It only took minutes for Azuki and Renko to toss the leaves and rough up the dirt scattered over the pavers and the stairs to hide evidence of their passage. Shota supervised and flew lookout.

"Leave the bird tracks," he called. "Let them think anything out of the ordinary was done by the egrets."

"Where did they go?" Renko asked.

"Just over the wall," Shota replied. "It looks like they roost on the edge of the moat. But they're all caught up in writing their ...