We moved to the edge of the forest before the final guard tower came into view, concealing ourselves in the trees as we made our final preparations. Avian removed her hood and slid a guard helmet over her hairless head. Kiri tucked her long hair under her helmet. Luckily, the armor was devised to protect the back of the neck and side of the head, which also covered her pointy ears.

  “How do we look?” Kiri asked.

  Unlike the Brigand, Mallma didn’t have women in their army. So, not only did Kiri and Avian have to disguise their non-yaksha traits, but they also had to appear to be men. I inspected Kiri’s light leather armor, which was part of the Cusi Guard uniform. It hid the contours of her body well, making her feminine figure less noticeable. She looked a little petite for a soldier, but like Palla Cahua, Cusi wasn’t known for having the best of the best. They took what they could get. I smiled and gave Kiri a nod.

  Turning my attention to Avian, I realized just how stocky the young Fidi was. She was as fit as Kiri, but had more pronounced curves, which didn’t hide as well under the thin leather.

  Avian scrunched her forehead and turned sideways. “Are my breasts too obvious?”

  I paused, trying to find the right words. While I could tell she was a woman, I had known she was a woman when I started looking. If I had initially assumed she was a man, as the guards would, I might not have jumped so quickly to that conclusion.

  Avian said, “When looking at my uniform, your eyes seemed to pause when they reached that area, so I figured you must have thought they were too noticeable.”

  “Tye!” Kiri pushed me.

  “I wasn’t...” At a loss for words, I just shrugged. “Anyway, both of your bodies look good.”

  “What?” Kiri raised her eyebrows.

  “I mean they will pass for Cusi guards.”

  Kiri grinned. Avian nodded.

  “But you both have fair skin.”

  “Some men have fair skin,” Kiri said.

  “Nobles and merchants, perhaps. Soldiers end up getting muddy often. They spend time in the elements.” I pointed at the ground. “Rub some dirt on your faces. Not too much, but just a little.”

  “This seems unnecessary,” Avian said as she bent over to grab a handful of dirt. “You made it sound like they gave little scrutiny at the gates here.”

  “They don’t.” I thought for a moment. “But why give them something to question?”

  Kiri dipped her fingers in the dirt, then traced them across her face, adding a light amount of dirt. Avian took the handful she picked up and rubbed it between her hands, then smeared it across her face.

  “How do we look now?” Kiri asked.

  “Very manly.” I snickered as I grabbed the hood I had liberated from a prisoner. With it on, I saw only darkness. I put out my hands, close together, so Avian could bind them.

  “I’m going to use a slipknot,” Avian said. After tying my wrists, she added, “Pull on this, and it will untie.”

  “At what?”

  “Right here,” Avian said.

  “I can’t see what you are talking about.”

  Avian lifted my hood, then pointed at a loop in the rope. “This.”

  I nodded as she lowered the hood. “When we get to the gate, let Sani do all the talking. Both of your voices will be a dead giveaway. Avian, keep your tongue in your mouth. Kiri, try not to make eye contact. Your green eyes draw attention.”

  “What should I say?” Sani asked.

  “Tell them we are going to Cusi. We have to be there as soon as possible, so we are only passing through, not stopping to rest,” I said. “Try to sound like a Mallma soldier.”

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  “Other than you, I haven’t spoken to any Mallma soldiers. I can’t be certain what they would say.”

  “We’ll practice possible questions they might ask, and suitable responses.”

  Kiri pulled the rope that bound my hands, tugging me forward. Sani walked beside me, pulling the apprentice’s rope. Avian stayed in the rear.

  “What if they ask why you are prisoners?” Sani asked.

  “Make something up. Use something horrible that would make them want us to get through town quickly and cause them to think twice before attempting to lift our hoods.” I stumbled over a rock but caught my footing.

  “The guard tower is coming into view,” Avian said. “Move as if they are watching us.”

  I continued going over possible questions and answers with Sani until we were close enough that someone might overhear us. We walked the last stretch in silence. While I wanted to concentrate on positive thoughts, my mind kept going to all the ways this could go wrong. The guard could demand to see my face. Someone could realize Kiri and Avian are women or that Sani was a human. They might have manned the gates with more serious soldiers after Sani snuck in.

  Relief washed over me as I heard Canus’ familiar voice call out. “Halt and identify yourself!” Of all the soldiers, I knew him the best. He wouldn’t give himself extra work unless unavoidable.

