grimy window. Outside, he saw nothing but the same roofs and eaves he always saw. No strange movements, nothing out of place, just the last glow of the setting sun on the red tile. He was about to pass the sound off as something innocent, a cat maybe, or the house settling below them, when it sounded again, a low creaking, like something large was walking on the tile above them.
Very, very slowly, Josef opened the window and climbed outside. It was a tight fit, but he made it soundlessly, getting both feet on the roof before slowly peeking over the edge at the roof of their hideout.
The moment his eyes cleared the eave, it launched at him.
Josef flew backward, skidding down the tile. His short swords were in his hands before he knew what was happening, and it was a good thing, because the blades were his only protection from the ball of shifting white fur, claws, and teeth on top of him as they both slid down the roof.
“Oh,
The ghosthound snarled, and Josef took the initiative, kicking the dog hard on the flat spot between his front legs. Gin yelped and jumped away, landing lightly on the roof’s peak just as Nico winked in from nowhere and grabbed his neck. Gin howled and kicked, tossing her into the air, but she turned in flight, landing neatly beside Josef, who was sheathing his swords.
“Easy, puppy,” Josef said. “I’d love to make a coat out of you, but this isn’t exactly the best place.”
As if to prove him right, the lamppost on the street below them began to flicker frantically and, a moment later, whistles sounded in the distance.
“If you’re looking for Eli,” Josef said, “he’s not with us.”
“I know,” Gin growled, keeping low against the tiles. “I’m not here for him.”
Josef glanced at Nico, who repeated what the dog had said. Gin, meanwhile, was watching the evening sky through slitted eyes.
“We need to move,” he said. “That wind is coming. Follow me.”
With that, he hopped off the roof.
Nico repeated this to Josef, who repeated it to Monpress, who was just climbing out the window to see what was going on.
“We might as well follow,” the old thief said. “This hideout was blown the second you got out the window. We’ll be up to our necks in guards in a moment.”
“Or worse,” Josef muttered, looking down at the tiles under his feet, which were beginning to rattle. “Come on.”
He reached through the window to grab the Fenzetti blade, and they walked to the edge of the roof where Gin had jumped off. It was a two-story drop, but fortunately most of it was covered by a sturdy trellis. Nico climbed down first, then Monpress, who was remarkably agile for his age, and Josef brought up the rear. Gin was waiting at the bottom, and he led them around a corner to a large stone storehouse. It was an ancient thing, with great cracks between the stone overgrown with plants. Still, it was big enough for all of them, just barely, and they got inside just before the strange, howling wind passed overhead.
“All right, dog,” Josef said, crossing his arms. “You lost us our hideout and nearly blew our cover altogether, so what do you want? Where’s your master?”
Gin glared at him, then looked at Nico. “Don’t tell me you’re the only one who can understand me?”
Nico shrugged, and Gin rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he growled. “Tell your sword boy that his second question answers the first. I’m here looking for Miranda. She went into town this morning and never came out. Then all the spirits started going crazy, so I decided to come get her. I know she’s in the citadel, and I smelled the thief in there as well. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. But even I can’t get into a castle crawling with guards and winds who do nothing but watch, so I sniffed you out, swordsman.” Gin wrinkled his nose. “Not that I could miss you. Do you even know what a bath is?”
Nico repeated this, leaving out the bath comment, and Josef gave the dog a skeptical look.
“We didn’t even know the Spiritualist was in town,” he said. “She certainly didn’t go in with Eli. She’s probably helping the duke. Catching Eli is her job, after all.”
“It’s complicated,” Gin growled. “But she’s not with the duke. Miranda wouldn’t help anyone who treated the spirits this way. Common little spirits were never meant to be awake this long. It’s going to kill the town if it keeps up. Miranda wouldn’t put up with something like that to catch a hundred Elis. However, she is in the citadel, along with your thief, and I don’t imagine either of them wants to be there. So if you’re planning a rescue, then I want in.”
Josef listened as Nico repeated the dog’s words, rolling his eyes when she got to the end. “If you just wanted to come along there was no reason to jump us.”
Gin grinned, showing a spread of long, sharp teeth. “I figured my negotiating position would be stronger if I had your head in my mouth, but this works too.”
Nico gave him a horrified look, and didn’t pass the message on.
Monpress, however, was sitting back against the stones, stroking his neatly trimmed beard with a thoughtful calmness not usually witnessed in the presence of ghosthounds. “Dog,” he said, “you can understand what we’re saying, correct?”
“Of course,” Gin snorted. “Human speech is the simplest form of communication.”
The thief chuckled as Nico translated. “Well, then, if you’re willing to follow directions, I think we can come to an arrangement.”
“That depends on the directions,” Gin growled. “Who are you anyway?”
Nico answered that one. “He’s Eli’s father. He’s a thief too.”
Gin gave her a sideways look. “He doesn’t smell anything like Eli.”
Nico passed that on to Monpress, who laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I am Giuseppe Monpress, and I have many occupations. For the last few days, I served as a masonry and antiques expert. This morning, I was a thief. Right now, I’m simply a mentor trying to save his lost charge from his own cockiness. Does that answer your question?”
“In a roundabout sort of way,” Gin growled, but he nodded just the same.
“Excellent,” Monpress said. “As I was saying, I’m no wizard, but I can guess that the Duke of Gaol is the one controlling the town. If there’s one thing living in Gaol taught me, it’s that the duke controls everything within his borders, no matter how trivial. The man doesn’t know the meaning of the word delegate. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a personal contract with every paving stone in Gaol. This level of attention to detail has gotten him where he is, but it’s also a tremendous handicap, which we are going to use to our advantage. Look here.”
He leaned over and began to sketch an outline of the citadel on the shed’s dirt floor with one of Josef’s knives, which Josef hadn’t even felt him take. “We’ll create a series of catastrophes, each requiring the duke’s attention. Mass destruction seems to play well to each of your strengths, so I don’t think this will be a problem. While the duke is putting out fires, I will locate and free Eli and the Spiritualist. Can you tell me where they are in the citadel?”
Gin nodded. “Once I’m inside.”
“You’ll be with me, then,” Monpress said after Nico translated. “Once we’ve set the first distraction, you’ll point me toward our targets. After that, you keep the attention off me while I do the extraction and then provide us with a quick getaway. You can run faster than a horse, can’t you?”
Gin’s toothy grin needed no translation, and Monpress turned to Nico and Josef. “We’ll be depending on you two after we finish the jailbreak. Your job will be to cause enough flash that any report of prisoners going missing is lost in the noise, but not bring so much heat down that you become prisoners yourselves, or die in the process.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Josef said. “Let me get the Heart and I’ll put a hole the size of a wagon in that outer wall. Maybe a couple. That should solve both the getaway problem and the distraction.”
“I leave that to your discretion,” Monpress said, making a mark at the corner of the citadel closest to the river. “We’ll exit here, at the stables, so make your first hole on the northern wall. We’ll rendezvous at the northern border of Gaol. I’ve got one final hideout there. Nothing fancy, but it should last long enough for a simple switch. From what I’ve seen, the duke’s reach ends at the Gaol border, so all we have to do is cross the line and we’re free. Aside, of course, from the usual pursuing guards and whatnot, but I’m sure you have experience avoiding those.”
“Tons,” Josef said, grinning.
