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“What?” Caspian snapped.
“A lot was going on, Caspian,” he said, glaring at him wearily.
“Well, what if she needs to get out of a bad situation?” he asked, pointing at me.
“That’s what I’m saying!” He looked at me and pointed a finger in my face. “Don’t get in a bad situation.”
Caspian smoothed his hand over his face wearily. “This is going to be a nightmare.”
“No, it won’t,” I said, straightening. “I can get through the day without getting in life-threatening trouble, Caspian.”
He raised his eyebrow at me dubiously.
“I can!” I assured defensively, hiking my shoulders up to my ears.
He continued to give me that look until Murtagh shook his head. At least one of them realized that this was a spilt-milk problem and we needed to move on. “Let’s get moving,” he grumbled. “Where are we going, Zazie?”
I looked around, gazing over the Russian landscape, and then I finally settled on the horizon, where the sun was steadily rising, and I knew exactly what I was looking for.
“East. We’re going east,” I said.
Murtagh nodded in satisfaction, his lips pressed into a thin line as he looked around. Miles followed behind us, muttering something about how cold it was and how he didn’t get paid enough for this, but the rest of us ignored him.
As the four of us walked, Murtagh and I fell into step beside each other. Caspian and Miles kept their distance, trailing several yards behind us, talking sparingly.
There was a car waiting for us at the end of the tarmac. Miles slipped into the driver’s seat, Caspian sat beside him, and Murtagh and I sat in the back.
“So, where are we headed?” Miles asked, peering at us in the rearview mirror as he adjusted that and the seat for his own comfort.
I took a second, looking towards the east, trying to ‘hear’ the diamond. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for me to feel very certain about where it was. “The eastern outskirts of the city,” I said after a brief pause.
None of them questioned my innate ability. They must have finally started to trust me. So, I just sat back and watched the city pass by. It was a strange place, full of dark history and rich culture.
We drove in silence, passing the occasional car or truck, and before long, the bustling heart of the city began to give way to quieter suburbs and then to the vast countryside. Then we drove up beside a wrought iron gate, and I stiffened.
“Stop the car. The diamond isn’t far,” I blurted out.
Miles stepped on the brake almost immediately, and everyone shifted forward uncomfortably.
I opened the car door and jumped out, my pulse racing with excitement. Murtagh and the others got out of the car too, following my lead.
“This doesn’t look like a friendly place,” Miles muttered, and I looked around.
He was right. This looked like the antithesis of Disneyland: The Unfriendliest Place on earth. And really, I felt angry. For a second, I forgot the diamond was just rock—because it never really felt that way—and I thought, ‘Oh, the poor thing is trapped inside somewhere! What sort of monsters would do such a thing?’ And then I remembered that that wasn’t a normal thought and calmed myself down.
The building ahead was imposing, to say the least. The architecture was a curious mixture of medieval and gothic. The exterior walls were made of brick, and the roof was a jagged series of pointed spires. There were several arched windows, and the main entrance was flanked by two towers. And that didn’t even include the armed guards at the entrance and however many more were inside the compound.
One of them leveled us with a glare, and Murtagh took a step back, pushing me behind him.
“We should go,” Caspian said, his voice low and wary.
“But the diamond—” I blurted out, and Murtagh shook his head.
“We’re going to have to find a way inside, but it’s definitely not going to be through the front gate,” Murtagh said, his voice calm and decisive.
Caspian and Miles nodded.
“Miles, go hide the car somewhere,” Murtagh said, gesturing for the two of us to follow him.
