Dragonvein: Book One Part 7

"Not really." Ethan couldn't help but feel that sharing such intimate details with a man he didn't trust was a bad idea. "Just dreams about the war in my world."

Jonas curled his lip. "Are there dragons in your world?"

"Dragons? No."

"Then it's odd that you would talk about them in your sleep." He kept his eyes fixed. "There were rumors that your mother could see the future in her dreams, though personally I never believed it."

"I told you," Ethan snapped. "I was dreaming about the war back home."

"If you say so." Jonas stood up and stretched. "We should get moving soon."

A few minutes later Kat began to stir. Jonas distributed a breakfast of bread and some dried apricots. Kat ate greedily and even nodded a thank you to Jonas a gesture that he did not return. By dawn they were well on their way.

Kat sat in the back of the wagon and crouched down low whenever they came across a fellow traveler.

"Afraid you'll run across someone you know?" asked Jonas.

"I'm afraid to be seen with you," she replied disdainfully.

"Then perhaps you should go your own way," he shot back. "Then you wouldn't have to worry over it."

She curled her knees into her chest. "I told you. A princess always pays her debts."

Jonas shook his head and chuckled. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot."

"How long have you been on your own?" asked Ethan.

"I'll tell you about me if you tell me more about you," she replied.

Jonas shot Ethan a quick glance of warning.

Kat laughed. "You're too nice to be an outlaw. And your servant is too soft and doughy. So I'd say...hmmm...you're on the run from the Empire." She scrutinized Ethan. "And from what I heard last night, I'd say it's because you found out that you can use magic."

Jonas stiffened. "That's enough from you. You should learn to mind your own business."

Kat shrugged. "Don't worry. I won't tell. Not as long as you keep me around, anyway. Of course, if you leave me behind, who knows what I might say? Or to whom?"

"No one would believe a whelp like you," snapped Jonas. "Say whatever you want, to whomever you want."

Kat grinned playfully. "You're probably right. Who would believe me? But I'm not the one trying to hide, am I?"

"Who says we're hiding?" Ethan jumped in quickly before Jonas could speak.

"I do," she replied. "And if you don't want to get caught, you have to promise not to leave me in Miltino."

"Why would I do that?" Ethan asked, feigning ignorance.

"Because you think I'm just a child," she answered flatly.

"You are a child," said Jonas. "And if not for Ethan, you'd be a dead one. So show a bit of appreciation."

Kat ignored him and kept her attention on Ethan. "You'll never get in the city without my help."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I know all the secret ways into Miltino. You don't."

"And why would we need to sneak in?"

She laughed and laid her head sideways on her knees. "Because you don't want to be found. And you have to register with the magistrate if you enter the city."

Ethan and Jonas exchanged worried glances.

"Oh my," said Kat. "You don't have the proper papers...do you?"

"Of course we do," Jonas lied. "But as you rightly guessed, I would rather we go unnoticed."

"Then it seems you need me after all."

Ethan c.o.c.ked his head and smiled. "She's right, Jonas."

Jonas huffed but made no reply, instead focusing his attention rigidly on the road ahead.

For the rest of the journey, the time pa.s.sed pleasantly enough. Ethan noticed that the longer Kat was with them, the more she began to act her age. He figured that she was unaccustomed to being treated kindly by strangers. Even on Earth, life for a street kid could be cruel. Here, where people were permitted to lop off someone's hand without so much as a hearing, it must be downright brutal.

As the city walls came into view, Kat said that they should pull off the road and wait for night to fall. "I'll go ahead and check that the way is clear," she told them.

Jonas looked displeased but was in no position to argue.

"I don't like this," he remarked, once she'd gone. "Trusting our fate to a child thief is stupidity."

"I really don't get it," Ethan said. "Why don't you like her?"

"She's a thief. I don't like thieves. They can't be trusted."

Ethan smirked. "Well, according to her, she's a princess."

Jonas sniffed. "We'll be lucky if she doesn't turn us in to the guards."

"She won't," he a.s.sured. "She thinks she owes me."

"She does owe you. And that's the problem. You're going to have a very hard time getting rid of her."

Ethan was already painfully aware of this and did not need reminding of the problem. He gave a flick of the hand. "We'll worry about that later."

It was about an hour before Kat returned. Her little face was twisted into a frown.

"I hope you have gold," she said, a hint of anger in her voice.

Jonas gave a spiteful laugh. "I thought it might come to that."

"It's not my fault," she said. "They've put a sentry near the smugglers' entrance. There's never been one there before."

Jonas narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin. "And you think you can bribe him?"

"No," she replied. "But I can pay someone to create a distraction that will lure him away. The only thing is, you'll have to leave your wagon and horses behind."

Jonas scowled. "Naturally."

"We can get another one," said Ethan.

