“You can’t scale walls if you get caught.” He turned to her, and the mischief that usually lit his eyes was replaced by the kind of unrelenting fierceness Lorelai usually saw in Gabril. “If this works, every soldier in the barracks will be after you. If they catch you—”
“If they catch me, I have a weapon they can’t take from me. That’s why I’m better suited for this distraction than you are.”
“No.” He glared at her. “No magic. I know I’m always the one pushing you to practice so we can get rid of Irina one day, but you can’t do magic here, Lorelai. This place is Irina’s down to the last grain of dirt on the ground. She’ll have bespelled it so she can keep an eye on her soldiers, or she’ll have spies throughout the ranks, or . . . I don’t know. Something. And if you use magic, she’ll know that we’re alive, and she’ll know exactly where to find us.”
“I’m not going to use magic. My weapon is Sasha.” She smiled at him. “Remember how you wanted a name for us? Something that would give people hope?”
He gave her a tiny smile in return. “I finally convinced you to call us the Fearsome Threesome, didn’t I?”
She snorted. “No. But I’ve been thinking about what that poor woman said.”
“‘There is no help left in Ravenspire. Not for the likes of us.’” Leo nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it too.”
“I want people to know that they haven’t been forgotten. That their problems matter, and that we are doing something about it.” She met his gaze. “I think we should call ourselves the Heirs.”
A slow smile spread across Leo’s face. “I like it. But you know that if we make a name for ourselves as the Heirs, Irina is eventually going to hear about us and come looking.”
Lorelai held her brother’s gaze. “We can’t hide from her forever. Not if we’re going to save Ravenspire. Now, we have ten minutes before the patrol returns to the western part of the wall. Time to get in position. Don’t get caught.”
“Don’t get caught yourself.” He gave her a one-armed hug and then shinnied down the trunk. He ran for the northeast corner of the wall where he’d scale it, rig a simple rope and pulley system with Gabril, and then break into the storehouse so he could start sending bags of food over the wall to the waiting wagons.
Where is the patrol? she asked Sasha, sending an image of the pair of soldiers marching inside the wall.
Sasha spread her wings, lifted herself out of the evergreen, and flew over the garrison. Corner. Leo. She sent an image of the soldiers approaching the northeast corner where Leo, Gabril, and their helpers waited.
It was time to send a message—not just to the villagers but to Irina—that there was help in Ravenspire for those who needed it most.
It was time to make the next big move in Lorelai’s plan to weaken Irina and take back the throne.
Cover me. Lorelai sent, and then she was moving. Swinging from the branch, she dropped lightly onto the garrison’s wall. Her boots, thin-soled and flexible, gripped the narrow lip of stone as she began moving west with quick, light steps. Sasha swooped through the air and flew beside her.
Nine minutes until the soldiers reached the place where the stables huddled just past the long, low-slung wooden buildings that housed the barracks.
Reaching the southwest corner, Lorelai pressed her hands against the stone, gathered herself, and leaped for the ground. The rocky dirt seemed to rise up to meet her, and she tucked her body, rolling forward upon impact. She was running the second she got her feet beneath her again.
Eight minutes.
Check the barn. She glanced at Sasha as the bird surged ahead and began circling the distant stables.
Clear. Sasha sent. Ready?
Almost. Lorelai sprinted across the open space that stretched between the wall and the stables. She had to run past all three barracks to get there. Any moment a soldier could look out of a window and see what looked like a boy in a soot-stained cap and sound the alarm.
She hoped one would.
The barn loomed before her, a solid block of brown wood with white trim. Lifting the iron latch, she pulled the double doors open and went inside. The barracks were still quiet. None of the soldiers had any idea their security had been breached.
Time to change that.
Racing down the row of stalls, she flipped the latches and pulled open the doors. The horses snorted in alarm at her appearance, and a few shied away, but several tentatively left their stalls and looked toward the open door.
“That’s right. You want out. Trust me, you aren’t going to want to stay here.” She used her most coaxing tone of voice, but the horses didn’t look convinced, and Lorelai was out of time. Any minute, the patrol would be back, and they needed to see the kind of situation that required the attention of every soldier in the barracks.
Sasha, help. Get the horses out.
Lorelai reached the ladder that led to the hayloft as Sasha flew through the open doors. Her bird swooped through the air, pecking at hindquarters and shrieking as she drove the panicked horses out of the barn, and Lorelai raced up the ladder and into the loft.
Horses clear. Leo?