“How is she?” Jen asked.
“Alive. Don’t ask me how given all these burns. She needs a healer. The sooner the better.”
Jen nodded. The only healer she knew was at watch headquarters, but if she brought the woman there it might lead to some uncomfortable questions. She needed more information and she needed it now.
“Can you wake her?”
“Maybe, but it won’t be a kindness.”
“We don’t have the luxury of kindness. Do it.”
Rhys nodded and dug a bottle out of his satchel. He passed it under the woman’s ruined nose. She choked, gasped, and tried to sit up.
“Easy, you’re safe now.” Jen sat beside her on the bed. “Is there somewhere we can take you? The only place I can think of is the healer at watch headquarters.”
The woman gave a vehement shake of her head. “Secret,” she gasped.
“I understand. Master Shen told us about your work. Can we take you to him?”
Another shake of her head. “Missing.”
“Shit! Can we take you somewhere else?”
“Underbridge. Secret place. Emergency…” She passed out again.
Jen stood up and paced. What should she do?
“Any of that make sense to you?” Talon asked.
She stopped. “Not much. There’s no Underbridge district. There is a bridge across Cold River. Maybe they’ve got a bolt hole there. That’s all I can think of.”
“Whatever we’re going to do, we need to do it quick. She won’t last long with those burns,” Rhys said.
“Let’s go for it. Rhys, you carry her. Edward, you’re with me. Talon, take Alec and watch our back trail. I don’t want to be followed.”
Edward went to his room to retrieve his maul and this time Jen didn’t object.
Chapter 15
They wrapped the unconscious woman in blankets to keep her from freezing before they reached…wherever they were going. Jen’s window opened into an alley so they went out that way, leaping down from the second floor with no trouble. The Cold River bridge was north of the city, maybe half a mile past the gate. Jen had only ridden over it once during her previous posting to Valcane.
They raced through the quiet streets at half speed; Jen didn’t dare try full speed with the injured woman over that distance. The timing worked out well. Most people were inside eating their noon meal. Those unfortunates who had to work outside in the cold went in to warm up, leaving the city a ghost town for half an hour, plenty of time for Jen’s team to pass through.
The north gate stood open and they ran out, the two guards standing beside a burning brazier not giving them a second look. The dirt road beyond the city was clear of snow thanks to the nearly nonstop traffic coming and going from the port. Talon and Alec accelerated to full speed and zipped back to make sure no one was following them. Jen and the others ran on, the bridge waiting only a minute away.
The Cold River bridge was a tall, arched thing of fused stone and steel wide enough to accommodate two wagons side by side. The ravine it crossed wasn’t especially wide or deep, but the chill of the river made fording a dim prospect. Even in summer the mountain streams kept the river frigid; at this time of year it was frozen solid.
“Stay here, I’ll call if I find anything.” Jen skidded down the side of the ravine to the river bank. Fine gravel crunched under her feet when she hit bottom.
She jogged over to the base of the bridge. The engineers had fused the legs to the cliff face. Even with her enhanced vision Jen couldn’t tell where the cliff ended and the bridge began. She also couldn’t find where this secret whatever was. Why couldn’t the woman have stayed conscious long enough to tell her something useful?
Jen studied the striated stone, mostly gray with a few streaks of pink. Nothing stood out. When she ran her finger over it looking for a seam she came up empty. After five minutes she’d covered the whole area under the bridge and found exactly nothing. Had she misunderstood the woman’s message? Was there a place named Underbridge she didn’t know about?
“Shit!” She looked across the frozen river at the far side of the ravine. There was nothing for it, she had to check. At least the river was frozen so she didn’t have to swim.
The river ice felt as hard as stone under her feet as she made her way to the far bank. She slid sideways, caught her balance, and continued on. Jen reached the other side with no further trouble. Her breath steamed into the air as she searched. Every second reduced the woman’s chances of surviving.
The stone on this side matched the bank. Jen ran her fingers over the rough cliff face. There had to be something. If she couldn’t find anything she didn’t know what she would do.
There!
Something gave under her fingers. She pressed harder and a hand-sized section of stone pressed inward. A catch popped loose and a stone door swung in on concealed hinges.
Jen threw a fist into the air in silent celebration. On the opposite side Rhys and Edward had seen her success and begun their descent into the ravine. She had no idea what they’d find, but the cave had to be warmer than out here. Rhys crossed the river first, the woman cradled in his arms like a child. You wouldn’t think it to look at the grizzled old veteran, but he could be surprisingly gentle.
Movement caught her eye. At the top of the ravine six figures in long, dark coats stood staring down at them. They looked like cousins of the goons they’d killed at the villa. Jen put her fingers in her mouth and blew a piercing whistle. Both her men looked her way. She pointed up at the bank.
Edward readied his maul. Jen gathered her legs and poured soul force into them. She leapt, covering the width of the
