He leads me beneath the arches, which are dark and cold. The ground is littered with empty spray cans. There are more than a dozen train lines overhead and I hear the faint clack of trains going over rails.
A figure in black pushes away from a wall and steps into the semi-light. As he pulls his hood back, I see it’s Tieman. The three of us huddle in a triangle close to the wall. The back of my neck prickles and I can’t dispel the feeling that I’m still being watched.
Tieman smiles, his eyes running curiously over me. “Who were you expecting when you answered the phone earlier? Sounds like whoever it is gets all the fun.”
I pretend to be interested in an empty spray can on the ground. “Uh, no one. It doesn’t matter. Thank you for helping me the other night.”
“Any time. I’ve been wanting to try out those smoke bombs.”
Louis cuts in. “Let’s get on with it. Sachelle, give us the schematic so we can get out of here.”
My stomach drops. In the chaos of the past few days, I’ve forgotten that they don’t know. “Rasmussen got it off me. I’m sorry.”
“What?” Louis yelps, and his voice echoes around the tunnel. “You made us come all the way down here, you asked Tieman for a favor that could have got him arrested, and yet you couldn’t even do the one simple thing that we asked of you?”
Tieman waves him into silence. “Dude, stop shouting. We’re not getting anywhere like this.”
“It’s probably a good thing I couldn’t get it,” I say, glaring at Louis. “It’s crazy to think we can break into a City Guard station and get Briar and the others out. That’s what you were planning, isn’t it?”
They look at one another, but don’t say anything. This is all getting too much for me, and I’m only going to get them caught. I’ll have to find another way to help Briar.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t think I should be involved with the group anymore. Mr. Rasmussen’s been questioning me non-stop. Since he found out I tried to steal from the palace, he’s been unbearable. I’m being followed everywhere I go.”
Tieman leans forward and looks deep into my eyes. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. We’re grateful for everything you’ve done for us.”
That’s kind of him to say so, but we both know I haven’t done anything. “I just want to get Briar and the others out of jail. Maybe I should talk to the King. He needs to know that Briar’s being held captive in his name for no good reason.”
“He knows what’s being done in his name, and he just doesn’t care,” Louis snarls. “You’re a fool if you think otherwise.”
“Louis,” Tieman says, exasperated, and turns to me. “I think that’s a good idea. We have to try all avenues. Sometimes we shake them up, and sometimes we try talking.”
He smiles, but my heart doesn’t feel any lighter. “There’s no we. I’ll do this by myself.”
Louis shrugs. “Fine. Good riddance.”
Tieman regards me with a mixture of disappointment and understanding. “Good luck, lady. Maybe we can help each other in the future.”
“Maybe,” I reply, but I don’t see how I can be useful to them. “I’m researching the history of Paravel, and Archduchess Levanter and a few other people have been helping me. I think she could put me in touch with a journalist who could write something about Briar and the others and put pressure on the King to let them out.”
Louis seems unimpressed, but Tieman nods. “We’ve got a free press, now. We may as well try and make it work for us.”
“Waste of time,” Louis mutters.
I round on him. “What are you going to do? Throw more red smoke bombs that make you look like pro-Varga terrorists? That’s a great way to get arrested, or worse.”
Tieman opens his mouth as if he’s about to placate us when there’s a skittering of rocks further along the tunnel, as if someone’s kicked them.
I break off and peer into the darkness. If there is someone following me, it’s probably one of Jakob’s men. I take a step toward the sound. “I think there’s someone there.”
Tieman grabs my hand. “Don’t. Put your head down and just go. We’ll talk to you soon.”
I nod, stuff my hands in my pockets and walk quickly back up the tunnel. Tieman and Louis walk quickly over to a maintenance door, and disappear through it. The door closes behind them with a soft clang.
I emerge into the afternoon light, knowing that I’ve let not only Briar down, but Tieman as well. I have a horrible feeling that the only thing I’ve managed to do lately is make things worse.
The next morning, I read old newspapers online via the National Library, ones that were published before the Midsummer Riots, trying to get a sense of Paravel before it all fell apart. I feel dismal, seeing how unhappy the people were with the monarchy and reading King Gregor’s defiant proclamations. There was no government then, so he made the laws like it was still the Dark Ages and expected people to obey without question.