Dark Heart of Magic (Black Blade #2)(95)
But the white clouds did little to hide the eyes that stared at us.
Sapphire blue, ruby red, emerald green. The colors were the same as all the jewels I’d stolen over the years, but these were the bright, glowing orbs of the monsters that called the mountain home—tree trolls, rockmunks, copper crushers, and the like. Some were more dangerous than others, but lurking in the trees were plenty of monsters with enough teeth and claws to make meals out of all three of us.
Still, I didn’t mind the cool clouds of mist, the watching monsters, or the soft sheen of dew that covered everything. It made for better cover for us.
Because if we were caught, we’d be executed on the spot.
Twenty minutes later, we reached the edge of the trees, crouched down, and peered at the structure before us. Technically it was a mansion, although the gleaming white stone and architecture made it look more like a castle. Tall, diamond-paned windows. White trellises with red roses curling through the slats. Towers topped with red flags bearing the Draconi Family crest of a snarling gold dragon. Everything about the castle made it seem as though it had been dropped on top of the mountain right out of a fairy tale. But there were no happy endings here—just danger, despair, and misery.
Devon, Felix, and I had been sneaking over here every night for the past two weeks on our thieves’ errand, and we fell into our usual routine of watching the guards patrolling the grounds. It was almost full dark now, and Devon and Felix were both wearing black cloaks to help them blend into the shadows. I sported my mom’s long, sapphire-blue trench coat, made out of spidersilk, which also helped me melt into the growing darkness.
The Draconi guards were dressed in black boots, pants, and shirts, along with blood-red cloaks and matching cavalier hats, making them look like extras from a Three Musketeers movie. But they were far more dangerous than that. All of the guards had their hands on the swords belted to their hips, looking for intruders, as well as keeping an eye out for any monsters that might be creeping up on them. Many an inattentive guard had been snatched by a copper crusher and dragged into the forest, unlucky enough to be the oversize, venomous snake’s dinner date.
“Are we good?” Felix asked, checking his phone. “It’s almost time for us to meet Deah. You know how she worries if we’re even one minute late.”
With good reason. If she was caught helping the enemy, Deah would be executed right along with us, despite the fact that she was Victor’s daughter.
Instead of answering him, I started counting the guards along the perimeter. One, two, three.... It didn’t take me long to realize something was different tonight. My stomach knotted up.
“Wait,” I whispered. “There are more guards patrolling tonight.”
Devon frowned and squinted at the compound. “How can you tell?”
“I can see them. Trust me. There are more guards.”
“Can we still take our usual route into the mansion?” he asked in a tense voice, his hand dropping to the large black duffel bag at his feet. “This is our last trip. If we can get in tonight, then we’re done with this.”
“Give me a second to work it out,” I said.
Devon and Felix both fell silent, although they kept looking from me to the guards and back again. I focused on the guards, staring at first one, then another. It took me less than a minute to realize that Victor had only doubled the number of guards, pairing them up in teams of two. He hadn’t changed their routes, which meant that we could still get into the mansion the same way as before.
“We’re good,” I said. “Text Deah and tell her that we’re on our way in.”
Felix nodded, his thumbs flying over his phone. A second later, his phone lit up with a message. “Deah says that the coast is clear on her end.”
“Good,” I said. “Follow me.”
Keeping low, I left the woods behind and hopscotched my way across the lawn, hiding behind various trees and bushes and only moving when the guards’ backs were turned. Devon and Felix followed along behind me, both of them being as quiet as possible and clutching the duffel bags to their chests to muffle any telltale clank-clanks.
Less than two minutes later, we were at one of the side patio doors. I reached up and gently turned the knob. Unlocked. Part of me was disappointed. It was no fun breaking into a mansion when your inside woman left a door unlocked for you.
But I opened the door and ushered Devon and Felix inside. I slipped in after them and locked the door behind me, just in case one of the guards decided to check it. Then I took the lead again, creeping from one hallway and staircase to the next.
The outside of the Draconi mansion might resemble a castle, but the furnishings inside were the real riches. Just about everything gleamed with some sort of gold, from the chandeliers overhead to the gilt-edged mirrors on the walls to the trim on the tables and chairs. And Victor’s snarling dragon crest was painted, carved, chiseled, embroidered, or stamped onto practically everything, from the crown molding that lined the ceilings to the stained glass windows set into the walls to the white flagstones underfoot.
All those dragons were creepy enough, but it seemed like every single one of the monsters turned its head, narrowed its eyes, and glared at Devon, Felix, and me as we crept past. I shivered. Sometimes, I would have been happy not to see so well with my sight magic.
We quickly made our way up several sets of stairs to the Draconi greenlab. Once again, the glass doors were unlocked, and the three of us slipped inside and moved through the area, which was part chemistry lab, part greenhouse, where a variety of magical and other plants were grown and harvested. The long, sharp needles on the stitch-sting bushes quivered as we hurried past them, but we didn’t get close enough for the plants to lash out and try to scratch us for disturbing them.