Page 28 of Kingdom of Dance

Huge torches blazed on either side of the tall wooden gate, casting a strange orange glow over the scene. It caused his shadow to dance in front of him as he made his way toward the edge of the cliff, his lithe frame now as willowy as a birch tree. The narrow road leading out from the gate twisted northward immediately, but a well worn path could be seen heading toward the cliff. When Obsidian reached the edge, he saw that it wasn’t a sheer drop, as he’d anticipated. It was a more gradual angle, and a rocky path led down to the shore below, the natural slope hewn to make uneven but comfortably passable stairs.

He descended only far enough to be out of sight of the city wall. Then he paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness without the torches’ light. While he waited, he leaned back against the rock, strangely soothed by the dull roar of the ocean below. Fleetingly, he imagined how it would be to come here without an assignment, to be genuinely just looking for a stroll in the moonlight. He thought he’d be quite happy to stay for hours, just watching the light dance off the ever-moving surface of the water.

Once his eyes adjusted, the scene was bathed in silvery light. He looked to his right, along the cliff, back toward the castle. He’d noticed from above that a thin strip of grass ran along the outside of the wall. He could easily have walked that way, but then he would have been in view. He assessed the slanting cliff as best he could in the moonlight.

He could climb along there in the dark without falling. Probably.

Giving it no further thought, Obsidian began to inch along the rock, still fully below the line of the cliff. He felt for handholds with his fingers, keeping his eyes focused instead on the space ahead of his feet.

Assessing his own—fairly glacial—speed, he measured the distance by counting, as he’d been trained to do when he became a soldier. He hadn’t overestimated his skill, and before long, he found himself on a reasonably stable ledge far enough along the cliff that he should be below the castle.

Pausing to wrap the black cloth across his face, just below his eyes, he reached up and felt for the lip of the cliff. Purchasing his hands as well as he could, he began to pull himself carefully up. A rock slid from beneath his foot, bouncing off the stony face before splashing quietly into the ocean, which at this point lapped right up against the cliff. Obsidian winced, but uttered no sound. For a moment, he dangled, his muscles straining as his arms took his full weight, listening for any sign that he’d been noticed. There was nothing.

Silently, he pulled himself painstakingly up until his eyes were above the cliff. His muscles bulged at his tunic, and he could only be glad he’d continued his training rigorously after he was given leave to return home. There was no sign of activity on the thin strip of land between the cliff and the castle wall, which at this place was one and the same with the city wall. Obsidian glanced back the way he’d come, counting windows. He felt a surge of satisfaction when he saw that he’d come up precisely where he’d meant to, only three windows down from Princess Zinnia’s suite.

He’d been less than eager about the espionage training he’d been given when he signed up for the war. Most soldiers would have done anything for the opportunity, but Obsidian didn’t like the idea of being commissioned with the type of reconnaissance missions given to the elite, not when he knew that the only possible reason for his inclusion in that group was his magic. If he’d earned a place among them with his service, that would have been different.

But whatever his feelings at the time, he had to admit the skills were likely to come in useful in his current assignment. He hadn’t even had to consciously assess the internal distance when he glanced into the princesses’ corridor. His eyes had simply done it for him, and his mind had been able to retrieve that information when he wanted it, out on the cliff.

His enchanter’s senses reached out without conscious thought as well, testing the magic he could feel blanketing the building in front of him. It felt like a basic hedging enchantment, although unusually strong, as one would expect at a royal castle. It made sense that with the castle itself forming the city’s wall, there would be magic in place to keep the building from being breached. But unless he was mistaken, it wasn’t a blanket prohibition. It had a certain flavor to it. One of…intent? No, belonging. Yes, that was it. The enchantment would keep out anyone who didn’t belong there, effectively covering all intruders. It was a sensible limitation, as it required less force than an unlimited restriction, therefore allowing more of the power to go into the enchantment itself.