The walls of Miltino were not exactly impressive. They were old and in serious need of repair. Though roughly fifteen feet high, pits and gouges all over the crumbling facade provided plenty of hand and footholds for a climber.

"Why don't we just go over?" suggested Jonas.

"We could," replied Kat. "But the streets are patrolled at night. Especially near the wall. It's better to get caught sneaking in the back way than over the wall...I promise you." Her final words were accompanied by shudder. "Trust me. This way is much better."

The thin forest beyond the walls was spider webbed by trails and narrow roads. After crossing each one, Kat took great care to be sure no one was approaching before moving on.

As they rounded the northwest corner, Ethan spotted several torches ahead. On drawing closer he could make out a few wagons and a half dozen men lounging beside them. They were pa.s.sing around a bottle.

"d.a.m.n it!" hissed Kat.

"What is it?" asked Ethan.

"Nothing," she replied. "I'll just need a little more gold than I thought."

Jonas dug into his purse and handed her two gold coins. She looked at them for a moment, frowning.

"What is this?" she asked. "These aren't imperial koronas."

"Gold is gold," he said. "Give it back if you don't want them."

She examined the coins carefully. "It had better be gold or we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"It's gold, girl," said Jonas. "Now go and do whatever it is you need to do."

Kat shoved the coins in her pocket. "When you see me waving, run as fast as you can toward the wagons. And if you see the sentry, make sure he doesn't see you."

Having issued these instructions, she dashed away along the tree line for a distance before crossing over to where the men were gathered. She spoke to them briefly, then disappeared from sight.

"b.l.o.o.d.y fool is what I am," muttered Jonas. "Trusting our fate to a child thief."

"You need to ease off her," said Ethan. "She's trying to help us."

"It's not her intent that concerns me."

Ethan could hear the stress in his voice. "She'll be fine. Kat knows what she's doing."

"Does she?" He shook his head. "Do you think she'd be so willing to help if she knew who you really are? Or that the Emperor himself wants your head on a platter?"

"Actually, I do."

"Then you're as much a fool as she is."

"Okay. Then how would you have gotten us in?" he asked.

Jonas gave no reply.

After a few minutes they saw a man in worn leather armor carrying a torch approaching the wagons. He had a long sword on his belt and a studded helm covered his features.

"That must be the sentry," remarked Ethan.

He walked up to the other men and took a seat. Twenty minutes pa.s.sed before he rose and walked away, only to return again ten minutes later.

"We should have just bribed the guards at the gate," complained Jonas.

"If it were that easy, I think Kat would have said so," remarked Ethan. "And it's a good thing she said something about travel papers. I bet we would have been caught for sure without them."

"That did take me by surprise," he admitted. "And it's something we must certainly attend to before we leave Miltino."

For two more hours they waited. Ethan was becoming increasingly concerned. By now, the men had lit a small fire and were pa.s.sing around several more bottles. Soon the sound of their coa.r.s.e drunken laughter echoed off the walls. The sentry continued to make regular stops that Ethan timed carefully - a result of his Airborne training.

He was just about to suggest that they move to a better vantage point so they could see what was beyond the row of wagons when Kat reappeared.

One of the men stood up and grabbed her by the arm. Ethan tensed. He tried to hear what they were saying, but was too far away to make out anything other than gruff tones and harsh laughter.

The man threw Kat to the ground. Ethan felt Jonas' hand grip his arm tightly.

"Fool girl," Jonas hissed.

The man drew a dagger from his belt and loomed over her. At that moment, a blond woman in a short skirt and loose blouse that exposed much of her ample bosom sauntered out from between the wagons. Kat's attacker turned to gaze at the new arrival.

The woman, seemingly unconcerned by the dagger, draped her arms around the man's neck and began whispering in his ear. A moment later three more women appeared, all of them carrying a bottle in each hand. Taking seats around the fire, the trio quickly began engaging the rest of the men in lively chatter. After only a brief hesitation, the man with the dagger put away his weapon and joined his companions.

"Now that's what I call a distraction," said Ethan.

Jonas relaxed his grip. "Indeed."

Kat moved away from the others and sat just beyond the glow of the fire. After approximately half an hour the women got to their feet, and, with a series of suggestive gestures, led the men away into the night. When the last one had gone, Kat waved Ethan and Jonas over.

Remembering Kat's warning, Ethan kept a sharp eye out for the sentry. But just as they reached her, he heard the soft sound of a woman's laughter coming from somewhere in the darkness. This was followed by the sound of leather and steel falling to the ground.

"The sentry will be occupied for a while yet," said Kat, grinning. "Marian will see to that."

"So you know those women?" asked Jonas with clear disapproval.

"We need to go," she said, ignoring the question. She led them between the wagons. Just on the other side of these was an archway with an open iron gate. Kat crept up to this and peered through. "Come on," she whispered when satisfied that all was clear.