The Fifth City Read Online Free PDF Page B

girl had taken Sylvia aback last night with her show of emotion at the stories of Skycity’s treachery—and straight out shocked Sylvia when she demanded to accompany her.
    But Neve’s resolve seemed authentic, and Sylvia couldn’t have stumbled across a more valuable font of information—just the information she was seeking, seconds after she had infiltrated Lightcity.  Now she had a new mission.
    They would follow the Scouts at a distance, careful to avoid their trained beasts, who would no doubt be protecting them through the wilds.  Sylvia was sure they would lead her to the fifth city—the place that had drawn the eye of Greyling, and drawn his heart down into a place where he could justify enslaving and attacking his fellow cities.  Sylvia was genuinely curious as to what was so special about the foreign city, and with any luck, she and Neve would find out.
    Neve had suggested they use this part of Lightcity’s wall to make their departure.  No one was allowed out of the city—what with the lies Greyling had spun to make them believe this was all in defense—so there was no getting out of the gates.
    Sylvia studied the wall as she readied her rope, which had a multi-pronged hook at the end.  Lightcity’s wall was built of stone and glass; the alternating bricks wove a pattern of smooth and coarse, light and dark.  She had scaled it easily enough last night—until she was discovered, anyway.
    With a glance over her shoulder—though Neve was supposed to be watching her back—she hurled the spike over the wall.  Neve had brought her to a quiet industrial neighborhood, where she had promised they wouldn’t be noticed.
    Sylvia gave a strong tug on the rope.  With a grating noise, the hook stuck, anchored into rock on the other side.  Sylvia looked back and waved Neve over, wanting the dark-haired girl to go first.
    Neve’s eyebrows pinched together, but she took a steadying breath and came over.  She grabbed the rope, pausing for a moment as she worked out how to get her feet up on the wall.  Sylvia turned to face the street.  Still empty.
    After a few minutes, Neve hissed down to Sylvia, “What do I do now?”  She had reached the top and sat with her legs on either side of the wall, holding the rope.
    “Keep the tension on the rope, and then—well—jump,” Sylvia offered, keeping her voice from carrying any further than Neve’s ears.
    The rope came down and Sylvia grabbed it, pulling to keep the tension on the hook.  She watched Neve slip from the top of the wall, and heard her land seconds later on the other side.  She could see vague shadows through the thick blocks of glass in the wall.
    Sylvia was eager to get out of sight, and on with the mission.  With one last glance over her shoulder, she swiftly placed foot after foot on the wall, and was over and on the other side before the blink of an eye.  She landed with a huff and caught her balance.
    She pressed her eye to a glass block in the wall and tried to see if there was anyone in the alley.  Through the thick glass she couldn’t make out any detail.  She would have to assume they hadn’t been seen.
    Neve was staring out at the wide open plain.  With half a smile, Sylvia wondered if the older girl knew what she had gotten herself into.
    “Let’s go,” the Rider said.  “We need to get across the plain before the Scouts see us.”
    “Now,” she barked, and broke into a run.
     
    *   *   *
     
    The ornate glass and stone gate of Lightcity sparkled in the mid-morning sun as the contingent of Scouts and their beasts finally marched out onto the plain.
    Sylvia could hear their boisterous shouting and guffawing from where she and Neve crouched behind a scattering of bushes.  The grassy plain that surrounded the city was a swath of grey that rippled in the slight breeze.  Only a hint of green had begun to emerge now that winter was over.
    Sylvia toyed with the dagger at her waist as she watched the Scouts head south.