Reclamation

Then there was Cor herself. Jay suppressed a sigh. Her resolve was wavering. If there were too many more assaults on her sense of what was right and just, she might just do something foolish. He had to make sure he could deal with Stone in the Wall's family without Cor's help if it became necessary.

I've got to at least get some supplies, whether I have to beg, borrow, or steal them. Maybe die fighting's not quite over yet in there. If I can find one of Silver's staff, or even a sympathetic Bondless…

Wrapping his hopes around him, Jay crept away from the road and toward the one entrance to the city that might not be guarded.

The wall around Narroways was solidly built of quarried stone and mortar, but it was breached in a number of places to create gutters and drainage ditches. Filthy water flowed into trenches and away down the slope toward the distant marshes. Jay made his way forward on hands and knees, with one eye on the city walls. No soldiers paced along the tops, and he took courage. Maybe First City hadn't quite secured the place yet. If Silver was still free to fight, she might still be free to help him.

The idea helped harden his nerve as he crawled the last few meters to the foot of the city wall.

Climbing through the drainage hole was only a little more unpleasant than Jay imagined it would be. He came up drenched and filthy, but only slightly more so than he had been. As such, he matched the rest of the population in the muddy streets. He stepped carefully through the crowds, keeping his hands well hidden under his cloak and casting furtive glances around himself.

That also seemed to match the rest of the inhabitants. They weren't walking, they were scuttling. Everyone clustered together in groups of three or more. Even the young men walked swiftly with wary eyes and hands hidden under their wraps.

Hoofbeats and rhythmic footsteps sounded on the cobblestones. A troop of the green-and-beige soldiers marched in a ragged column down the middle of the street, with yet more soldiers on oxen following behind. Jay let the crowd press him back against the rough wall of a house.

A blob of mud flew through the air and smacked against the face of one of the cavalry. The soldier shouted and swung himself off his ox, diving into the crowd after the offender. He managed to grab hold of someone, and with ugly-sounding shouts, the soldier dragged a squirming figure out into the street. Jay sidled toward the corner of the house. Stones flew now and shouts accompanied them. The troop leader drew his ax and it flashed in the air. Jay's fingers found the edge of the wall and let the press of the crowd back him into the narrow alleyway beyond it. The shouts between the soldiers and bystanders were getting louder. All Jay could see was a writhing blur made up of people's backs. Somebody screamed. Metal clashed. Jay turned away from the noises and ran.

Darkness hit.

All at once the world was puddles of greasy orange-and-gold light. Jay tripped over the uneven cobbles. The wind gusted over some wall or the other and Jay shivered. The temperature was already beginning to drop. He glanced up and saw the solid night sky, the Black Wall, and he cursed himself for not having checked the cloud cover while he had the chance. In Narroways' perpetual stench, it was impossible for him to smell rain coming, which at night was likely to become an ice storm without warning.

He had to find shelter. Jay blundered forward, squinting up at doorways and trying to figure out what section of the city he was in.

He stumbled around a corner and into a flood of torchlight.

"Name yourself!" shouted someone overhead.

Jay squinted up at what his dazzled eyes resolved into a pile of overturned sledges, loose stones, and bent metal that barricaded the entire street. A figure, black and unidentifiable against the light, held up a javelin, evidently ready to throw it down if Jay gave the wrong answer.

Jay swallowed hard and had to forcibly stop himself from saying the Fourth Grace for hope.

"Messenger!" shouted another voice. It took a confused moment for Jay to realize it was Heart of the Seablade.

A rattle sounded from behind the barricade and metal grated against metal. A pool of oily yellow light fell across the muddy street as an anonymous pair of human shadows lifted away a section of the barricade. As soon as a big enough space opened, Jay ducked inside.

The area behind the barricade was a maze of streets that in the vague lamplight looked just like the streets on the other side. Lumps of shadow Jay guessed were sentries moved on the rooftops.

"Messenger." Heart strode out of the shadows and clasped Jay's hand. "I hoped you would find your way back to us."

"Thank you." And for once, Jay felt close to meaning it. "I just hope the King shares your sentiments."