made me give him all my food! I managed to get away but I think he’s still in the building somewhere!’
The soldier swears, grabs her lantern and gives a shrill whistle. ‘Cass, you need to go and find Captain Denning,’ she says. ‘I think he’s on the south wall.’
‘Come
on
,’ Cass hisses as soon as the soldier’s run off.
I throw her the pack, clenching my teeth as fresh pain stabs through my side.
‘Keep low so the rest of the Patrol don’t see our silhouettes or shadows,’ she whispers as we clamber up onto the wall. Ten feet below us are a group of wooden rowing boats with oars in the bottom, and next to me is a rolled-up rope ladder secured to a pair of metal hooks. Cass gives it a shove and it unrolls. ‘
Go!
’ she hisses. I climb down as fast as I can and drop into the nearest boat, biting back a cry of pain. A few moments later she lands beside me. ‘Untie the boat,’ she says, grabbing the oars. I lean over, untie the mooring rope and push the boat off against the wall before collapsing back with a groan.
Cass picks up the oars. ‘Wait!’ I hiss, sitting up again. ‘Let me row to start with. If they see you, they’ll know you helped me.’
‘They’ll know anyway. I left a note,’ she hisses back.
‘You what?’
She gazes at me for a moment. I lean forward and snatch the oars from her hands.
The pain is awful; it takes everything I’ve got to pull the oars through the water and steer away from the jetty. Soon, the shouts start. I see lanterns above the wall. There’s a shot, and a bullet whizzes past my ear, another grazing the boat’s prow. ‘
Shit!
’ Cass says, ducking her head. I pull harder at the oars and manage to put on one last burst of speed.
A few minutes later, we’re out of range. I collapse back against the side of the boat, groaning.
‘Did they get you?’ Cass asks, sounding panicked.
I shake my head. ‘No. It’s my ribs. Some bruises from when your pal decided he was gonna try and kill me.’
‘What?’ She leans over and before I can stop her, she’s pulled up my jacket, hoodie and shirt. In the moonlight, the bruises on my ribs look black. Cass gasps. ‘Did Sol and Rob do that?’
‘Aye.’ I tug my clothes back down.
‘They said you had a knife, but I saw it in your bag.’
I snort with laughter. ‘I didn’t have anything.’
Cass goes quiet, grabs the oars and starts rowing. I wonder how she feels about Blondie. He said she wasn’t his girlfriend. Has she turned him down or something? He sounded pretty bitter.
Jesus, why do I care? I need to think about what I’m gonna do next. I need to think about getting Mara back. The longer she’s with those bastards, the more danger she’s in of ending up like them – half-dead and rotting from the inside out.
My sister has already been through hell. I can’t let it happen again.
Chapter 14
CASS
When we’re almost at the mainland, I stop rowing, gasping for breath. The docks look black against the star-scattered sky. Dread squeezes inside me like a cold hand. What if the place is crawling with Fearless?
Then I think of my brother, of the Fearless man clapping his hand over his mouth so he couldn’t even cry out before he was dragged away. I row the rest of the way to the mainland with my teeth clenched together, while Myo rests against the side of the boat with his eyes – or rather his eye – closed. When I remember the bruises on his ribs, I feel slightly sick.
God
, why did Sol
do
that?
It isn’t hard to find somewhere to moor the boat. Wooden piers still jut out into the water all along the shore, although most are rotted and collapsing now, their pilings slimed with seaweed and crusted with barnacles. I find one with a ladder that still looks safe, and tie the boat up alongside it. I’ve got the knife I told Myo about – the biggest and sharpest of my kitchen knives – in my boot with a piece of oilcloth wrapped around the blade. Checking it’s secure, I shoulder my pack
The soldier swears, grabs her lantern and gives a shrill whistle. ‘Cass, you need to go and find Captain Denning,’ she says. ‘I think he’s on the south wall.’
‘Come
on
,’ Cass hisses as soon as the soldier’s run off.
I throw her the pack, clenching my teeth as fresh pain stabs through my side.
‘Keep low so the rest of the Patrol don’t see our silhouettes or shadows,’ she whispers as we clamber up onto the wall. Ten feet below us are a group of wooden rowing boats with oars in the bottom, and next to me is a rolled-up rope ladder secured to a pair of metal hooks. Cass gives it a shove and it unrolls. ‘
Go!
’ she hisses. I climb down as fast as I can and drop into the nearest boat, biting back a cry of pain. A few moments later she lands beside me. ‘Untie the boat,’ she says, grabbing the oars. I lean over, untie the mooring rope and push the boat off against the wall before collapsing back with a groan.
Cass picks up the oars. ‘Wait!’ I hiss, sitting up again. ‘Let me row to start with. If they see you, they’ll know you helped me.’
‘They’ll know anyway. I left a note,’ she hisses back.
‘You what?’
She gazes at me for a moment. I lean forward and snatch the oars from her hands.
The pain is awful; it takes everything I’ve got to pull the oars through the water and steer away from the jetty. Soon, the shouts start. I see lanterns above the wall. There’s a shot, and a bullet whizzes past my ear, another grazing the boat’s prow. ‘
Shit!
’ Cass says, ducking her head. I pull harder at the oars and manage to put on one last burst of speed.
A few minutes later, we’re out of range. I collapse back against the side of the boat, groaning.
‘Did they get you?’ Cass asks, sounding panicked.
I shake my head. ‘No. It’s my ribs. Some bruises from when your pal decided he was gonna try and kill me.’
‘What?’ She leans over and before I can stop her, she’s pulled up my jacket, hoodie and shirt. In the moonlight, the bruises on my ribs look black. Cass gasps. ‘Did Sol and Rob do that?’
‘Aye.’ I tug my clothes back down.
‘They said you had a knife, but I saw it in your bag.’
I snort with laughter. ‘I didn’t have anything.’
Cass goes quiet, grabs the oars and starts rowing. I wonder how she feels about Blondie. He said she wasn’t his girlfriend. Has she turned him down or something? He sounded pretty bitter.
Jesus, why do I care? I need to think about what I’m gonna do next. I need to think about getting Mara back. The longer she’s with those bastards, the more danger she’s in of ending up like them – half-dead and rotting from the inside out.
My sister has already been through hell. I can’t let it happen again.
Chapter 14
CASS
When we’re almost at the mainland, I stop rowing, gasping for breath. The docks look black against the star-scattered sky. Dread squeezes inside me like a cold hand. What if the place is crawling with Fearless?
Then I think of my brother, of the Fearless man clapping his hand over his mouth so he couldn’t even cry out before he was dragged away. I row the rest of the way to the mainland with my teeth clenched together, while Myo rests against the side of the boat with his eyes – or rather his eye – closed. When I remember the bruises on his ribs, I feel slightly sick.
God
, why did Sol
do
that?
It isn’t hard to find somewhere to moor the boat. Wooden piers still jut out into the water all along the shore, although most are rotted and collapsing now, their pilings slimed with seaweed and crusted with barnacles. I find one with a ladder that still looks safe, and tie the boat up alongside it. I’ve got the knife I told Myo about – the biggest and sharpest of my kitchen knives – in my boot with a piece of oilcloth wrapped around the blade. Checking it’s secure, I shoulder my pack
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