Valentina moved as quickly as the low visibility allowed through the alleys of Vandercourt, recalling Beatrice's directions over and over again. The fabric of her dark cloak swayed gently around her with every step, and her hood and cape hid her face from the few passersby who were still out at this late hour. Vandercourt was a beautiful and bustling city during the day, but at night it was not necessarily a place you wanted to be.

  The merchant district was quiet, the shops long since closed and their heavy wooden shutters locked. Only a few lights could be seen in the upper floors of the half-timbered houses where the merchants lived with their families. The smoky smell of recently extinguished cooking fires still hung in the air, mingling with the disgusting stench of the open sewers that ran through the streets.

  A drunkard staggered toward her and shouted a few obscenities, but Valentina dodged him without slowing her pace, and he disappeared behind her into a side alley to relieve himself.

  "It's amazing how much more disgusting the city smells at night ," Vyxara remarked in her head. "I wonder if people just distract themselves from the stench during the day with all their perfumes and shouting?"

  "I guess the carriage windows have spared us the worst so far. In any case, I'm not exactly keen on taking any more walks here."

  "If only the Tower knew what torments you endure just to be with him," Vyxara teased.

  Valentina crossed a stone bridge under which one of the canals flowed sluggishly, connecting the entire city and linking the River Sunder with the River Water, which ran on both sides of Vandercourt. The water lay black and murky beneath her.

  The South Bridge District gradually came into view, located on both sides of the River Water and named after the massive bridge that crossed the River Water at this point. The buildings here were less magnificent than in the northern part of the city closer to the palace, but still very respectable. Here, solid stone houses with neat facades stood side by side, many with access to the riverbank, inhabited by the lower nobility and successful merchants who had achieved modest prosperity.

  Beatrice's directions eventually led her to a quiet side street, where she found Baron Foncemendicant's city residence.

  The coat of arms above the gate was visible even in the dim moonlight, a praying Ember in a burnt orange robe on a blue background. The building itself was modest, but the grounds were quite stately. A three-story main house made of light-colored stone was surrounded by a wall enclosing a courtyard. Lights burned in several windows, and at the main gate stood two guards leaning bored against the gateposts, talking quietly.

  Valentina paused in the shadow of a recess in the wall and surveyed the property with a scrutinizing gaze. She circled the wall to get a better view, taking care to remain outside the glow of the lights.

  The wall wasn't particularly high, perhaps ten feet, but it was topped with iron spikes that gleamed ominously in the moonlight. Not an insurmountable obstacle, but definitely a challenge. Especially in a dress.

  "Fortunately , the security isn't particularly impressive ," Vyxara commented as the demon studied the property through Valentina's eyes. "Oh! Do you see that tree back there, in the courtyard, whose branches almost reach over the wall?"

  Valentina nodded. If she could make it up the wall, she should easily be able to reach the courtyard via the branches.

  "It's exciting to carry out an infiltration again ," Vyxara continued, and Valentina sensed the demon radiating mischievous delight. "And I must say, it's quite a refreshing change that this time it's all about getting laid."

  Valentina felt a smile touch her lips. The demon was right. The last time she had sneaked through the darkness like this, she had broken into a dungeon of the Illumination. Hopefully, this evening would be much more pleasant. Although perhaps just as exciting.

  She completed her tour of the wall and returned to the spot where the old oak tree stretched its branches over the iron spikes.

  "Anything to hear?" Vyxara asked.

  Valentina activated her Essence Listening, but could detect nothing in the immediate vicinity of the wall and the tree.

  Then she pulled her cloak tighter, checked the Schate pattern she had woven around herself once more, and looked for the first good foothold in the masonry.

  The wall was old, which was fortunate for her, because the joints between the stones had widened over the years and the mortar had become crumbly in many places. Valentina found a foothold without difficulty as she pulled herself up.

  "Not bad ," Vyxara commented appreciatively. "Sometimes you could be mistaken for a born courtier, but you still climb like a peasant girl."

  "You never forget how to climb," Valentina thought back as she worked her way up to the top of the wall.

  The iron spikes loomed sharp and unforgiving in the moonlight before her, but the branch of the old oak tree she had spotted from below stretched invitingly above her.

  Valentina stretched and wrapped her fingers around the rough bark. The feeling was so familiar that it gave her a twinge in her heart. How often had she spent hours in the trees around her family's farm as a child, hiding from her brothers or secretly eating pears and plums?

  "Do you think now is the right time for nostalgic thoughts?" Vyxara asked gently.

  "Just for a moment."

  She pulled herself up onto the branch and carefully tested its weight. The wood was solid and felt alive, not rotten and dead. Slowly, she pushed herself forward, away from the wall and away from the spikes below her.

  Her heart pounded against her ribs with excitement. The feeling of doing something forbidden, something dangerous even, just for herself, was exhilarating.

  "I must confess ," Vyxara purred, "I'm already enjoying this little expedition far more than I expected."

  Valentina reached the trunk of the oak tree and clung to it as she got her bearings. From here, she had a good view of the estate. The yard lay dark and silent below her, cut only by bright gravel paths that wound through the flower beds. The main house rose to her left, three stories of light stone, and at the back of the property she could make out a larger annex that looked like stables.

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  The light from sparingly adjusted Essence lamps seeped out of the stable building, and she could see movement. Someone was still working there even at this late hour, so she had better be careful.

