for a pair of conspirators like ourselves.
Rio walked into one room and I went into the other. It must have been the corner of the inn, two walls lined with windows. I tossed my bag onto the bed, and it landed with a clatter. There was a knock from Rio and I opened the adjoining door.
“Right then. Ready to reenact my master plan?”
“I would be if I knew what it was.”
“Please, m’lady. Life would be no fun without surprises. Shall we?”
The half-blood opened one of the windows and gestured as if it were a door. I thought about objecting, but shrugged. Turning down the lanterns, I crawled awkwardly out of the window. Rio did the same, turning to close it. He tucked a little bit of the curtain under the wooden frame so that it would not close all the way.
If we came back through the window, the kin would probably knock his horns against the frame and make a racket. I shrugged, following the half-blood closely as we ventured through the dark alleys again.
After a few minutes of dark and unpleasant stink, we emerged into a nice neighborhood. The houses were bigger and there were trees. I still followed closely, though. No reason to completely relax just because of a change in scenery.
“Here we are,” Rio whispered, his eyes on a tall building surrounded by a high, rout-iron fence. The uneasiness returned like a brick to the skull.
“A hospital? What are we doing here?”
“You’ll see, but right now I ask you to wait right here.” Rio bowed with a flourish. “Leave this business to me. If I don’t return –“
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I said. “I’ll wait right here, so be back quickly.”
I ducked, hiding myself in a shrub. I could just see the hospital and the half-blood scaling the fence through the leaves. I watched Rio’s skinny form dash across the yard and disappear around the side of the building. If he got himself caught and committed, I would not have been surprised.
I swiftly grew bored, so I started to examine the shrub I was hiding in. It took me a moment to recognize it was a sparkling yew – the bush’s telltale yellow flowers had all fallen before the end of summer, and now even its leaves were nearly gone for the cold. Pressing my fingers to one of its soft, twirling branches, I gave it a little bit of magic that should help it survive the winter. It was my thanks for letting me crouch beside it for so long.