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Chapter 142: The Senate Gates
The front gate of the Grand Senate was blocked by four police wagons parked bumper to bumper.A crowd of about two hundred people—reporters with flash cameras, junior clerks, and curious shopkeepers—were pressed against the iron railings, shouting questions at a line of thirty guards holding wooden riot clubs. High on the stone balcony, loudspeakers were crackling with the voice of Prime Minister Vane, talking about a tragic loss in the northern valley and the need for emergency state rule.A black military truck didn't slow down as it turned off the avenue."Hold on to the bench," Riven said from the driver's seat.He didn't touch the horn. He dropped the truck into second gear, hit the gas pedal flat to the floor, and drove the heavy steel bumper straight into the gap between the two center police wagons.CRUNCH.The wagons flew apart like empty tin cans, tires skidding sideways across the wet pavement with an awful screech. The crowd screamed and scattered back toward the street tr
Chapter 141: The Knife in the Pocket
Master Albright didn't wait for anyone to untie him.He rubbed his raw wrists together until the hemp rope dropped off, then fell onto his knees right beside Martha, blowing his nose into a dirty rag."They were going to hang us from the water wheel, Miss Sloane," Albright croaked, tears cutting clean lines down his soot-covered face. "Lord Barlas had three carts of pitch ready to dump into the town well. If you hadn't come through that cellar...""Save your breath, Uncle Albright," Sloane said, helping Martha sit up against an overturned wooden bench. She checked the old woman's neck; the cut was shallow, barely bleeding now under the cloth. "Go out to the road and flag Linnea's drivers. Tell them to bring water and clean bandages for the men tied up back there."Albright scrambled to his feet, bowing twice toward Riven before running out through the broken front door.Riven stood near the bar, his fingers working quickly as he reloaded his shotgun from a box of shells he found in hi
Chapter 140: Behind the Fireplace
Julian grabbed Sloane’s elbow before her boots hit the bottom step."I hear them right above us," he whispered. "They're kicking the furniture around."Sloane pulled her arm free and checked the shells in her gun. "Stay behind the wooden crates, Julian. If anyone tries to come down these cellar stairs, you shoot. Don't think about it, just shoot."Riven was already across the dirt floor. He found the small wooden ladder behind four empty beer barrels and climbed up without making a sound. He pushed the square trapdoor up two inches with his head, looked into the room above, and then looked down at Sloane."Three men," he said, barely moving his lips. "Two near the front glass. Barlas is by the fire."Sloane climbed up right behind him.Riven didn't waste time planning. He shoved the trapdoor open with both shoulders and burst into the room.The first guard standing by the window turned with his rifle up, but Riven’s shotgun went off before the man could aim. The blast hit him hard, th
Chapter 139: The Leap at the Cut
The flatcar lurched sideways as the wheels hit the curved rails near the old quarry bridge.Riven didn't count to three. He didn't have time.He clamped his arm around Sloane's ribs, bent his knees, and threw them both off the left side of the rolling wagon into the empty air.They hit the steep dirt bank together. The drop knocked all the wind out of Sloane's chest, turning her vision black for a full second. She tumbled through briars, dry pine cones, and loose red gravel, her cheek scraping hard against an old root before Riven's heavy boots dug into the dirt, stopping their slide ten feet above the rocky creek.Behind them, the runaway train didn't slow down.The six timber flatcars hit the bridge gap at full speed. Sparks sprayed out five feet wide as the wheel rims ground straight off the steel tracks. The lead car jumped the tracks, tipped forward like a thrown rock, and plunged forty feet down into the middle of the river ford.BOOM.The blasting powder in the crates caught in
Chapter 138: The Crash at the Water Tower
The leather dispatch tube rolled across the woven mat, stopping an inch from Elder Austin's trembling nose.Nobody touched it. The old man kept his forehead pressed to the floor, his thin ribs shaking under his gray silk robe. Justin didn't even lift his chin; he was staring at the red wax seals on the cylinder, sweating onto the wood.Riven leaned down, picked the tube up with two fingers, and snapped the end cap off with his thumb.A single strip of stiff gray paper slid out."Who let them cross?" Sloane asked. She didn't move her hands or fiddle with her dress. She stood right beside Riven on the raised platform, watching the courier breathe like a tired horse."Commander Orin sold the iron gate at midnight," the courier wheezed, wiping red grit from his upper lip. "Took six mule carts of gold and pulled the river chains down. The Sand Lords didn't stop to loot the farms. They're riding straight for the mountain pass to cut off the capital grain supply before the harvest locks."Ri
Chapter 137: The Metal Tube
The leather dispatch tube rolled across the woven mat, stopping an inch from Elder Austin's trembling nose.Nobody touched it. The old man kept his forehead pressed to the floor, his thin ribs shaking under his gray silk robe. Justin didn't even lift his chin; he was staring at the red wax seals on the cylinder, sweating onto the wood.Riven leaned down, picked the tube up with two fingers, and snapped the end cap off with his thumb.A single strip of stiff gray paper slid out."Who let them cross?" Sloane asked. She didn't move her hands or fiddle with her dress. She stood right beside Riven on the raised platform, watching the courier breathe like a tired horse."Commander Orin sold the iron gate at midnight," the courier wheezed, wiping red grit from his upper lip. "Took six mule carts of gold and pulled the river chains down. The Sand Lords didn't stop to loot the farms. They're riding straight for the mountain pass to cut off the capital grain supply before the harvest locks."Ri
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