Kate skirted the edge of the clearing in the crypts, staying in close to the plastered walls and as far away from the groups of soldiers as possible. Fortunately, they were all deeply engrossed in their own conversations, and no one took any notice of her in the stolen rebel uniform.

  As she drew closer to the gap between the crypts, where she had first entered the clearing, her heart beat faster. A group of men were clustered on a low rise between the wall and a metal brazier full of coals. Kate began threading her way through them but bumped into one. The man whirled about, his face glistening in the firelight as his hands fidgeted with the strap of his crossbow. "Watch where you're going." He glared into her hood but Kate put her head down and kept moving. It was the young man with the bruised face who had been inside the crypt, the one who was planning to assassinate the rebel leader. She had forgotten to tell Tyreth about overhearing the three men and their plans, but there was no going back now.

  Stepping around another group of older men, she hurried into the exit passage and down the narrow channel. As she cleared the far end she was grabbed and yanked over to the side wall. The officer who had woken her up at Morgan's tomb was not happy.

  "About time you got back. Is everything secure? Our Cor-Van will be returning as soon as the high priest can get here."

  Kate looked away from the man. If the rebel leader walked into the clearing and was shot by the young man with the crossbow, anything could happen to Tyreth in the confusion.

  She pitched her voice low. "I overheard a young man with a crossbow talking about killing our leader. He was standing by the fire with a group of other soldiers."

  "Does he have a beat-up face?"

  Kate nodded and the officer shoved her away. "I thought I knocked some sense into him." He gestured to three soldiers waiting at the end of the alley and they ran up to him. The embroidered hem of their sleeves flashed as they saluted. "You two come with me. An assassination plot has been uncovered." He touched the shoulder of the third man. "You stay here and wait for the Cor-Van. Do not let him come inside until I make sure the area is secure."

  The officer turned to Kate. "You stay here as well. We don't want the assassin to recognize you and get jumpy."

  He turned and moved off down the channel with the two soldiers, leaving Kate to guard the entrance with the other one. She could feel the soldier's eyes on her and finally he spoke. “What happened to your braid?”

  Kate wasn’t sure what he meant so she just shrugged and focused on the ground her feet.

  "How long have you been with the Rozan Guard? I don't remember seeing you before."

  Kate didn’t respond. Stealing a glance up the alley she got ready to run. She was likely fast enough to get away from him.

  "Do you know Paden?"

  Was that someone's name or a place in the Cor? Kate shook her head.

  "That's strange you don't know him." The man suddenly crossed over and tugged on the embroidered sleeve of her cloak. "Considering you're wearing his cloak." He tossed her hood up and fell back in shock. "Tyreth? I’m sorry for approaching you this way, buy why are you . . ." His eyes rolled back in his head as he toppled over. A grey patch of the crypt wall appeared to reach out and ease the soldier's body to the ground. The shadow took shape and an ashen face turned to Kate.

  "The rebel leader will be arriving soon. I must get you back to the palace." The shadowed figure took Kate by the arm and hurried her across the pathway and down a narrow alley. They rushed along other small pathways, taking a few turns, until the black outline of a large gate appeared. Her shadowed companion motioned for her to stay in place and crept off to the side.

  A muffled thump came from just ahead before the man returned to lead her off to one side and through a smaller opening. Kate stumbled over something soft. Another rebel soldier lay sprawled on the ground.

  Her rescuer swept across the main road and through darkened streets until the shrouded face of the statue appeared far off to her right. They were heading away from it, but that was where the palace was located. Kate was breathing hard, and her steps were faltering but the man pulled on her hand. "Where are you taking me?" she gasped.

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  "To see your mother," he said softly over his shoulder. He wasn’t breathing hard at all. She could never run away from this person.

  Tyreth hadn't mentioned her mother. Did he mean Mara? "You're taking me . . . to the palace?" Kate asked.

  "Yes, but your mother needs to speak with you first. There is much she needs to tell you."

  Kate dug in her heels and yanked her hand free from his grasp. "But I need to go to the palace."

  "Your mother has news regarding the young boy who brought us the hammer."