  Sani said, “I’m Amaru from Casi, charged with escorting two prisoners for judgment.”

  Canus sighed. “You picked a bad time to pass through Palla Cahau.” He lowered his voice. “There had been some trouble. We’re basically in lockdown.”

  My stomach turned. I hadn’t considered that the council would respond so strongly to one human gaining access, especially since he did so by circumventing the gate. Thinking back, I remembered Joklo added a line to his song claiming we murdered two members of the council. At the time, I thought he had gotten bad information, since I knew we hadn’t killed anyone. But what if someone slew them? Would Lar have gone to such extremes to frame me?

  “Lock Down?” Sani paused. “Am I being denied safe passage to Casi?”

  I grinned under my hood. When going over lines with Sani, I mentioned the words safe passage several times. The villages had an arrangement, and that wording was brought up any time there was trouble with the soldiers passing through, as if they could break the village rules without consequence.

  “No,” Canus said. “I’ll need to get permission from the watch captain.”

  “My friend,” Sani said. “My understanding was that this gate was available for quick access.” He paused. “We have traveled far and still need to continue straight through to Casi.”

  “You don’t plan on stopping in the village to rest?” Canus asked.

  “Unfortunately, we haven’t the time.”

  Canus was silent for a moment. “Normally, I’d allow you to just pass through, but they have been on edge since the death of two council members. He raised his eyebrows. The third was also injured. He’s been leading the charge.”

  “Really?” Sani asked. “By whom?”

  “Long story,” Canus said. “I need to fetch the watch captain. He’ll tell me to let you pass through.”

  I grunted, hoping Sani would realize that we needed to push back now, and not wait for the watch captain to arrive.

  “How long will that take?” Sani asked. “We have heard noises from the forest. I believe we were followed. I don’t feel safe out here.”

  “It shouldn’t take long. The watch captain is...” Canus lowered his voice. “To be honest, he’s likely hungover and shacked up with a harlot. But I’ll be as quick as possible.”

  “And if we are attacked while waiting outside your gates, how will you explain our treatment to Casi?” Avian asked, making her voice as deep as she could.

  “The watch captain would tell them I followed protocol.”

  She scoffed. “He will cover his ass and leave yours whipping in the wind. This will be the Varius incident all over again.”

  “The Varius incident?” Canus asked.

  She chuckled. “Of course, Palla Cahau doesn’t tell its soldiers about that.” Shaking her head, she added. “Long story short. Two of our guards were murdered by their prisoners, and one of yours spent his final moments dangling from the end of a rope. Protocol didn’t save him from judgment.”

  He bit his lip as he thought, but finally nodded after agonizing over the decision. “The best I can do is let you wait inside while I fetch the watch captain.” He glared at her. “But you have to promise you will wait. If you’re gone when I get here, it’ll be my ass.”

  Sani glanced at Avian. She shrugged, then nodded. He focused back on Canus and said, “That sounds fair enough. But don’t take too long. They expected us in Casi two nights from today.”

  The wooden plank squeaked as it slid out of the metal holders inside. Canus swung the heavy door open, holding it as we all piled in. The apprentice growled as he moved, flailing his hands, trying to grab onto something.

  “You have a live one here.” Canus grabbed the apprentice’s arm and helped guide him into the small room. “What were their crimes?”

  “The one that isn’t cooperating murdered two fellow soldiers in a fit of rage.” Sani said.

  “And the other?” Canus asked.

  “He was our butcher.” Sani pushed me. “He had inappropriate relations with the goats before he slaughtered them.”

  My fists balled up. As much as I wanted to smack Sani, I knew any aggression toward him would blow our cover. Was this Sani’s way of getting even with me for lying about him urinating on the wall?

  “That’s just sick.” Canus paused. “I guess Casi doesn’t have many women. Why would anyone want to live in such a cold, dreary place?”

  “None of us are there by choice,” Sani said.

  “You!” Canus said. “Look over here for a moment.”

  My heart sped up as I tried to figure out who he was talking to.

  Canus asked, “Why is he avoiding looking this way?”

  “Nobody is avoiding anything,” Avian said.

  “Does he have green eyes?” His voice cracked. “He looked like his eyes were bright green when he glanced over here. We’re to be on the lookout for someone with green eyes.” He drew his sword.