Reckless (Mirrorworld 1)

A few yards away, a group of pine trees grew in front of the rocks. It was so dark under their branches that even as close as this, Jacob couldn't see beneath them.

Jacob leaned over to Will and reached for his arm.

"Follow me to those pines," he whispered to him. "Dismount when I do."

It was time to play some hide-and-seek and fancy-dress.

Will hesitated, but then he picked up his reins and rode after Jacob. The shade under the pines was as black as soot — darkness that, with luck, would conceal them even from Goyl eyes.

"Remember how we fought when we were kids?" Jacob whispered to Will before he dismounted.

"You always let me win."

"That's exactly what we'll do now."

Fox ran to Jacob's side.

"What are you doing?"

"No matter what happens," he whispered to her, "I want you to stay with Will. Promise me. If you don't, we'll all die."

Will climbed out of the saddle.

"I want you to fight back, Will, and it has to look real," Jacob whispered. "We need to end up under those trees."

Then, without warning, he punched his brother in the face.

Immediately the gold in Will's eyes flared up.

He hit back so hard that Jacob fell to his knees. Skin of stone, and a rage that he had never seen before on his brother's face.

Maybe not such a good plan after all, Jacob.

24

The Hunters

Hentzau had reached the ravine at daybreak. The Unicorns grazing in the misty valley beyond had left him with little doubt that Nesser had led them to the right place. However, as the sun sank ever lower, he began to ask himself whether the Jade Goyl had been shot by his brother after all. But then Nesser pointed silently toward the end of the gorge.

They had a girl and a fox with them, just as Threefingers had said. And they had caught themselves a Dwarf. Not dumb. Not even Nesser knew how to get past the Unicorns, but Hentzau had heard rumors that some Dwarfs knew the secret. Be that as it may, Hentzau had no ambition to be the first Goyl to see the Fairies' island. He would rather have ridden through a dozen Hungry Forests or slept with the blind snakes in the depths of the earth. No. He would get the Jade Goyl before he could hide behind the Unicorns.

"Commander! They're fighting each other." Nesser sounded surprised.

What did she expect? The rage came with the stone skin, just like the gold in the eyes, and who would feel the brunt of it first? The brother, of course. Yes! Kill him! Hentzau thought, watching the Jade Goyl through his spyglass. Maybe there have been times when you wanted to do just that, but he was always the older, the stronger. You'll see: The rage of the Goyl more than makes up for that.

The older brother fought quite well, but he didn't stand a chance.

There. He fell to his knees. The girl ran to the Jade Goyl and pulled him away, but he shook her off, and as his brother struggled back to his feet, he kicked him in the chest so hard that he staggered back under the trees. The blackness beneath the branches swallowed them both, and Hentzau was just about to give the order to ride down, when the Jade Goyl reappeared from under the leaves.

He was already recoiling from the glare of the sun, pulling his hood down over his face as he headed toward his horse. The fight had made his step a little unsteady, but he would soon feel how much quicker his new flesh healed.

"Mount up!" Hentzau whispered to Nesser. "Let's catch ourselves a fairy tale!"

25

The Bait

Rocks. Shrubs. Where could they be hiding? How would you know, Jacob? You're not a Goyl. Maybe you should have asked your brother.