Free Shadows by E. C. Blake Page A

that’s why we’ll crawl. Once we’re through the inner gate, there’s a small gap between the wall and South Bridge . . . and a path we can scramble up. It’s screened from the bridge by some willows. And then . . . we’re in the city.”
    â€œSouth Bridge,” Mara said. “I don’t know that part of the city.”
    â€œI do,” Keltan said. “I can get you safely back to that basement where you found me. And from there I presume you can find your house, since you did it once before.”
    Mara nodded. “The Night Watchers will be our biggest threat . . . but I’m used to avoiding them.” She didn’t tell him about the time she and Sala were caught skinny-dipping by the Night Watchers and dragged home in disgrace. She’d face far worse than embarrassment and her parents’ displeasure if she were caught this time.
    And if the Watchers learned she’d met with her father . . .
    Her breath caught in her throat.
He
was risking more than she was. If the Autarch discovered his Master Maskmaker was actively working against him . . . had subverted his own Mask so he could do so, and was helping rebels create counterfeit Masks that would allow them to infiltrate the City . . . he would surely make an example of him, an example so terrible that no Maskmaker would ever be tempted to alter his Mask again. “Let’s get back to the fire,” she said, suddenly craving warmth and light.
    As Edrik had promised, the next day’s travel (
The ninth of Winterwhite
, Mara thought as she awoke) took them out of the Wild and into more settled lands. They entered the broad, shallow valley through which flowed the Heartsblood River, the very river they would follow under the city wall. Farms spread out across the valley floor on both sides of the river, and occasional villages huddled next to it. But even here the land was far from completely cleared; heavy woods cloaked the valley slopes, as Edrik pointed out as they sat astride their horses below the ridgeline they had just crossed, so they wouldn’t be silhouetted against the sky. “We’ll stick to the trees as much as we can,” he said. “We can manage pretty well today and tomorrow. Farther down the valley there is a long stretch with no cover at all except for hedgerows. We will cross that the night after next, in the dark. Beyond that, the Heartsblood flows through woods that provide some cover, almost as far as Tamita; but there will also be far more Watchers. They patrol the lands within a day’s ride of the city on a regular basis.” He glanced at the others. “We have no Masks, nor any counterfeits of them,” he said, his eyes flicking for a moment to Mara. “Mara and Keltan could pass as too young to be Masked, but you and I,” he nodded at Chell, “cannot. Keep your hood up. If someone does see us from a distance, we should attract little attention as long as they do not realize our faces are uncovered.”
    â€œWhy do the Watchers patrol?” Chell asked. Edrik frowned at him; Chell returned a sunny smile. “The Autarch has everyone in these Masks, and so no one dares to rebel, right? So why bother patrolling? What are the Watchers looking for?”
    â€œBandits,” Edrik said. “Those who fled their Maskings, or whose Masks shattered but who managed to escape, and scrabble for survival in the Wild.”
    â€œWhy would they come so close to the city?” Chell said.
    â€œBecause they are starving,” Edrik said. “And the richest farmland and wealthiest villages are closest to Tamita.”
    â€œBut there are also villages farther north. Why not limit their raids to those?”
    â€œThey raid those, too,” Edrik said. “But we make sure they also raid villages closer to Tamita. We want the Watchers patrolling down here rather than closer to the Secret