Dishonored--The Veiled Terror
Page 23
Billie smiled. “Thanks for the hospitality.”
Emily shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me for anything. I’m just sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me.”
“Don’t worry, you didn’t get out of it that easily. I’m going to need your help now more than ever.”
The pair watched the sun play over the river for a few moments, until Billie heard footsteps approach. She turned, and watched as an officer of the City Watch led two newcomers into the garden. The officer stopped in front of the marble bench and gave the Empress a salute.
“Your Majesty, your guests have arrived.”
With a bow, the officer backed away. Billie nodded a greeting at Cottings, while beside her, the gowned figure of Professor Dribner fell to one knee, the tatty fabric pooling out around him as he reached up and held Emily’s hand.
“Your most gracious Majesty, Emily the Wise, most noble and beneficent mistress of the Isles, Imperatrix of the, erm, Empire. Empress, erm…”
Billie shook her head. She glanced at Cottings. “What took so long?”
Cottings nudged Dribner gently with her boot. The old man started, and looked up at her with a frown, then he pulled himself to his feet—with Cottings’ help.
“I can manage, young lady, I can manage!”
“The Professor here wouldn’t open his door,” said Cottings, shaking her head. “I had to call in the Porter of the Academy to find a caretaker, who had to find a gardener, who used to know someone who once had a key to the Academy undervault before he retired. And then I had to have him practically arrested to bring him here.”
Dribner straightened up and made a show of brushing down his gown. “Well, I’m a busy man, a busy man! You can’t expect me to just drop everything for breakfast with the Empress!” He paused, and sniffed, then clutched the edges of his gown. “Although, on further consideration, Ms. Lurk and I do have much to discuss, so I will on this occasion accept the invitation.”
Emily lifted an eyebrow, then looked at Billie.
“Are you sure he’s the right man?”
“Oh, I’m sure,” said Billie. “And trust me, he’s the only man. Cottings and I have brought a good deal of information about the rifts, and with Dribner’s help we should be able to find a way to close them.”
Cottings cleared her throat, and gave the Empress a small bow. Emily inclined her head, and Cottings turned to Billie.
“What?” Billie asked, looking between the two of them.
Cottings set down the long case she was carrying, then opened it. Nestled within the velvet interior was the Twin-bladed Knife. Cottings went to pick it up, then stopped. Withdrawing her hand, she instead turned the case to Billie.
“We found it on the battleground.”
Billie reached for it with her magical arm. As soon as she touched it, she felt…
Alive.
Awake.
Connected. Not just to the world, but to the Void. It was still there, just further away, but she was still a part of it.
Just like the Knife.
Billie looked up at Cottings. “You never did tell me how we met.”
Cottings smiled. “You’ve got to go get me,” she said. “From years back, when I worked with the Royal Protector.”
Billie understood. Of course. Her other self—her future self. She was… her. Here. Now.
This was the moment. She could use the Knife to travel from one damaged moment to the next, fixing the changes caused by the Void Shadow. Changes that had already been fixed by Billie—the other Billie—only not by her. Yet.
It made her head spin just thinking about it. She looked up at her friends.
“Okay, Martha Cottings,” she said, lifting the blades, feeling the feather-light weight of the artifact. “Tell me where and when, and I’ll go find you.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Christopher is a novelist, comic book writer, and award-winning editor. The author of Seven Wonders, The Age Atomic, and Hang Wire, and co-writer of The Shield for Dark Circle Comics, Adam has also written novels based on the hit CBS television show Elementary for Titan Books. His debut novel, Empire State, was SciFiNow’s Book of the Year and a Financial Times Book of the Year for 2012. Born in New Zealand, Adam has lived in Great Britain since 2006.
Find him online at www.adamchristopher.ac and on Twitter as @ghostfinder.
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ADAM CHRISTOPHER
Empress Emily Kaldwin leads a dual life, fulfilling her duties as empress while training with her father, Corvo Attano, mastering the arts of stealth, combat, and assassination. A strange, shrouded figure appears in Dunwall, seeming to possess powers once wielded by the assassin known as Daud. Faced with the possibility that their deadliest foe has returned, Emily and Corvo plunge headlong into a life-and-death race against time. If they fail to learn the truth about this mysterious enemy, the result could be destruction on an unimaginable scale.
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Daud, legendary assassin, has returned to Dunwall, a city in turmoil. He is seeking a mythical weapon, said to have the power to kill the Outsider, and will go to any lengths to find it. But there are those who are watching his every move. Travelling the Isles to complete his mission, Daud will soon discover that old enemies have been waiting for him, and new enemies are easy to make…
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