Sneaking into the princess’s suite through her window to search for clues therefore wouldn’t be an option. Not that Obsidian would seriously consider such an approach. To be confident of not being seen, he’d have to do it at night. And the thought of the princess waking to find him sneaking through her rooms…Well, he wasn’t a spy, not really. He’d never signed up for that role, and there were many things he wasn’t willing to do. Forcing himself into the bedchamber of a young woman while she was sleeping was one of them. Besides, he had a feeling that if he asked the king, he’d take Obsidian in himself, let him search to his heart’s content, probably while the princess glowered on. King Basil didn’t seem to be much into hiding things, which was probably why he was taking his sister’s deception particularly hard.

Obsidian’s arms were screaming at him now, in spite of the fact that he’d found a precarious spot to brace his feet. He wouldn’t be able to hold this position for much longer. But luck was with him. He’d just lowered himself below the wall when he heard the soft screeching of wood, just discernible above the constant throb of the sea. The sound of a window being slid open, perhaps? He strained his ears, catching the soft thump of someone landing on the clifftop.

A grim smile curved his lips. It was satisfying to have his efforts rewarded, and his hunch proved correct.

Not a hunch, he reminded himself. He’d only known she was sneaking out because he’d sensed her deception when she spoke with her sister. His magic gave him an unfair advantage, and he surprised himself by feeling a twinge of guilt about exploiting that advantage to spy on the unsuspecting princess. That was what King Basil had tasked him with, after all. Why did it feel like a breach of trust?

Obsidian pulled himself up, hanging in readiness until he heard soft footfalls. They seemed to be heading away from him, so he only counted to twenty before easing up again. Sure enough, a slim form was disappearing into darkness, moving west toward the rest of the city.

Obsidian slid over the edge of the cliff, lying flat on the surface and counting again to twenty. Then he began to crawl, still on his belly, keeping his head below the level of the windows. He didn’t want to let the princess get out of sight. If she was heading for the city—with which Obsidian was entirely unfamiliar—it might be difficult to find her again if he lost her.

It was interesting, he reflected, that no enchantment had been placed on the windows to prevent the princesses getting out. Whatever King Basil suspected, he wasn’t willing to actually cage his sisters. Obsidian couldn’t help liking him for it.

The figure ahead of him didn’t stop moving until she’d passed well beyond the end of the castle. The city wall rose up, tall and impenetrable, and Obsidian wondered how she intended to scale it. But as his eyes skated ahead, he saw a small wooden door set into the wall, with a path leading from it down to the sea below. At the bottom, he could just make out a small pier with a few fishing boats tethered to it.

The princess—assuming it was her—pulled what looked like a light men’s cloak from a small satchel at her side. Donning it, she pulled the hood up and drew it close around her. To his surprise, she then knocked confidently on the small gate, two quick knocks, followed by four slow.

It swung open immediately, a faint glow emanating out, and the grunt of the keeper carrying to Obsidian’s listening ears.

“Cargo?”

The cloaked figure shook a silent head, holding out a small square of parchment.

The keeper glanced at it, then jerked his head. The princess slid through the gate, which promptly shut behind her. Obsidian lay on his stomach for a moment longer, thinking rapidly. If he didn’t want to lose her, he had to act quickly. A glance upward told him that he had little hope of scaling the wall. Making a snap decision, he crawled forward more quickly, reaching the top of the rocky path in moments. He hurried down it a reasonable distance before turning and sprinting up, removing the cloth from his face as he did so.

When he repeated the strange knock, he was convincingly out of breath.

“What do you want?” the guard grunted, looking him over.

“I’m with him,” Obsidian said, jerking his head vaguely in a direction he chose at random. The cloaked figure was already out of sight, but as he’d hoped, the guard’s eyes flicked to a narrow alley leading northward, into the city.

“He didn’t say anything about you,” the man said suspiciously.

“Typical,” grumbled Obsidian. “See what he gets next timehefalls asleep in the boat. I’ll pitch him over the edge.”

The guard’s eyes were still narrowed suspiciously, but he didn’t immediately say anything.

---