I inspected the mark, analyzing the shape of the broad red strokes.The two slashes were not perfectly balanced.The upper-right point of the X was more pronounced than the others, its end tapering to an arrow that pointed directly up the branch.I followed it.Ten feet up, there was a hole bored into the limb.
I reached into the hole, expecting a note or some kind of clue, but it was empty.Had a previous recruit taken the clue and not replaced it?
Frustrated, I sat down on the limb.I couldn’t climb down empty-handed.There had to be more here.
A knot in the limb dug into my rump.As I shifted to avoid it, a splash of moonlight shone through the hole, which I could now see went all the way through the limb.I pressed my face to the bark, the smell of sap sharp in my nose.For a moment, only a circle of black was visible.Then light filtered through and framed an image so perfectly centered that it couldn’t be anything but intentional.The Royal Crypt stood atop the lone hill in the Kingsrest Cemetery—the final resting place of Queen Amara, the Bleeding Oak’s namesake.
The hole didn’t contain a clue.It pointed to thenextclue.
A laugh nearly escaped my throat, half wonder, half dread.Was this what the Trials were all about?Upping the stakes and seeing how far I would go to chase this foolish dream?
Entering the tomb would make climbing this tree seem like a task for a child.Going in directly was out of the question.The Royal Guards surrounding the perimeter would cut me down in seconds flat, and there would be far too many on patrol to sneak past.
But there was another way in that only members of the Underworld knew of and few would dare attempt—the mazelike catacombs that stretched for miles below the city.Every thief in Analon knew of the voracious bone rats that could swarm you and strip you of all your flesh in no time.And while most of the tales were probably exaggerations, one fact was indisputable: few who went far into the catacombs came back out alive.
I wondered yet again if that was a risk worth taking.
Chapter six
Hunted
“Youwantwhat?”Garrick’svoice boomed, filling the small office.
“A map of the Citadel Catacombs?”Garrick’s glare made me turn my statement into a question at the last moment.The words sounded ridiculous as they exited my mouth.
“I certainly hope you want it out of morbid curiosity, because going in there is pure madness.Have you gone mad, boy?”
“No.”I looked down at my feet.“But I still want it.”
“But why?”
“I hoped perhaps you could do this for me, no questions asked.”I peeked up to gauge his reaction.“After all we’ve done for each other, consider it a favor.”
Garrick’s stare was unwavering.“I personally know people who went into the catacombs and didn’t return.”
“Which is why I need your help.”
Garrick let out a long sigh, running his hand through his beard.“Please don’t get yourself killed.You’re my best thief, and…” He paused for a long moment and then looked down at the ground.“I like you too much.”
“Thank you, Garrick,” I said, giving the words the weight they deserved.This was a big favor.“And for the record, staying alive is always top of mind.”
Garrick huffed out a sad laugh.“Let me see what I can scrounge up.”
He headed to the back door of his office and gestured for me to follow.
The door opened onto a narrow room, the opposite of the Spartan office in nearly every way.Shelves and cabinets lined every square inch of the walls; there was barely room to navigate.Books, scrolls, and etched tablets covered every horizontal surface.
In all my years working for Garrick, I had only caught glimpses of this room, but today he led me right in without hesitation.I paused in the doorway.Entering felt like an invasion of privacy.
“Come along, Cas.It’s time you see how my brain works.”Garrick raised his hands, gesturing to the endless piles.“But don’t touch anything.I’ve organized everything exactly as I want it.”
That was hard to believe, since everything seemed entirely haphazard, as if a strong wind had stirred it all up.Nonetheless, I followed him, taking each step with care, being sure not to disturb a thing.
Garrick approached a long row of cabinets with countless drawers, each with a small label embedded in a frame, arranged alphabetically.He ran his finger along the drawers, stopping at the letterc.He opened a drawer filled with parchments and scrolls, carefully leafed through the contents, and pulled out a yellowed parchment covered with dark lines—a map of the Citadel Catacombs.There were hundreds of passageways crisscrossing the page.It was literally a maze.
“This is both valuable and fragile.Be very careful with it,” Garrick said with a stern look.
“I only need to look at it for a moment,” I said as I gently set it on a small table in the middle of the room.Despite the frayed edges and darkened surface, the parchment was surprisingly sturdy.
