The only reliable time she wasn’t guarded by the Cinders at the Assembly, or by her entire guild-family at her estate, was on that drive home. She always made it a long drive too, because why not? She had the most luxurious carriage in the world. Might as well use it.
Kizzie waited for almost an hour before Aelia’s lavish monstrosity of a carriage pulled away from the line, the four white horses clopping across the wide square’s cobbles until they reached the main Assembly building. It stopped at the bottom of the massive marble staircase, and within moments Aelia Dorlani swept out of the building and down the stairs, flanked by six bodyguards. Two of them got inside the carriage with her, while the other four leapt onto the running boards. They were off just as quickly as that.
Kizzie waited a few beats, then sprinted down one of the side streets. Her route took her back through a half dozen narrow alleys and turns, but it was a much more direct route than the one Aelia was taking. Kizzie crossed a stone bridge, glancing to her left just long enough to see that Aelia’s carriage proceeded along the road as predicted, then heading down a wide stone staircase, past an iron light post. She jumped a railing, slid down a muddy embankment, and leapt a small creek.
The run had taken her about fifteen minutes, and she reached the heavily wooded Waterside Park with her heart pounding. At a quick glance the park seemed deserted, no one present but a few tramps sleeping beneath burlap bags in the underbrush some ways off. Kizzie continued to search, trying to spot Montego without any luck. A worry hit her, that he’d gone to the wrong park or been waylaid somehow. That wasn’t like him. He’d always been punctual, even as a kid.
She hurried forward, looking for a massive, tangled-root old oak right next to the road. Way off to her left she could see Aelia’s carriage descend carefully from the main road, its oil lamps flickering as it rocked over the uneven cobbles. It would drive slowly through the park, the bodyguards alert for trouble while their master enjoyed the luxury of looking out across the river at the lights of the city.
Kizzie’s heart hammered in her ears and she tried to think of everything that could go wrong. What if Montego wasn’t here? What if they couldn’t stop the carriage? What if … what if … what if…? She silenced the thoughts as her eyes finally found the big oak she was looking for. She ran to it, fixing her braided earrings into place as she snaked around behind the tree and scurried up the big, thick branches.
To her relief, there was a large form waiting for her about twenty feet up. It wasn’t Montego. It was something better – three corpses, lashed together by their legs, their bodies lying carefully across the branch so that a simple shove would send them tumbling off. This was Montego’s twist to her plan, one that was devilishly macabre.
Kizzie climbed carefully out onto the thick limb until she could reach the trio of corpses. She was positioned immediately above the road now and all she had to do was wait, listening to the sound of her blood pumping in her ears.
The carriage drew closer and Kizzie peered around in the darkness, still trying to find Montego. The bodies were in place, which meant he was here. Any doubt that he could make such a climb burdened with three bodies had been put to rest watching him on those ropes in the gymnasium last night. But where the piss was he? How bloody hard could he be to spot?
Kizzie clung to the thick limb beneath her, counting down in her head as the carriage approached. She felt too exposed up here, and half of her expected one of the bodyguards to spot her hiding place and halt the carriage. She studied them carefully as they, in turn, studied the forest around them. One of the bodyguards tapped another on the shoulder and pointed off into the darkness. For half a moment, Kizzie feared that they’d spotted Montego.
But the carriage did not stop.
She couldn’t help but notice how thick-necked the bodyguards on the running boards were, or the blunderbuss lying beneath the driver’s legs, visible only from above. This whole plan, she decided, was very stupid.
She pushed on the corpses.
They slid off their perch, a grisly flailing of stiff limbs that tumbled through the night air and landed squarely on top of Aelia’s carriage. One of them clipped the driver on the back of the head, nearly throwing him off his seat. The second knocked two bodyguards off the left side of the carriage, while the third tore directly through the roof and into the middle of the interior.
The startled driver yanked on the reins, bringing the horses to a stop while a series of terrified screams erupted from within. Eight different people shouted at each other all at once. Kizzie found herself enthralled by the sight of six of the most dangerous enforcers in Ossa thrown into a jumbled panic.
Corpses from heaven would do that to anyone, she supposed.
She waited. Not long. The bodyguards tried to pull the corpses free, not seeming to realize they’d been lashed together. Aelia’s angry, frantic screams made the chaos even worse. All Kizzie needed was for them to recognize the bodies.
“Wait,” one of them suddenly shouted. “This is Bridgette. Glassdamnit, this is Bridgette. And Koren, and Duff. Lady Dorlani, these are our enforcers!”
Not a single one of these idiots had actually looked up yet, and Kizzie wasn’t going to give them the chance. She pulled her stiletto, gave a little prayer that Montego was lurking nearby, and dropped down from her branch. She landed on the driver’s seat, immediately next to the driver, and buried her stiletto in his neck before he could so much as reach for the blunderbuss under his legs.
On a good day, Kizzie considered herself the equal of any of Aelia’s burly bodyguards. She was faster, smarter, and she had just as good godglass. Her attack on the driver was swift but did not go unnoticed. A whole new round of shouts erupted from the carriage as everyone reacted to her presence. One of them leapt for the driver’s perch, drawing his sword, but Kizzie’s boot caught him in the face before he could take a stab. A second reached for his pistol. Kizzie threw her stiletto hard, catching him just below the heart.
It was a very good start, one that she would have been proud of at any other time. But there were still five living bodyguards. Even with the element of surprise, she would not last against them for long. She needed help. She needed it now.
And she got it.
The specter that swept from the trees moved so quick that it almost fooled her eyes, hitting one of the bodyguards from behind like a charging bull. The bodyguard’s body was thrown so hard that it broke one of the carriage’s wooden wheels, causing the vehicle to crack and rock violently. Kizzie reached down to steady herself, and in that time Montego’s cane whipped around and removed the lower jaw of a second bodyguard.
Montego was like a glassdamned dancer, his massive form moving with astonishing grace as he whirled around the back of the carriage. His arm rose and fell twice, the heavy silver bear on the end of his cane splashing blood across the carriage’s brightly colored side. The final bodyguard – the one Kizzie had kicked in the face – was still lying on his back. Montego stepped on his forehead, grinding his heel as if he were stepping on a roach. The poor bastard twitched twice and fell still.
Kizzie stared down at the carnage for a moment, her mouth hanging open, before she remembered to check that her scarf was still hiding her face. She leapt from the driver’s perch, landing beside Montego, and reached for the door of the carriage. Montego stopped her with one hand, then used the other to rip the door off its hinges.
Say one thing for Baby Montego – he was a showman at heart.
Aelia Dorlani sat inside, her lips curled back, a pistol pointed at Montego. “How dare you!” she spat. “Do you know who I am? Do you…” She trailed off as she seemed to realize exactly who it was she was talking to.