Hive Queen by Sinclair, Grayson (positive books to read .txt) 📕

Sampson

For the second time that day, I found myself in front of the Iron Cathedral. Though not hitting as powerfully as the first time, its majestic beauty still wowed me. Mika and the hired help followed behind us, keeping a good distance so as not to arouse suspicion. By the time we arrived at the gate that led to the walkway to the church, the streets were barren.

The nearby shopping districts were closed, and the nobility were at home or one of the numerous parties we passed walking up the cobbled street. The loud music coming from inside the houses was muffled only by the heavy stone walls.

Once we were in front of the gate, I double checked that the street was empty, and trusting my gut that no one was watching us, Raven and I hopped the chest-high stone wall. The others would follow in ten minutes and keep an eye on thigs while the two of us stole the Heart.

Raven landed beside me with practiced quietness and slid me a sly grin. “You ready for this, Duran?”

“As well as I can be. Just have my back, and I’ll have yours.”

“Let’s do this,” she said and crouched about fifteen feet in front of me.

With a low ruffling of many feathers, Raven transformed into her bird form. Her raven form was smaller this time, just over ten feet in length. She bent low to the ground to hide her large shadow and tilted her head towards me.

“Hurry and get on before someone sees us.”

I climbed atop her and nestled in the crook just before her wings expanded. Raven didn’t wait for me to settle before she followed her wings and launched off the ground.

We flew into the air, but instead of flying higher, she kept low and glided, rather than flew. Raven only flapped her wings when it was absolutely necessary, and in only a few minutes, the Iron Cathedral loomed over us.

“Circle around. The window we want is on the other side,” I told Raven.

The plans of the church were clear, and I knew exactly where I needed to enter to give us the best shot at success. Raven flapped her wings once more and rose to the roof of the cathedral. She landed on one of the few non-gabled spots, and as soon as her feet hit the stone, I slid off her.

The location where she landed was part of the main cathedral itself, and it meant we would have to do a bit of climbing to reach our entrance point, but there were precious few places for a bird of her size to land on the heavily sloped roof.

I took a look around while Raven shifted back to her human form. We had a long and thin, flat roof that spanned the majority of the church but slanted on all sides, which would lead to a long fall and a short stop if we went over the edge. Risking a glance, I scuttled on my knees as a gust of wind slapped at my face.

High above us was one of the many vents that led to surface and brought fresh air to the underground kingdom. I peered over the edge at the rocky ground a hundred feet below us. Large slate-gray tiles lined the slanted roof and were thick enough to offer handholds to grip if I somehow slipped off, but even as the renowned craftsmen the dwarves were, I didn’t want to trust my life to a roof tile.

“We need to be careful crossing. One wrong slip, and that’s it for us.”

“For you, maybe. I can fly,” Raven replied, a snarky smile on her lips.

“Then you’re responsible for catching my clumsy ass if I fall.”

We both laughed for a second before the realities of our job wiped the smiles from our faces. No sense waiting around, let’s get this job done and get the hell out of here. My pep talk did nothing for my hammering heart and nerves. Sweat rose on the nape of my neck as a chill that had nothing to do with the cool air sent goosebumps down my arms.

I looked over at Raven and despite the fire in her irises, the fine hair on her arms stood on end. I reached over and took her hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. “We’ve got this.”

She gulped and nodded.

“Stay back until I give the all clear,” I said as I let go of her hand and pulled a potion from my inventory. Lightstep was lime and grain alcohol with a bittersweet undertone, but I drank it with a  grimace and crept over the stone roof.

Lightstep wouldn’t stop me going over the edge, but it would help muffle my steps, and it gave me more stability over uneven ground.

I moved slowly, cautious of anything out of place. It wasn’t likely, but I wouldn’t put it past the dwarves to have trapped the roof. But as I slunk along, keeping as low to the ground as I walked on all fours, I found no traps or any detection magic.

Foolish of them—and a grievous mistake on their part. Though maybe the sides of the building are trapped. Not many thieves have access to a raven shifter, I imagine. As I reached the end of the stone, I waved Raven over and planned my next move.

The end of the roof sloped down about ten feet and ended in about two inches of stone that formed the lip of the building.

“Not much room for error,” I whispered as Raven caught up and peered over the edge.

“Better not fuck up, then.”

Too true. Not waiting for my brain to catch up with my actions, I vaulted the stone and slid down the tile. The rough edges dug into my side, leaving bruises as I dropped down.