Chapter 12

Margareta stared at Ardis in silence. The corner of her mouth twitched.

“You won’t have to prove yourself to me,” she said. “Report to Natalya in Prussia.”

Ardis exhaled. “I won’t disappoint the archmages.”

Margareta stood and shook Ardis’s hand. She had a firm grip.

“One small thing before you go,” the archmage said.

Margareta slid open a drawer and took out something long wrapped in cloth. She set it on the desk and meticulously unwrapped the cloth. A sharkskin scabbard held a sword with a red tassel dangling from its pommel.

Ardis’s breath caught in her throat. “Chun Yi.”

Ardis gripped the sharkskin hilt and drew her sword in one sweep. The steel ignited with a rush of golden fire. She felt the flames not as heat, but as an electricity in the palm of her hand that hummed through her bones.

Margareta eyed the sword with wary curiosity.

“It arrived an hour ago from Bulgaria,” she said. “It’s a pity I didn’t have more time to examine the enchantment. Quite old, quite odd magic. Perhaps, in the future, you might lend it to the archmages for study.”

Ardis sheathed her sword. “Perhaps.”

“Good luck in Prussia,” Margareta said. “Try not to damage any prototypes.”

Ardis sensed an unspoken, “This time,” since they had brought a prototype into battle without permission from any of the archmages except Konstantin. Still, that couldn’t be too damning if Ardis had her job back.

“Thank you,” Ardis said again.

Margareta granted her a rare smile. “Teach those Russians a lesson.”

“I will, ma’am.”

Ardis walked out the door with her scabbard in hand. Outside the office, she buckled it to her belt and adjusted it so it hung just right. She strode down the hallway with her head held high. Wendel and Konstantin waited by the doors. They loitered an arm’s length from each other, uneasy in each other’s company.

“I take it things went well?” Konstantin said.

“Brace yourself,” Ardis said. “She assigned me to be an Eisenkrieger test pilot in Prussia. I’ll try not to scratch your babies.”

Konstantin laughed, though he winced with his eyebrows.

“I trust you more than most,” he said.

Wendel feigned innocence. “Don’t look at me.”

Ardis pushed through the doors to the outside. Snow whirled into her face and tossed her hair, but it couldn’t blow the grin from her face.

~

The moment she set foot in the hospital, Ardis felt her stomach twist into a familiar knot. Even here in the grand atrium, with its potted palms and cathedral ceiling, the stink of disinfectant lingered in the air. Wendel’s shoulders stiffened, and he seemed reluctant to enter. Likely due to his proximity with the dying.

“Excuse me,” Konstantin said to the receptionist. “We would like to visit someone.”

The receptionist glanced into his eyes. “The name of the patient?”

“Himmel.”

She scanned a clipboard. “Theodore Himmel?”

“Theodore?” Konstantin stumbled over the name.

The receptionist squinted. “Your relationship to the patient?”

“Professional.” Konstantin’s hands left sweaty fingerprints on the desk. “Captain Himmel commands a zeppelin for the archmages. Commanded, that is. He went down with his ship and suffered injuries. Can we see him?”

The receptionist inspected his edelweiss pin and tapped her pen on the desk.

“Theodore Himmel is on the first floor,” she said, “in Room 102. Through those doors, down the hall, and on your right.”

They followed her directions. The door to Room 102 stood ajar.

Konstantin hesitated, then rapped his knuckles on the frame.

“Enter,” Himmel said.

The room was small and bare, with a brass bed and a single chair by the window. Himmel sat in the chair and stared out at the manicured evergreens. His right arm hung in a sling. He lifted his head and looked at them.

“Morning,” Himmel said.

Konstantin nodded and pressed his lips together. He didn’t seem to know what to say.

“How are you feeling?” Ardis said.

Himmel grunted.

Nobody had brought him gifts or flowers, not even notes of sympathy, and Ardis folded her arms to hide her empty hands.

“You look a little better,” she said.

“Do I?” Himmel said.

Ardis studied his face. “Less pale, at least.”

Wendel dropped onto the bed and crossed his legs. He leaned back on his hands.

“We were worried about you,” he said. “Old Teddy, our dearest friend.”

“Teddy?” Himmel nearly snarled the word. “Who told you that?”

“The receptionist,” Wendel said smoothly.

His ears crimson, Konstantin smoothed his hair, though his curls didn’t cooperate.

“Your name is Theodore?” he said.

“Unfortunately,” Himmel said.

“Oh.” Konstantin coughed. “I rather like the name Theodore.”

The captain stared at the archmage. It was hard to say whose face was redder.

“I like Teddy,” Wendel said.

Himmel rose from his chair. “I can still knock you out with one arm.”

Konstantin stopped Himmel with a hand on his chest.

“Gentlemen!” the archmage said. “This is a hospital.”

“He’s no gentleman,” Himmel said.

“True,” Wendel said. “Technically, I’m royalty.”

“You won’t be anything when I’m done with you.”

Wendel laughed, and Himmel glared ferociously at him. The necromancer seemed glad that the captain was no longer melancholy.

“My God,” Ardis said. “Everybody calm the hell down.”

