Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(79)

His grin soon faded. “How are the children?” he asked.

“Worried about you. Olive is inconsolable.”

“I’m sure they don’t enjoy living with their grandfather.”

“They aren’t. Not yet. Flora put her foot down rather decisively and insisted that they stay in their own home.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Yes, she has really risen to the occasion.”

“So, making her read actually paid off.”

“It seems to have, though I suspect there’s been more to her than we gave her credit for all along.” I pulled up the hem of the coat and the skirt of my working attire so I could reach my pocket and take out the little key on its blue ribbon. “By the way, you seem to have dropped this,” I said as I handed it to him.

He held it up to study it. “I don’t know that it’s necessary anymore. I doubt I’ll have to prove my credentials in any clandestine meetings. But it will be a nice reminder of what I stand for.”

We were nearing the northern tip of Manhattan, and I couldn’t see any sign of pursuit. There also wasn’t any indication of a great manhunt on land. I wasn’t sure what signs I should look for, aside from perhaps clanging bells and great mobs of police. With any luck, they hadn’t yet noticed Henry’s absence from his cell. If they didn’t notice until breakfast time, it would be all the better for us.

There was a flash of light from the shore, and then another. I jumped, alarmed. “What is it?” I asked. “Are they waiting for us?”

“There are patrols on the shore,” Philip said, his face grim.





Chapter Twenty-one


In Which

We Are Discovered




“What do we do?” I asked. We were so close that it was frustrating to be thwarted.

“We’ll put in somewhere else, and then you can meet up with the others.”

“They must have noticed my absence,” Henry said.

“Or it’s an ordinary shore patrol,” Geoffrey suggested. “They may be on heightened alert because of the riots.”

I groaned. “Maybe that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“It helped us get out of the fort,” Henry said, resting his hand on my shoulder.

We went farther up the river before they put the rowboat over the side and helped Henry and me down. Philip joined us to row to shore. He got the boat far enough up on the bank that we barely got our feet wet, then shoved off to row back to the yacht.

Henry and I made our way through the tall grass, pausing before we reached the road. Henry whistled in an impressive imitation of a bird’s call. A few seconds later, we heard the same call from a distance. It was followed by a couple of urgent chirps. “That way, but there’s someone between us and them,” Henry whispered.

“You got that much from a few whistles?”

“We’ve got a system of signals. It comes in handy when setting up or escaping a heist.”

The grass ahead of us rustled, and I grabbed Henry’s arm in terror. There was no place to hide, nowhere to go other than back into the river. We remained perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe, as a soldier came into view. Henry began walking toward him, dragging me as I took a little longer to be able to force my feet to move. I barely stopped myself from crying out in dismay when Henry approached the soldier and held up his hands in a warding-off gesture.

I thought for a moment that he was using magic, but instead he said, “Shh, we just spotted what I think might be a pied-billed grebe. You don’t want to disturb it.”

“You’re out here at this time of the morning watching birds?” the soldier asked, frowning skeptically. He couldn’t have been much older than Henry, and he looked as tired as I felt.

“Of course,” Henry said. “When else would one observe night birds? There’s interesting activity just before dawn.”

“Oh?”

“Well, yes. That’s when the night birds settle down and the day birds become active. It’s fascinating.” Henry sounded like he did when he talked about insects as a way to make people want to ignore him.

The soldier then noticed me. “You’re a birdwatcher, too?”

“Oh, yes,” I said. “That was how my husband and I met.”

“Huh. I suppose it takes all kinds. Now, you folks be careful. There’s been rioting tonight.”

“That’s why we prefer to be out of the city,” Henry said. “Come along, dear. I want to check on that roosting spot we saw last week. Good morning, officer.”

The soldier waved us on, and I forced myself not to heave a great sigh of relief. “Birds? I thought it was bugs,” I whispered to Henry.

“I didn’t think he’d believe we were looking for something as small as bugs without a lantern.”

Just then, the soldier called out, “Halt!” We turned to see him aiming his rifle at us. “I just got word about a fugitive, and you fit the description.” He must have been alerted by the magical communication system.

Henry gave a loud whistle even as he raised his hands. I assumed he’d signaled the others, but whether to clear out or come to the rescue, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to take any chances, not when we were so close to freedom.