“Yes and yes,” he answered. “But we’re not going to see them.”
“We have to! Roze told me they need more books—”
“Yes, they do, and we’re going to provide them. I was supposed to leave tomorrow, so your timing is excellent!” Lukas grinned when he saw my confusion. “That’s my assignment, to cross the border into Prussia and meet a printer who should be ready with an order of books. I’ve got a wagon that will take us most of the way, though we’ll have to be extra careful since we’ll have to stay on the roads. You can wait here, or—”
“I’m coming with you.”
He smiled like he’d already known that would be my answer. “Ben won’t be happy about this.”
I’d already assumed that and, with a shrug, I said, “Ben doesn’t like me, I understand that. But I’ve done a good job of smuggling so far—”
“Wait.” Lukas held up a hand to cut me off. “Audra, Ben doesn’t try to stop you from smuggling because he dislikes you. He tries to stop you because he cares. And because he thinks one day, you’ll be among the best. He wants to keep you alive until you’re old enough to prove to everyone how amazing you are.”
“I’m almost the same age as you,” I said.
“Yes, but Ben knows I’m going to do this whether he lets me or not. And so will you, I know that. But if anything bad happens to you, he’ll blame me.”
My brows furrowed. “It won’t be your fault.”
“Let’s hope not.” Lukas grinned again. “Because the true reason I’m bringing you along is so that you can make sure nothing bad happens to me!”
For the remainder of the day and through the night, Lukas and I were so tired that we switched off keeping watch while the other slept. Lukas took longer watches than me, though he wasn’t supposed to, but I was too exhausted to fight him on it. When I awoke early the next morning, Lukas was just finishing hitching up our small wagon, and we started the long ride to the border. As we rode, he started to teach me about smuggling over the border.
“They don’t worry too much about who leaves the country,” Lukas began. “A well-told lie, and a simple check of our papers, and then we’ll be on our way.”
“I have no papers,” I reminded him.
Lukas only glanced sideways at me, hesitating as he quickly composed a new plan. “Who needs papers, then? We’ll go another route, a perfect rehearsal for when we come back in with the books—something they worry about a great deal. Each of us will take as many as we can carry, and we’ll have to go on foot, the safest route.”
“But we have this wagon!” I protested. I’d walked so much in the last few days, I wasn’t eager to do so again.
“It’s a fine wagon, but we can only use it on the roads, where the soldiers are; even on horseback, we’re too visible. Of course, on foot, we’re still likely to look suspicious. It’s best if no one sees us at all.”
A shiver ran through me. “Tell me about it.”
Lukas lowered his voice, which only made me more nervous, as if someone might overhear us. “There are three layers of border security. The first is the most difficult. For the first two kilometers along the entire border with Prussia, the soldiers station themselves close enough to be within sight and hearing distance of one another. Within the next five kilometers, the soldiers are still on patrol, only the line is thinner. Past that for at least three kilometers, the soldiers are on horseback, looking for anyone who somehow got through the first two lines.”
I shook my head. “Ten kilometers of border security? Impossible! How could anyone get past all that?”
Lukas looked over at me. “That’s our job to figure out, each time we cross, because each time, it will be different.”
I took a deep breath, hoping a little air would help me feel up to the challenge. Then I sighed. That hadn’t helped at all. “What else do I need to know?”
“Ben believes that if we’re spotted, it’s better to surrender immediately. If we run, they’re allowed to shoot.”
“But if I’m caught, they’ll hang me.” Until saying the words, I hadn’t believed it could happen. I did now.
“Then if you remember nothing else that I teach you, it’s not to be caught.” Lukas’s nervous laugh quickly turned serious. “Truly, Audra. You don’t have to do this. If you are caught—”
“How often are book smugglers caught?” I asked.
“More often than we would like,” Lukas said. “But we’re bringing in over a thousand different titles each year, and we hope to double that within another few years. The more we give to people, the more they want. They’re starving for information. They need us.”
“Hmm.” I’d been thinking about my version of Rue’s story and the ideas Lukas was giving me without even realizing it.
“What are you thinking about?” Lukas asked.
“Nothing very interesting.”