  "Stable boys , probably ," said Vyxara. "But we're not here for them. We should think about how to get into the main house unseen."

  "First, let's find out exactly where he is," Valentina thought back.

  She looked up. The branches of the oak tree stretched not only over the wall but also toward the main house. Some of the upper windows were within sight if she climbed just a little higher.

  She cautiously ascended, testing each branch before putting her full weight on it. The soft rustling of the leaves was the only sound in the nighttime silence, and Valentina took great care not to make too much noise as she climbed.

  Finally, she found a comfortable fork that gave her a view of several windows on the second and third floors. She leaned against the trunk, secured her footing in the fork, and inspected the rooms.

  The first window revealed a salon. The room was in semi-darkness, and only the moon and the faint glow of an Essence lamp cast weak shadows on the empty armchairs and a table with the remains of a meal. No one was in the room.

  The second window belonged to a bedroom. An elderly man lay in bed and his bald head glistened faintly in the moonlight. Presumably the baron himself. His breath raised and lowered the blanket in a regular rhythm, and Valentina could hear his snoring even from outside in the tree.

  "Where is he?" Vyxara grumbled impatiently.

  The room in the third window was different. It was sparsely furnished, with only a narrow bed, a table, and a chair, and the walls were bare. But on the opposite wall, laid out on a wooden rack, stood his armor.

  Even in the dim moonlight that fell through the window, it was unmistakable. It was a massive suit of armor that had not been forged for an ordinary man. The shoulder plates were so wide that two normal men could have stood side by side in them. The helmet hanging on a hook next to it could have served as a cooking pot.

  "This must be his room ," said the demon. "But where is he?"

  The bed was untouched, the blanket neatly folded, and the pillow showed no dent. He hadn't been here yet tonight.

  Valentina let her gaze wander over the property. Where would a man like him be at this hour?

  Her gaze wandered back to the stables.

  The light in there. The movement she had sensed earlier.

  "His horse ," said Vyxara, and Valentina could hear the grin in the demon's mental voice. "He's probably taking care of it himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it's his best friend."

  "So down and over to the stables it is."

  "I'd suggest you take your time and be careful. The courtyard is pretty open, and who knows who else might be awake."

  The way down was more difficult than the way up, as she had to feel each step blindly with her feet, but eventually she reached the lower branch that also extended over the wall and slid down into the courtyard from there.

  At least, she thought she would slide down, but in fact the ground was a little lower than she had thought and she landed with a thud on the grass.

  She paused for a moment, all her senses alert, listening to see if anyone had heard her, but the courtyard lay silent before her.

  "Don't walk on the gravel paths ," Vyxara warned. "Better stay on the grass."

  "I'm not stupid, Vyxara," she thought back.

  She kept to the edges of the flower beds in the grass, where she could throw herself behind a bush or shrub in case of emergency. She stayed in the shadows as best she could and approached the stable building until-

  A side door of the main house suddenly opened, and Valentina froze. A crouched figure stepped out, carrying a chamber pot. A maid shuffled sleepily across the courtyard toward the cesspool, which, judging by the smell, was hidden behind a low hedge.

  Valentina stood motionless beside a boxwood shrub in the shade, holding her breath. The maid passed her, yawning, less than three feet away, but the girl did not look up. Then she was gone, disappearing behind the hedge, from where Valentina could hear her emptying the chamber pot shortly afterward.

  Valentina slowly let her breath escape.

  She waited until the maid had made her way back into the house and the door had closed behind her before continuing on her way.

  The stables were now directly in front of her. A long, solidly built half-timbered building with a thatched roof. Warm light spilled through the cracks in the wooden doors, and the smell of horses, hay, and leather grew stronger as she approached.

  The snorting of a horse reached her outside, along with the sound of a brush on fur. And a deep, rough voice speaking soft and affectionate words that Valentina couldn't quite understand.

  Her pulse quickened even more.

  "He's in there ," Vyxara said, and the demon's anticipation mingled with her own.

  Valentina circled the building until she reached the door, which was ajar. She pressed herself against the rough wood and peered through.

  He had his back to her, but even so, he was unmistakable. No one else in the world was so massive. Dressed in simple clothes, a loose linen shirt and dark pants, he didn't look much like a knight. His shoulders filled almost the entire width of the stall where he was working.

  He was actually taking care of the horse and ran a brush over the coat of his enormous stallion, yet he did not look small even next to this large horse. After watching him knock down or throw one knight after another for a week, his movements seemed surprisingly gentle, almost tender, as if he were caressing the horse. The horse stood calmly under his hands, relaxaed and with its ears laid back.

  "Look at that ," Vyxara purred. "So he can be gentle too."

  Valentina watched him for a moment longer as he groomed the horse. It wasn't necessarily a side of him she would have expected, and she found it strangely touching.

  But she hadn't come to watch him brush horses.

  "Yes, what are you waiting for?" Vyxara asked. "You can either stand here for hours watching him, or you could go inside and get your own cuddles."

  "That's not why I'm here, Vyxara."

  She released her Schate pattern, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

  The warmth of the stable and the smell of horses and hay hit her.

  The tower immediately spun around and his hand shot to his belt, where a knife hung. The speed with which he moved was frightening for a man of his size and he stood there tense as a bowstring and ready to strike.