The Emperor's Edge 3: Deadly Games

The Emperor's Edge 3: Chapter 8 Part 1

Under the light of day, the brick building where Raydevk and his wife lived seemed poorer. Every few minutes, a train chugged through, shaking the ground. Surly men hunkered in doorways, drinking from ceramic applejack mugs stamped with the Three Legged Dog logo, a homely mark for the satrapy’s cheapest distillery. Some said the outfit used the bruised worm-filled apples left in the orchard grass after the other distilleries had their pick.

“Charming neighborhood,” Maldynado drawled after a gaunt old man stepped out of an alley, buttoning his pants. Amaranthe hoped all he had been doing in there was peeing.

As she and Maldynado approached the building, they stayed near the wall, so the wife, Pella, would not see them coming if she glanced out the window.

“This is the kind of place Sicarius takes you for evenings out, eh?” Maldynado added.

“Actually, I took him here,” Amaranthe said. “And got him kidnapped. I’m not a very good date.”

They reached the front door, and Maldynado held it open for her.

“Fortunately, Deret likes an adventure,” he said.

“Is there some reason you’re intent on matching us up?” she asked as they headed up the stairs.

“He’s a good man, mostly, and you’re a good woman, mostly. And he’s in a position to help us reach our goals, so that doesn’t hurt. Maybe he’s not in love with you yet, but I’ll wager you could talk just about any man over to your side, given time. I mean, emperor’s warts, you’ve got Sicarius working for you.”

Her lips twisted into a dry smirk. “Getting people to go along with my schemes and getting men to fall in love with me aren’t the same.”

“Sure, they are,” Maldynado said as they stepped out onto the third floor. “You just make the former your priority. If you tried as hard to woo a man into bed as you did to woo me into joining your mission, you’d never sleep alone.”

Amaranthe speculated on the idea of putting effort into “wooing” Sicarius, but shook the notion from her head. She had more important things to focus on. She hoped Pella had returned home, so she could question her.

Two doors away from the flat, Amaranthe halted and stretched her arm across the hallway to stop Maldynado as well. An uneasy feeling raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

The door to the family’s flat stood open. Gouges marred the wood of the jamb near the lock, and splinters littered the floor beneath.

“Think Sicarius is in there?” Maldynado whispered.

A thump sounded inside, like a drawer closing.

“You think Sicarius would leave evidence of entering or make noises once inside?” she whispered back as she slipped her short sword from its scabbard.

“Er, no.”

She would like to think it was he, that perhaps he’d spent the night tracking the miner, lost him, and come back to question the wife, but Amaranthe doubted it. She eased forward, sword in hand, stepping lightly on the hall’s threadbare runner.

A faint rasp of steel sounded as Maldynado drew his rapier and followed her.

Before she could peep around the doorjamb, footsteps came from within. Heavy footsteps. A scruffy young man strode out, carrying a canvas tote stuffed so full the contents threatened to burst through the material. When he saw Amaranthe and Maldynado, he threw the tote at them and bolted down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Amaranthe turned her shoulder, but Maldynado lunged and caught the bag before it hit her.

“Get him,” she said. “Bring him back.”