I seized Mikhail’s hand so we wouldn’t get separated and ran after Vanya. When we reached the end of the alley, Vanya dashed through the street and into another alleyway that flanked an abandoned building on the verge of collapse.

He climbed onto a crate, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and slipped through an opening in a boarded window. Apprehensively, I clambered in after him, and Mikhail followed.

I landed on a packed dirt floor, blinking as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the gloom. Raw brick walls. Rubble.

“I hope that antique’s not just for show,” Vanya said, reloading his rifle. Unlike my musket, the weapon didn’t rely on lead balls and loose powder. It took him only seconds to trade out the small metal box attached to the weapon’s underside.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t fight with you,” I said, and he frowned, clearly disappointed. “I need to find my little sister. I think she’s somewhere in this town.”

“The New Quarter or the Old?” He sighed at my confused expression. “Is she across the river or on our side of town?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

A loud bang echoed from outside. The building shuddered, and a chunk of plaster crashed to the floor in a cloud of dust.

Vanya winced. “Those Otzvuk bastards are going to destroy the whole damn quarter.”

“Otzvuk?” I said blankly.

Hadn’t Mikhail said that the Otzvuk was composed of deposed nobility, the former military police, and the imperial army? Why would tsarists target the empire’s citizens?

“The Otzvuk is doing this?” Mikhail asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Vanya scoffed. “Who else?”

“The Fraktsiya?”

“I doubt the Fraktsiya have many bogatyri in their ranks,” Vanya said. “Or that our neighbors across the bridge would join in to help.”

A stricken look passed over Mikhail’s face. “What? Why?”

“You sound like a city type. Is this your first time in the Edge?” His chuckle was as flat as a hatchet blade. “Right, that’s what I thought. I don’t have time to explain this to you now. I need to get to the temple.”

“What’s in the temple?” I asked.

“It’s where the children and elderly will have taken refuge, but it’s also the first place the militia will go after they loot the market. If we go there, I think I know a way to stop this. But first, we need to cause a distraction. Make some noise. Just enough so that some of the soldiers split off from the main group, or we’ll never make it that far.”

“I can do that,” Mikhail said firmly.

“Good. Your best bet will be to hit the rich part of town. The bogatyr part. It’s on the other side of the river.” He retrieved a leather pouch from his cloak’s inner pocket. An iron striker hung from its string. “You know how to start a fire, city boy?”

Mikhail’s jaw tightened. “What are you—”

“I’m not suggesting that you level the New Quarter. Don’t target homes, just pick a shop or two. If it’s empty, then it means their owners have probably joined in on the festivities. The fire brigade will be on it before anyone can get hurt.”