,” Ash said.
“So break it. You break promises to me all the time.”
“Maybe the dragon could help us in the war.”
“And maybe we could set fire to Fellsmarch and hope it spreads south.” Three more strides and she said, “I say, bring back the old, hard-hearted Ash.”
When Ash said nothing, Lila muttered something else that he couldn’t quite make out.
“What did you say?”
“I said I should have drugged you and dragged you back to Fellsmarch when I had the chance.”
“I’m the one with the drugs, remember?”
“Ha.”
“Anyway, since when have you—did you hear that?” Ash spun around, his hand on his amulet, staring back down the street. He glanced at Lila, who somehow had a knife in each hand. They both looked and listened.
“I guess it was the rain or the wind,” he said finally, thinking, It’s never the rain or the wind when you want it to be the rain or the wind.
“Probably,” Lila said, the knives disappearing. “Or Lieutenant Karn and the real King’s Guard, out for a stroll.” She took another long look before she turned and trudged on, shoulders rounded under her heavy rucksack. “What do you know about ships, anyway?”
“Not much,” Ash admitted. “Breaking into a ship can’t be much different than any other burglary.”
“Except for the part where there’s no place to run if you get caught, or if somebody blows up the ship. Or if a dragon decides to roast you like a chestnut.”
“You can swim, can’t you?”
“Of course I know how to swim. But have you smelled the river?” Lila wrinkled her nose. “It’s a cesspool. I’m not planning to do any swimming tonight, just so you know.”
“Are you really going to whine the whole time?” Ash buckled his blackbird cloak over his collar and pulled the hood up.
“There’s no reason both of us have to go,” Lila said abruptly. “I’ll handle it. You stay here.”
“Give it up, all right? If anyone stays behind, it’s going to be you. Otherwise, we stay with the original plan: You deal with the explosives. I’ll deal with the dragon. That way we can be there and gone in no time. If you’re spotted and questioned, we’re the harbor patrol, remember. We saw something suspicious, like somebody boarding their ship.”
“And that’s why we’re carrying canisters of black powder. Got it.”
On reaching the docks, there was one piece of good news: at some point, Strangward’s ship had raised anchor and was now tied up at the wharf, maybe to load supplies for their departure. Once again, Ash thought he heard something, soft footsteps or maybe the creak of planks behind him. He turned, scanning the length of the dock. He saw nothing, and heard nothing beyond the slap of water against the pilings and the clank of rigging against masts.
It was near midnight, and there was just a single light burning in the wheelhouse. The crew quarters were dark and silent, the gangway was drawn up, and the ship was shrouded in a shimmering layer of what appeared to be greenish ice.
Ash stood staring at it, hands on hips.
“What’s that?” Lila whispered.
“I don’t know,” Ash said, “but I think it means keep out.”
“Can’t you do something?”
“Maybe.” Closing his hand on his amulet, Ash sent a tendril of magic forward. When it collided with the barrier, the ice vaporized into a poisonous-looking cloud that was carried away by a stiff wind blowing upriver. He continued until the near side of the ship was clear.
They waited for someone to sound the alarm, but there was nothing. The ship appeared to be deserted.
“What do you think?” Ash whispered.
“Looks like a trap to me,” Lila said glumly.
Ash threw a line over the rail and used it to pull a rope ladder up and over. Then waited again. Nothing.
“I’ll go up first, take a quick look, and then signal to you,” Lila said. Sliding the backpack over her shoulders, she scrambled up the ladder to where she could peer over the rail. Apparently satisfied, she vaulted over, turned, and motioned to Ash to come ahead. Then she disappeared.
Ash ascended the ladder, climbed over the railing, and dropped to the deck on the other side. He pulled up the ladder so that it couldn’t be seen from the wharf, then hurried amidships, where the hold was.
The hatch was secured by a chain and padlock. Ash melted the chain and removed it, then wrestled the hatch open. The stench from below hit him like a physical blow.
We’re too late, he thought, heart sinking. The dragon’s already dead.
He knew he should be relieved. Instead, he felt a keen sense of loss. And not just because he hated the thought of facing Jenna with the news. If he survived the night himself.