32. Keelan

Chapter thirty-two

Keelan

A tikus, Sil, and I kneeled only a few dozen paces from the dock at the back of the Children's building watching two masked figures standing guard at the base of the dock. Two rowboats bobbed lazily at the pier's end. Sil had scouted the perfect spot behind a ridge crowned with scraggly shrubs.

"There's too much open land between us and those guards. We won't be able to sneak up on them like I'd hoped. Ideas?" I whispered.

Sil patted her bow. "There's just two. From this distance, I can take them out before either can react. We just have to get them to step away from the edge so neither one falls into the water. That would make a lot of noise."

"All right. I'll walk up like I want to ask them something, see if I can pull them toward me even just a few steps. Try to avoid hitting the tall guy with your pointy sticks." I smiled with a confidence my gut betrayed.

Before Sil could move, I felt a hand on my arm and heard Atikus's rumbling bass in my mind. "You forget my Gifts. I can get them away from the water without either of you having to expose yourselves."

"That'll work. Sil, Atikus is going to handle this for us. Nock and fire when ready. Atikus, we'll hide the bodies up here, then change into their robes. You secure those boats and be ready when we come out. There's no telling what might be chasing us. Everyone ready?"

Atikus and Sil nodded.

I looked up at the guards, then turned and pointed to Atikus. "Go."

Atikus focused on the figure closest to the group. "Intruders! Secure the door! NOW!"

The man's head snapped up in confusion and alarm. He said something to his partner before the two turned and ran toward the building's back door. Sil didn't hesitate, dropping one with an arrow in his neck. The second man froze as his head whirled about. His hesitation earned him a shaft in the chest, followed by another in the stomach.

I launched from our hiding place.

Sil covered me from the bushes, scanning the area with a nocked arrow. By the time I reached the guards, they were dead. Sil and I hauled the corpses into the bushes and donned their robes.

"Wish we could've avoided holes in the front. Still, nice shots." I gave Sil an appreciative head bob .

"I think your height might be more of a problem than my holes. Nice calves." Sil smirked at my exposed legs. Neither of the guards had been tall, turning one robe into more of a skirt for me.

I rolled my eyes and continued searching the dead bodies. I found a large metal key, then reached for the man's mask, a twisted version of a rat with horns. Sil donned the other mask, a lion with tusks.

Masks in place, I glanced down at the two guards and froze.

They couldn't have been more than twenty years old. Seeing those boys, their eyes now vacant orbs, I wondered how boys could get wrapped up in a group like this.

Sil's touch on my shoulder snapped me back to the present. The unexpected mask greeting me as I turned scared me out of a year's growth.

The lion's eyes seemed to grin.

"Atikus has the boat. Ready to breach?"

I nodded, and we marched toward the back door.