16
An idea came to me out of nowhere. I turned to Maya and whispered in her ear.
‘We should ask a slave.’
Puzzlement spread across her features.
‘What?’
‘If anyone will know a way of getting into the Inner City, a slave who lives there will.’
She nodded.
‘Good point.’
‘And I bet you every slave in this place would love the chance to do his masters a bad turn.’
‘So we look for a slave?’
‘Exactly. We identify a slave and master from the Inner City. It’s easily done. Their ridiculous clothes are a dead giveaway. We abduct both, kill the master, and question the slave.’
She glanced at the sky. It was a deepening grey-blue.
‘The night will help us.’
‘We should find an alley, wait there, and drag them both inside it.’
‘I’ve got a better idea.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Cuckooing.’
I knew