  "Corvan?"

  The grey face nodded. "Yes. He has returned to the Cor and is looking for you."

  "He's looking for Tyreth." The words slipped out, but the grey-faced man didn't seem to notice.

  The man gestured toward a large, ruined building set up against the side of the cavern. “Please come and talk with your mother and then I can take you through a tunnel below the city and directly inside the palace compound. It will be much safer than going through the streets with all the palace guard out looking for you. “Your mother hopes they do not find Corvan as she gave him your medallion before he went missing. It is imperative we find him and get it back. "

  Kate took a few deep breaths to collect her thoughts. Anything that might help them find Corvan before he got himself in more trouble with the seeds would be good. Tyreth was wrong about him. Corvan was not her enemy. She knew now that he had followed her here the first time to rescue her from the black band. She owed it to him to do the same for him. Kate nodded and the man turned into an alley and down an incline. At the bottom he ushered her through a door, then shut it silently behind them.

  Water dripped in the darkness and the damp smell of moldy cloth wrapped around them. "You must hold my hand, Tyreth," the grey man whispered. "We cannot risk a light in the library in case the mayor has sent another patrol from the City of Refuge."

  Kate held out her hand and his fingers wrapped gently around her own. They moved through a cavernous room to where a dim light framed a stairway. Images flickered through Kate's mind as disjointed scenes formed into memories. On their first journey Corvan placed the glowing medallion on her chest in this library building and that small gesture had saved her life. If the medallion hadn't been returned to her, she would have been trapped inside the chamber. Afterward Corvan had carried her to a small cave where Kate had met an old woman named Saray. Was that Tyreth’s mother that this grey man was taking her to meet?

  They stopped at a wide, curved stairway and the man let go of her hand. “Wait here, while I check the chapel upstairs.” Before Kate could respond he ascended the steps in a fluid motion. He returned almost immediately. “She is not there. I hope the mayor did not find her and take her back for trial in the City of Refuge. I wouldn’t put it past him.” He moved on along under the upper balcony and Kate followed close behind.

  They passed a row of support columns for the balcony overhead and entered a foyer where blue lumien light leaked through cracks in the walls. The grey-faced man took a step down onto the top of another curved staircase that disappeared into a dark hallway below. He turned to her, his face level with her own and Kate took a step back. His face was coated with thick grey paint. He smiled and touched his nose. "This special mud helps us to blend into our surroundings. I hope it will also help us sneak past the gate leading into the City of Refuge." Pulling off his cloak, he crouched down before her. "I will carry you on my back and cover you with my cloak to keep us both hidden in case the guards are watching from inside."

  Kate climbed on his back and with one deft motion the grey coated man swept his cloak over them, then descended the stairs. His descent was so fluid, it was if she were riding the escalator in the Fenwood department store. When he reached the bottom, however, he stopped so suddenly Kate almost fell off his back. He pushed them both back under the stairwell, banging Kate's head on the stone overhead. A quiet exclamation escaped her lips and the hands supporting her legs tightened. "You must be quiet," he whispered. "Someone is coming out the front gate."

  Across the hall, a section of the wall opened up and a double line of soldiers streamed out, then ascended the stairs to the library. Two men in dark cloaks followed. One was tall, his face covered by his hood. The other was short and completely bald. The bald man looked up the stairway as the last of the soldiers' footsteps died away. "I am giving you the best of my personal guards. You had better be right about your plan."

  The taller man started to reply but was waved off.

  "I don't need another of your priestly oaths. They mean nothing to me. The only thing I want from you is that girl's medallion. It is the only way the City of Refuge will be recognized as a full member of the future council. I don't care what happens to that girl or even to Tyreth as long as I get one of the medallions. Your life is forfeit to me until it is in my hand. Do not try and double-cross me."

  The taller man spoke. "You shall have one of the medallions as promised, but you are wrong about Tyreth. We need her alive and in her place at the palace if we hope to control the new council."

  Kate stiffened. There was no mistaking the voice.

  Jorad had just made a deal with the leader of a city for her medallion. A deal that could end up costing her life.