Page 80 of Company of Thieves
“Hoo,” I said on a long breath when we trotted down the stairs to the street, feeling the strain of having not wanted to speak lest I mess up Alan’s delicate maneuvering. It was worth it to watch a master in action. “That was intense. Do you think he’ll do what he said he’ll do?”
“Remove his men from Hungary and Austria? Absolutely not. His hunger for power has increased just as the imperator’s has, but he will instruct his people to no longer act as a police force for the Moghuls, which is what will save them in the end.”
“I don’t quite see how,” I said, taking his hand, relishing the feeling of his fingers as they twined around mine.
“The Black Hand is not as feared as the imperator. It is that fear that keeps them in check. Once the threat of the imperator’s destruction of the populace is removed, the people will fight for their freedom, and Etienne will find himself facing a war on two fronts. He is obsessed with Prussia. He’ll choose it over the Hungarian empire.”
“That is some pretty devious thinking right there,” I said, proud of him. “So what’s our next move?”
“We will have to find a way to remove the imperator from the throne. I will admit that I’m at a loss as to how to do that without killing him outright. If I could find some way to spirit him out of the palace ...” He shook his head. “But I don’t see how without using force. I would prefer to do this without bloodshed. Enough lives have been given in my father’s name; I don’t want any more added to that.”
We got into a carriage drawn by two horses, heading toward the outer edges of the city where we had left theNightwing. Across the Danube River, the town of Buda sat, and in the middle of it, like a great spider, the imperator lurked, spinning his web of deceit.
He was no match for Alan, though, and remembering something Jack had told me, I smiled, taking Alan’s hand and rubbing his knuckles against my cheek.
He glanced toward me, his eyes a brilliant deep blue, like the deepest pool of water, so pure I felt like I could dive into them.
“I think, my dashing no-longer-Moghul-prince, I have a solution to your problem. We’re going to have to talk to Jack and Octavia, but I think ... yes, I think it’s exactly what you need.”
He gave me another one of his unreadable looks, but I sat back, pleased with the fact that, at last, I had a place in this world. I had a reason for getting up in the morning, and a part in bettering the world. Life was pretty damned awesome.
Assuming we could work a miracle or two.
I patted my stomach, and explained to Alan my plan.
SEVENTEEN
Alan paused at a seldom-used annex to St. Stephen the Eunuch’s Chapel, glancing around for signs of guards. Down the length of the great, sprawling reddish-tan and gray stone building that dominated the Buda side of the Danube, he knew guards would be posted at entrances that led directly into the castle, but this ...
“This is a side way into the castle, if you will,” he told Hallie in a voice low enough for just her to hear. “It connects to the Emperor’s Staircase, which leads to the imperator’s private apartments.”
“Ooh, a secret passage?” Hallie’s breath tickled his ear, making him wish he were back in bed, having his turn of tying her down and driving her insane with touches and nibbles, and long, long licks of his tongue. “I’ve always wanted to see one.”
“It’s not secret, just never used.” Alan carefully opened the door, wincing when it squeaked a bit, pausing to see if the guards located at the bottom of the stairs heard it.
No sound of alarm reached him. He eased the door open a bit more and stuck his head out. The silhouettes of two guards standing at the outside entrance could be seen reflected on the etched glass door, but the staircase itself was empty.
