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“Let’s hope not,” replies James.

When the street is once again clear, they leave the alley and continue on. Keeping to the dark, they are forced to weave around the circles of light given off by the lit lampposts so as not to be spotted. Then finally, the large structure appears down the street ahead of them. Even two blocks away, they can see that an additional dozen men now stand guard before the front entrance.

Keeping to the edge of the street near the buildings, they slowly make their way closer until they are but four buildings away. “Where are the others?” asks James. He was hoping to have come across Miko and the rest by now. Fear that they may have been captured or even killed begins to grow within him.

“Use your cloth and find them,” Jiron tells him.

Feeling stupid for not having thought of that himself, he can only assume the events of the night must have him rattled. Taking it out, he casts the spell and is surprised to see that it indicates they are in the building he and Jiron are hiding against. “They’re in here,” James says as he pats the wall.

Several feet behind them lies the doorway into the building. Jiron moves back to it and tries the handle. Finding it locked, he removes one of his knives and begins working on the lock. He soon has it opened and they move inside.

“Miko!” whispers James as loudly as he dares once the door is closed behind him. They remain still and listen for a reply. When nothing comes, he again whispers, “Miko!” this time a little bit louder.

A shadow passes across the doorway leading to another room. “James?” he hears Miko ask.

“Yes,” he replies. Then his orb springs to life, barely giving off any light, just enough for them to be able to see each other.

The rest are right behind Miko, even Scar and Potbelly. “Am I glad to see you two,” Scar says.

“We were getting worried that you might not have made it,” Potbelly adds. “But not too much, seeing as how nothing blew up or anything.”

“What did you find out?” Miko asks.

“Nothing,” replies James. “Orrin said for us to abandon her. That to attempt a rescue was tantamount to a death sentence.”

“Are we going after her then?” Reilin asks. No one even bothers to answer him, they all know the answer.

Jiron comes before Scar and Potbelly and asks, “Did you two see anything that might help?”

Shaking his head, Scar says, “Not really. The buildings adjacent to the one holding her are three stories or less. Guards are posted on all four sides including the roof. I’m not sure how we could get in there without being seen.”

“There’s always the sewer,” replies Miko.

An audible groan escapes James. “Only if there are no other alternatives will I do that again,” he says. To Scar he asks, “How close can we get without being seen?”

“Pretty close,” he replies.

“Good, then take me there so I can see what’s going on,” he tells him.

“I’m coming too,” states Jiron.

When Scar nods, Jiron says, “The rest of you stay here.” That’s when he notices Miko has a tart in his hand. Surprised, he glances around and for the first time notices they are in a baker’s shop. Over to one side he sees where the baker’s leftovers from the day before are stacked together. He goes over and helps himself to a quarter loaf of bread and lays three coppers down on the counter next to it.

James notices it too and snags three of the four remaining tarts before Miko has a chance to finish them off. He too lays a couple coins on the counter and then takes a large bite as he follows Scar to the back of the building. “I think the baker is asleep above us,” he explains. James nods understanding.

Scar takes them out the back to the street running behind the building and then quickly over to the mouth of an alley that leads back to the street the Eye’s Court faces. Upon entering the alley, they move quickly to where it opens onto the street. From there, James has a good view of the face of the Eye’s Court across the street as well as the alley directly across from them that runs beside it. The guards in the street are none too far away.

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