Rebecka Evertrue's Arc

Chapter 58 of 66

Thunder came back to the charmed teepee at moonrise with a folded square of paper. He set it on the sand between them and smoothed it flat. "Shop layout. From memory. I carried a crate up those stairs last winter." Rebecka leaned over the paper. Aiyana held a candle close. Thunder drew as he spoke, short strokes with a burnt stick. "Stair up from the salt floor. Two guards. Door at the top. One room, long. Broker sits at the far wall behind a counter. Iron box under the counter. That's where he keeps small goods. Arrows would be there or in the wall cabinet to his left." "Windows." "One. Shuttered. Drops to the roof of the warehouse next door. A man could reach the alley from there if he moved fast." "Doors." "The stair is the only way in. There is a back panel behind the counter. It looks like wall. It isn't. He uses it when a deal turns." Rebecka studied the square. "He runs through the panel, not the window." "Every time." Aiyana tapped the counter mark. "And the fire? You said he burns the goods if pressed." "Oil jar under his stool. He kicks it and drops a match. The floor is old pine." Rebecka sat back. The blind wall was gone. She could see the room now — the stair, the counter, the false panel, the jar at his foot. She could see where she needed to be before Thunder ever climbed the steps. "You go in as the buyer," she said. "You keep his hands on the counter. You keep him talking about the coin. I want three minutes." "For what." "For me to be on the warehouse roof outside his window. If he reaches for the jar, I put an arrow through his wrist before he touches it. If he runs for the panel, he runs into me." Thunder nodded once. "The guards." "Aiyana takes the stair after you're through the door." Aiyana said, "Done." Rebecka opened her coat and took out the small white-gold compact Makani had pressed into her hand before she rode. She thumbed it open. The mirrored lid caught the candle. Five small tarts sat in the tray, each a different color. "One bite changes your face for an hour. Makani said pick the yellow for a stranger's face. You wear the buyer's face up the stair. The guards won't know you." Thunder looked at the tarts, then at her. "You trust me with this." "I trust the seeker bottle behind you more. But yes. I trust you." He took the yellow tart and wrapped it in cloth. He folded the paper map and slid it to Rebecka. Outside, the salt town slept. Rebecka had a room now, and a wall to stand on, and a shot lined up before the door ever opened. Three days left. In the morning they would move.