The Fall of Ventaris by Neil McGarry, Daniel Ravipinto, Amy Houser

those days – just like today, I’ll warrant – when a man pleased someone important at court he’d be given a job working for the empress. The high-born became maids or clerks or secretaries, but the low-born...well, they couldn’t be seen around the palace no matter what favor they’d won, but they could be under it. So they became jailors.  
      “’Course, the problem with all these jailors was that most of them didn’t know who all the prisoners were, and the Whites who guarded the door didn’t know who all the jailors were. And they were coming and going at all hours. So I watched and waited, and when I learned when the shifts changed, I made my move.” Tyford laughed again and poured himself some more wine. “I tickled open the cell door – any thief worth spit can hide a lockpick on him – and when one shift of jailors was on the way out, I just walked right on out with them.”
    Her brow furrowed. “You just...in disguise?”
    “Nope. Just walked out.” He laughed, obviously relishing her surprise. “Girl, going unseen isn’t just about knowing where the shadows are and sticking to ‘em. Sometimes if you look like you’re supposed to be doing whatever it is you’re doing, people won’t even give you a second glance.”
    “But what about your clothes! You couldn’t have looked like a jailor!”
    “The imperial quartermaster was slow in getting the jailors their livery, maybe because there were so godsdamned many of ‘em, so some of them were dressed like either one of us right now. I just turned my shirt inside out to hide the worst of the dirt, but most of them were just as dirty as the prisoners anyway.” He swirled his wine. “It’s all about knowing what people expect, girl.”
    She suddenly remembered that spring day in Temple, when she’d been looking for information about Eusbius. The old Domae woman had caught her attention with her certainty, the powerful, visceral force of her belief . She acted like any other priest, and Duchess, in turn, had treated her like one. She thought of the thousand gods at the center of the walk and the sweetness of cake on her lips. A smile blossomed on her face, and Tyford seemed to take that as appreciation for his story.  
    “Besides, escaping prisoners don’t line up with their jailors to file past a guard, right? So when none of the others raised the alarm, neither did the White at the door.” He pointed his cup at her. “A good thief has the right skills, girl, but a great one has the right skills and the right attitude. Learn that and you might someday be worth the time I’m spending.” He gulped down the rest of his wine.
    He’d given her more than one lesson, and she’d gotten her money’s worth today. There was one piece of his story still missing, though. “So what did you do about your employer? The one who left you to rot?”
    Tyford’s mouth twisted. “That was back when I still wore the cloak, remember, so I couldn’t let it go by unanswered. I would have lost standing on the Highway, and for someone in my trade that could be death.” He nodded, looking grimly into the distance. “I showed that bastard Tyford wasn’t one to fuck with, and made sure everyone on the Grey knew it.
      “Though there’s something interesting,” he went on, gesturing for the start of her next lesson. “Me telling that story seems to have gotten us off the subject we’d been on. Half the Highway seems to know everything about how you got into Eusbius’ manor, but no one’s talking about how you got out .” He gave her a shrewd glance. “Funny that you still haven’t mentioned that.”  
    “Yes,” she replied, savoring his evident, burning curiosity. “I’m funny like that.”
    *   *   *
    For a moment, she thought she was dead.
    Duchess was just approaching the wooden stairs to her apartment, her mind buzzing with plans concerning both Jana and the fallen White, when the big man lurched out of hiding, nearly upon her. She