Rhys was much more skilled with a gun at close range, but Nyx put him above Jolique’s house with a sniper rifle she got from Inaya’s people. It was poorly made; Ras Tiegan, not Tirhani, and he’d only had enough time to tweak the scope and fire off a few practice rounds before they needed to move. It was not his favorite weapon. He was already soaked through and shivering. The gun was slick beneath his fingers. He watched the door through his scope.

They had been sitting an hour with no movement aside from two people entering the bakery beneath him.

“How long are we going to give this, Nyx?” he asked through the beetles.

“As long as it takes,” Nyx replied, her voice tinny.

Of course. Rhys sighed.

Above, the rain continued.

“Hold on,” Nyx said. “Here we go. Southwest.”

Rhys sighted through the scope, sweeping the alley. He saw a group of hooded figures—six large individuals, circling a seventh.

“You want me to take the risk?” Rhys asked.

There was a pause. He waited. This was when he preferred someone else making decisions. He had already told her he wouldn’t kill them. She nearly put Ahmed up here in his stead, until he pointed out that even his worst shot was going to be better than Ahmed’s best.

“You know I’d prefer you killed them,” Nyx said.

“I’m done killing,” Rhys said.

“Fine time to talk morality.”

“The best time,” he said.

“Remind me to buy you a packet of sen-laced tobacco when this is over.”

“If you live? Certainly.”

“Take them down,” Nyx said.

Rhys took aim and shot out the knee of the first figure. It took far too long for him to reorient and retarget as Nyx and Ahmed stepped out of the alley just behind the group, shooting three of the figures at close range. A buzzing wall of hornets came down around the central figure. Rhys got off two more shots, crippling two more people.

He saw Nyx finish off the ones at the back. Rhys shot off the hand of another figure going for a weapon.

Nyx took hold of the one cloaked in the hornets. Rhys heard cursing.

“What have you got?” Rhys said.

“It’s not him,” Nyx said.

Ahmed was at the front of the pack, yanking off the hooded hats they wore.

“Shit,” Nyx said.

“What is it?” Rhys said.

“He’s at the front, bound. You just blew out his fucking knee.”

“Better than his head,” Rhys said. “Clear out of there. There’s movement coming from the house. We’ll have order keepers on us soon.”