Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [12]
From here he could see the slowly winding road and the fields to the east of the palace. In the far distance he could see the waves in the harbor, gently pressing against the docks.
The moon's light illuminated everything in stark contrast, and he watched the princess drift in and out of the small, concentrated shadows. She was a smart one, Mariko. She navigated her way toward the docks with the caution and confidence of a well-trained rogue. It was a wonder that the figure was able to track her at all from the street. It wouldn't surprise him if there was some magic aiding the figure's success.
The princess disappeared at the end of the road, and the figure appeared, as if on cue, from the shadows near the palace.
Reaching into his vest pocket, the man in the hat pulled out a small wooden charm, a feather tied to one end by a slim piece of leather. Squeezing it in his hand, he stepped over the edge and began to fall, quickly at first, then much slower as he approached the ground. His cape lifted over his head, and the wide brim of his hat undulated softly in the breeze.
His feet touched the cobblestones of the courtyard with no more force than if he had just walked off a single step. Opening his hands, the charm was gone, consumed by the fall. Brushing off his palms, the man in the hat started after the figure.
Clearly the figure was not concerned with being followed or not wise enough to guard against such eventualities. Tracing its steps was quite easy, and the man followed it all the way into the heart of the underworld-the docks, storehouses, and seedy businesses that cluttered Llorbauth's waterfront.
The man caught sight of the princess once again-atop a small stable used to house the workhorses that pulled heavy freight off of incoming trade ships. From where she was perched, she could see people approaching from any direction.
The man in the hat smiled. People were predictable. They spent most of their time looking at the road, watching where they were going. Very rarely did they look up, to see what was directly above them. Mariko was hiding in plain sight.
"Nice trick," he said quietly.
Her gamble paid off. The figure reached the intersection and stopped, consulting some object in its palm. After a moment, the figure darted down the road to the north. Getting to the next intersection, it turned around and darted back the other direction.
The man in the hat settled up against the side of a storehouse to watch as the figure's frantic searching continued. Finally, unable to locate the princess, the figure headed east, toward the Shalane waterfront and the docks.
Glancing up at the rooftop as he followed, the man confirmed what he had suspected. The princess was nowhere to be found. But that was none of his concern.
The buildings were tightly packed here, giving the moon's light less of a chance to penetrate the confines of the city's most corrupt district. The tight corners and long, dark shadows made tracking the figure much harder, but the man managed despite the difficulty.
The figure turned down an alleyway, one block up from the water. Coming around a final corner, the man in the hat stopped cold in his tracks. The alley dead-ended in a single, wooden door. It was a door like any other door in Llorbauth, except that this one was adorned with a small crest-the golden profile of a beautiful woman, a simple tiara on her head, her long hair flowing around her face.
That crest could only mean one thing. That it was time for the man to take his hat and get far away from this place.
Chapter Five
As the sun rose over Llorbauth, Princess Mariko dangled from the edge of the palace wall, counting footfalls. The guards had been doubled since Tasca's death threat on her father. The patrols on the roof had also doubled, making it harder for her to return home unseen.
Two guards walked past her, silent except for their footsteps.
"Ten, eleven, twelve…" The princess pulled herself onto the roof and tumbled across