The three men stared at her, but she didn’t back down.

“Himmel, you’re supposed to be wounded. Konstantin, you’re supposed to be concerned. Wendel, you’re being a bastard. Again.”

“Am I?” Wendel said. “I thought it was rather heroic of me to save Himmel’s life.”

“What?” Himmel said. “Konstantin, is this true?”

Konstantin rubbed the back of his neck. “The necromancer did revive a few dead men to rescue survivors from the lake.”

Himmel blanched. “You brought my men back?”

Wendel’s face flipped from sarcastic to serious.

“The dead don’t need to breathe,” he said. “They walked in and dragged you out.”

Himmel’s chest heaved as he struggled to find words.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

Wendel stared him down. “I should have let you drown?”

“Christ.” With his left hand, Himmel rubbed his jaw. “You are an abomination.”

“So I hear.”

Ardis stepped between them. “A suggestion? Don’t start yet another vendetta. We should focus on revenge against the Russians.”

“And the clockwork dragon,” Konstantin said.

“I’d love to.” Himmel’s voice darkened. “The doctors say I’m all but useless. My arm, anyway. Too much damage.”

“That’s poppycock,” Konstantin scoffed. “Those doctors are useless.”

Ardis frowned, not sure it was a good idea to give false hope.

“I’ll build you another arm.” Konstantin’s eyes burned with zeal. “A better one! Trust me, the technomancy will be nothing but the best. Come with us to Prussia, and you can test the arm by punching a few Russians.”

“Actually,” Wendel said, “I like the sound of that, archmage.”

Himmel stared at Konstantin with parted lips and bright eyes.

“You would do that for me?” he said gruffly.

Konstantin locked gazes with him. “If you would allow me the privilege, Theodore. Technomancy isn’t without risks.”

Himmel sucked in a slow breath. “It has to be better than rotting in some hospital.”

“Excellent.” Konstantin broke into a smile. “It’s good to have you back.”

“Just don’t call me Theodore.”

Konstantin ducked his head. “Right.”

~

Bells chimed from the cathedral and echoed over Vienna. Eleven o’clock. With only an hour before departure, Ardis and Wendel visited the marketplace for some last-minute purchases. Fortunately, the archmages had paid them a stipend in advance of their work on Project Lazarus. Ardis bought a new pair of boots, since her old ones had seen better days, while Wendel spent a few coins on leftover lebkuchen.

“More cookies?” Ardis said.

“One can never have too many cookies,” Wendel said grandiosely.

She smiled. “You have a sweet tooth, don’t you?”

“Pardon?”

Ardis guessed that didn’t translate into German. “You love to eat sweets.”

“Ah.” Wendel raised his eyebrows. “Naschkatze. It means… a cat who nibbles.”

She laughed. “I could see that.”

A black bird swooped overhead—Krampus. The raven banked, his little feet tucked under his body, and landed on the cobblestones.

“Krampus!” Wendel said. “You want some lebkuchen?”

Wendel tossed a crumb to the raven. Krampus cocked his head, shuffled his feet, and glanced around the market. Bristling his feathers, he clicked his beak. He didn’t seem to care about the cookie in the slightest.

Wendel snorted. “What, my crumbs aren’t good enough for you?”

Krampus ducked, his wings halfway open. “Grok! Grok! Grok!”

Ardis frowned. The raven seemed spooked by something. Her hand strayed to Chun Yi. She scanned the marketplace, but it was too difficult to pinpoint danger in the swirl of the crowd. Anxiety prickled over her skin.

“Something feels wrong,” Ardis murmured.

Wendel crouched by Krampus and held out half of a cookie. The raven tucked his wings to his body and skipped sideways.

“We should go,” Ardis said.

Wendel straightened, the cookie crumbling in his hand, and squinted.

“To the airship?” he said. “Already?”

Her fingers tightened on her sword. “Yes. Now.”

Ardis threaded through the crowd. She hunched her shoulders, trying to be stealthy, though she knew she was terrible at sneaking. She hated enemies who never showed their faces, always skulking in the shadows.

Which was, of course, Wendel’s style. Thank God he was on her side.

“Excuse me,” said a man. “You dropped this.”

Ardis whirled. A man stood near enough to touch, his turquoise eyes striking against his dark eyelashes and dusky skin.

“Is this yours?” the man said.

He held out a black dagger. Ripples in the metal marked it as Damascus steel. Intricate silver engravings flowered the hilt.

Amarant.

When Ardis had last seen the dagger, it had been dripping with Wendel’s blood.

She struggled to keep a straight face, afraid she stared at the blade for too long. Afraid she had no hope of bluffing.

“No,” Ardis said. “That’s not mine.”

“My apologies,” said the man.

He withdrew the dagger and turned around. He strode through the crowd toward Wendel, who stood staring at the rooftops.

Ardis sucked in air to shout. “Wendel!”

Wendel looked in her direction. But he still didn’t see the man. And anyone with the black dagger had to be an assassin.

A horse and cart rumbled in front of Ardis, a mountain of turnips blocking her view.

“Damn it,” she hissed between her teeth.

