I hesitate but ultimately step forward, keeping my hand on the window frame in case she’d dare to give me a shove. There is a narrow ledge outside that runs along the side of the very top of the monastery. Its width is barely the length of my foot. To the right, in the direction that Cindel pointed, is a muslin bag strung up by crimson ribbons that hold it closed. It sways in the wind, hanging from one of the buttresses that prop up the outside of the monastery, showing off its Mercy seal as it rotates. From here, it certainly has the same look of what Lucan found earlier, though it’s hard to be sure in the darkness. It hangs over a wider platform, but to get there one would need to side-step on one of the narrowest ledges I’ve ever seen.
“See why we were all too scared to get it?” Cindel whispers near my ear. She moved closer while I was distracted. Closer than I’d like her to be, and I barely resist the urge to shove her away. “But we all agreed that whatever it is must be very special. If it wasn’t, why would they put it somewhere that inaccessible?”
“You raise a good point,” I admit. “Which is why I’ll come back in the morning to get it.” Along with Lucan and Saipha.
“In the morning?” She sounds aghast. “Why would you wait that long?”
“It’s hardly safe for me to go outside in the middle of the night.”
“Mercy Knights thrive in the night.” She smiles thinly.
“Mercy Knights have a wall much thicker than the sole of their boots to patrol.”
“You’re Valor Reborn, the hope of Vinguard. Surelythisdoesn’tintimidate you.”
She’s trying to pressure me into a corner again, but there’s no inquisitor around, and I don’t care enough about what Cindel actually thinks of me, so it won’t work. Besides, when I glance at the narrow ledge, my whole body tenses, rejecting the notion. But when I bring my gaze back to her, there’s something almost…hopeful about her stare. As though she really wants to see me do it.
Then, as if disgusted with herself, she shakes her head and steps away. “Well, if you find the courage, don’t forget you owe me half—a finder’s fee.” She points back at me, now a few paces from the door, collecting Mikel and the other guy whose name I never bothered learning. “I’ll know if you got it.”
They walk out, and their footsteps slowly disappear. I strain my ears and hear nothing more.
I’ll know if you got it. So will the inquisitors. They saw me going here to get this cache. Will they go to the vicar, and if they do, will it turn his ire on me or, worse, the people I love?
I stare at the bag.
Saipha is struggling. She’ll never admit it, but she’s at her limit. I know her well enough to be certain. I bite my lip. There might be something in the bag to help her regain her steadiness. Still, it would be wiser to return to the room and get Lucan and Saipha.
I glance back at the doorway, and prickles creep up my neck. I have no doubt we were seen coming in here, and like Cindel said, it’s only a matter of time before someone else discovers the bag. If it wasn’t the inquisitor that overheard us, then another supplicant.
Cursing under my breath, I think of Saipha’s shaky hands and step onto the window ledge.
The wind sweeps up the sheer walls of the monastery like a warning, whipping my hair around. With one hand still gripping the inside of the window frame, I lean out ever so slightly toinspect the path. The ledge is maybe a bit bigger than I thought at first, but still too narrow for comfort. But there’s a sort of landing created by a bracer from the buttress that extends underneath the bag.
A Mercy Knight would do it. The thought sticks like a thorn.Don’t be a coward.Choose to be unafraid. Your friend needs you.
Committing myself, I shuffle my feet to the edge of the ledge. I shift my grip on the window, transferring my hands to the outside. I keep my back to the wall and lean into it, using my legs to create tension.
The dark city beneath me seems to stretch farther and farther away as it feels like the monastery rises several stories into the air with each shuffle of my feet. I blink several times, reminding myself it’s all in my head. But from out here, it feels like I’m no longer just four floors up; I’m dozens. I’m in the clouds.
You can do this, Isola.
My fingertips tremble and ache as I grip the nooks and crannies in the stone. Every bump of worn and mislaid brick digs into my back as I try to meld myself with the building. One step. Then the next. Little by little…
I keep my focus on the bag. It’s almost within reach. A few more steps and…
I slide my right foot onto the small landing under the bag and then practically jump the rest of the way, throwing myself slightly off-balance as I spin my arms. I wobble, try to recover, my stomach pitching as my gaze catches on the ground far below. I nearly tumble off the ledge and have to swallow a scream as I finally steady myself in the last second.
One palm against the wall, I pant softly and catch my breath before loosening the tie that holds the bag onto a hook hammered into the stone above. Luckily, the knot isn’t too tight. The inquisitors must’ve thought they’d made this one hardenough to get to as it was…no need to add more difficulty.
The sack’s heavier than I expected. Lumpy, too. I’d been hoping for food…but my gut tells me that’s not what’s inside. Not with these weird angular edges and curved shapes poking the bag.
Clutching it to me, I slide it down my body, lowering it to the platform at my feet, Fingers trembling with excitement, I undo the ties at the top of the sack and open it wide.
“Scrolls?” I take a deep breath and scowl at the bag. This doesn’t make sense. Unless… I begin to rummage through, looking at titles, heart sinking. They’re all basic information. “What good are random scrolls?”
As my confusion mounts, a cackle rings from the window. My eyes meet Cindel’s. She grins. “This is how Iknowyou’re not Valor Reborn. Our savior would never be so stupid.”
My cheeks burn instantly, and I straighten. I was right. It was a trap. I knew better, and I walked right into it.
