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Jacob extinguished the lantern and held his breath.
Steps.
He reached for his pistol, but then realized who was coming toward the wall.
Will kicked it in as if it were cardboard. Jacob didn't wait for his brother to push through the splintered wood. He was already stumbling back along the dark passageway when the Dark Fairy called the guards.
Stop, Jacob! But nothing had ever frightened him as much as the sound of these footsteps pursuing him. Will could probably see through the blackness as well as Fox — and he was armed.
Get out of the dark, Jacob! He's got the advantage here. Jacob tore down the curtain as he stumbled through the hidden door into the open.
The sudden light blinded Will. He held his arm in front of his face. Jacob quickly struck the saber from his hand.
"Leave the sword where it is, Will!"
Jacob pointed his pistol at him. But Will bent down anyway. Jacob tried to kick the saber away from his hand again, but this time Will was quicker. He will kill you, Jacob. Shoot! But he couldn't. It was still the same face, even if it was now cast in jade.
"Will! It's me!"
Will slammed his forehead into Jacob's face. Blood ran from his nose, and he barely managed to deflect the saber before the blade could slash open his chest. Will's next stroke cut into his arm. His brother was fighting like a Goyl, cold and precise, without any fear. "I hear you disarmed the King's best bodyguard." He isn't half as good as he thinks." Another strike. Fight back, Jacob!
Blade struck against blade, sharpened metal instead of the toy swords with which they had fought as children. So long ago. Above them the sunlight was caught in the crystal blossoms of the chandelier, and the carpet beneath their feet bore the symbols on which the Witches danced to summon spring. Will was panting. Both of them were breathing so heavily that they noticed the imperial guards only when they cocked their rifles. Will backed away from the white uniforms, and Jacob instinctively stood in front of him, protecting his little brother as he'd always done, but his brother no longer needed his help. The Goyl had also caught up with them. They were coming through the hidden door. Gray uniforms behind them, white ones in front. Will only lowered his sword after one of the Goyl barked an order at him.
Brothers.
"That man tried to enter the King's chambers!"
The officer was an onyx Goyl, and he spoke the language of Austry with barely an accent. Will didn't take his eyes off Jacob as he stepped back to the officer's side. Still the same face, and yet as different from his brother as a wolf was from a dog. Jacob turned his back on him; he could no longer bear to look at him.
"Jacob Reckless." He offered his saber to the guards. "I have come to speak with the Empress."
The guard who took the saber whispered something to his officer. Jacob's portrait, which the Empress had ordered after he brought her the glass slipper, was probably still hanging somewhere in the palace.
Will still had his eyes on him as the guards led Jacob away. Forget you ever had a brother, Jacob. He already has.
44
The Empress
It had been a long time since Jacob had last stood in the Empress's audience chamber. Even when he or Chanute delivered something she'd been eager to get for years, it was usually one of her Dwarfs who'd negotiate the reward or give the next assignment. The Empress only granted personal audiences when an item had been particularly dangerous to acquire, as had been the case with the glass slipper and wishing table, and when the story attached to it had sufficient blood and death in it. Therese of Austry would have made a great treasure hunter if she hadn't been born the daughter of an Emperor.
She was sitting behind her desk when the guards brought Jacob to her. The silk of her bright dress was embroidered with elven glass, and it was as yellow as the roses on her desk. Her beauty was legendary, but war and defeat marked her face. The lines around her brows were more defined, the shadows under her eyes darker, and her gaze had grown even colder.
One of her generals and two of her ministers were standing by the windows through which there was a clear view of the roofs and towers of the city and of the distant mountains the Goyl had already conquered. Jacob turned, and only then did he notice the adjutant standing next to the bust of a previous Emperor. Donnersmarck had accompanied him on three of his expeditions for the Empress. Two of them had been successes and had brought Jacob a lot of money, and Donnersmarck a medal and a promotion. They were friends, though the look Donnersmarck gave Jacob didn't show it. There were a few more medals on his uniform than on their last encounter, and when he walked over to join the general, Jacob noticed he was dragging one leg. Compared to war, treasure hunting was a harmless pastime.
"Unauthorized entry to the palace. Threatening my guests. One of my spies knocked unconscious." The Empress put down her quill and waved one of her Dwarfs to her side. The servant kept his eyes firmly on Jacob while he pulled back his mistress's chair. The imperial Dwarfs of Austry. Over the centuries, they had thwarted dozens of assassination attempts, two on Therese's father, and the Empress had always had at least three of them by her side. Rumor had it they could even take on Giantlings.
Auberon, Therese's favorite among the Dwarfs, smoothed the Empress's dress as she stepped out from behind her desk. She was still as slender as a young girl.
"What is this, Jacob? Did I not order you to find the hourglass? Instead I have to learn that you're in my palace, dueling with my future son-in-law's bodyguard."
Jacob bowed his head. She didn't like it when you looked her in the eyes. "I had no choice. He attacked me, and I defended myself." His arm was still bleeding. His brother's new signature.
"Surrender him, Your Majesty," one of the ministers said. "Or better yet, have him shot yourself, to prove your desire for peace."
"Nonsense," the Empress replied testily. "As if the war hasn't cost me enough already. He's one of my best treasure hunters — even better than Chanute."
She stepped so close to Jacob that he could smell her perfume. There was a rumor that she had magic poppy-juice mixed into it. If you inhaled too deeply, you did whatever she told you.