Ardis circled around the lumbering horse and elbowed through the crowd. She ignored the glares and the protests.

When she stumbled into the street, the man halted by Wendel.

“Excuse me,” the man said.

Wendel retreated a step. His face blanched to the color of bone.

“Nasir,” he said.

The man dipped his head. “You remember me.”

“You know I could never forget.”

Ardis edged nearer, her hand clamped on her sword. Who was Nasir? Why was Wendel looking at him with such intensity?

“Have you come to kill me?” Wendel said.

Nasir looked at him, calmly confident. “You have an incredible bounty on your head.”

“How does the Grandmaster know I’m alive?”

“The archmages aren’t known for subtlety.”

Wendel slid his foot backward. Nasir fingered the black dagger.

“Nasir,” Wendel said. “Don’t do this.”

A sigh left Nasir, clouding the air, and Wendel bolted into the crowd. Nasir sheathed the dagger and sprinted after him.

Ardis let go of her sword’s hilt and lunged into a run.

Ahead, the crowd jostled and shouted as Wendel zigzagged between them. He left the market behind and crossed the street. A solid wall of apartments blocked him, and he veered, running down the sidewalk. Nasir leapt into traffic and dodged an automobile, losing some speed, then swerved onto the sidewalk.

Ardis pushed herself into a sprint. Her throat ached in the bracing cold.

An archway yawned between the apartments. Wendel ducked inside and disappeared. Nasir slowed to a jog and followed him.

Panting, Ardis stopped outside the archway and peered around the corner.

Evergreens rustled in an arcaded courtyard. Ivy shrouded the stone arches. Nasir lingered in the center of the courtyard and tilted his head. He searched the shadows between the arcades, and the stairs leading to apartments.

“Wendel,” Nasir said. “We haven’t spoken in so long.”

Ardis let out a lungful of air. She forced herself to inhale quietly as she stole down the archway and entered the courtyard.

“I remember our time in Prague,” Nasir said.

Ardis ducked behind an evergreen, then glanced left and right. She spotted Wendel lurking behind a column. He held his finger to his lips. She nodded and looked back to Nasir, who was stalking along the arcade.

“When you were alone at night,” Nasir said, “did you think of me?”

Ardis didn’t want to hear more. Heat already scorched her cheeks. She tensed the muscles in her legs and reached for her sword.

“Grok!”

Wingbeats rustled over the courtyard. Krampus landed on an evergreen and bounced, fanning his wings for balance.

When Nasir glanced at the raven, Wendel darted from one column to the next. Wendel reached inside his coat. A straight razor flashed in the shadows. He held the blade low and waited for Nasir to wander nearer.

“Don’t hide from me,” Nasir said.

Wendel lunged from the column and attacked Nasir. The assassin dodged, the straight razor slashing his back. Wendel twisted Nasir’s arm, but Nasir tumbled into a roll and flung Wendel onto the cobblestones.

In a heartbeat, Wendel sprang onto his feet and leapt away.

“A razor?” Nasir said.

Wendel sneered. “Better than Amarant in your hands. What a waste.”

Nasir drew the black dagger. He slashed at Wendel, who hit his wrist to divert the blow, then slashed again. Wendel blocked with the straight razor. The brittle blade shattered, shards chiming on the cobblestones.

Armed with a broken straight razor, Wendel backed away.

“Guess what?” Ardis said. “I’m the only one with a sword.”

She unsheathed Chun Yi, enchanted flames rushing down the steel.

Nasir spared her a glance. “Stay out of this, you slant-eyed bitch.”

“Brilliant.” Wendel laughed callously. “Insult the bloodthirsty mercenary.”

Nasir stabbed at his chest. Wendel defended barehanded, the dagger cutting his forearm, then slashed Nasir’s stomach with the broken razor. He tried to slash again, but Nasir hit him in the jaw and knocked him back.

Ardis took this as her invitation to the fight. With a shout, she swung Chun Yi.

Nasir dodged. He hit the ground, rolled, and scrambled out of her reach. When he jumped upright, he watched her sword.

“Next time?” Wendel said. “Try killing him silently.”

Ardis growled at him. “I hate stealth.”

Chun Yi’s magic tingled over her skin and hummed in her bones. The sword wanted blood, and blood would make it stronger.

Nasir looked away, his attention on Wendel.

Ardis feinted with a swooping attack. Nasir knocked aside her sword with his dagger, but she angled her blade inside his arm. She surged at him, her teeth bared, and drove her sword into his shoulder with brute force.

Nasir grunted and wrenched away. He swore in what had to be Turkish.

“It’s over, Nasir,” Wendel said.

“Already?” Nasir said. “You never did last long.”

The assassin clutched his shoulder. His hand came away red. Relentlessly, Ardis attacked again. She cut at Nasir’s leg, trying to hobble him, but he whirled and grabbed Wendel’s neck. He shoved Wendel against a column and pinned him there. Nasir looked into Wendel’s eyes as if savoring this instant of triumph.

“You never did think things through,” Wendel said hoarsely.

Wendel raised the broken razor, but Nasir hit his wrist and knocked it to the cobblestones. Nasir held the dagger to Wendel’s throat.