Basilard rolled his eyes. There aren’t anywomen around to impress.
He caught a similar eye roll from Mancrest.Maybe the fellow wasn’t so bad after all.
“Maldynado…” Mancrest sighed.
“Look, she’s my boss and a friend, allright?” Maldynado lowered his shirt. “And…” He prodded the dustyclay earth with his boot. “She’s twenty-six.”
Huh? What did Amaranthe’s age have to do withanything?
At first, Mancrest appeared as perplexed, butthen his lips formed an, “Oh.”
“Tia’s age,” Maldynado said. “And realadventurous and quick to smile. She’s a good girl, and she doesn’tdeserve that bounty, and she probably only has it because Sicariusis in the group. She thinks he’s useful, and I guess he is, butnobody’s going to pardon us as long as he’s around.”
Basilard studied Maldynado’s face, wonderingif he might have another ally to turn against Sicarius. Surely ifthe whole group wanted him gone…
“Yes,” Mancrest said. “I wondered about that.If you’re not sleeping with her, is he?”
“Listen, Deret. This isn’t one of thosesmutty Aleeta Dourcrest novels your mother has lying all over thehouse. We’re a professional team of mercenaries. Elite even.Nobody’s sleeping with anybody.” He hesitated and whispered toBasilard. “They’re not, right?”
I don’t think so.
A hint of relief lightened Mancrest’s face,and Basilard thought the man’s interest in Amaranthe curious,especially given that he had tried to turn her over to thearmy.
“Didn’t my mother catch you reading one ofthose novels when you were over to play in the pond with me and mybrother?” Mancrest asked.
“No.”
Mancrest folded his arms over his chest.
“Well, fine, maybe. I wanted to know whatwomen like, and some of that information has proved useful to meover the years.”
Ask what he wants to tell Amaranthe,Basilard signed, hoping to keep Maldynado from wandering offtrack.
“Right,” Maldynado said. “Just tell us whatyou want. We have training to do.”
“You’re not entering an event, are you? Whilenobody is going out of the way to turn you in for that measlybounty, I’m sure if you were right here in front of everybody onrace day, even the enforcers could bestir themselves to walk theten meters to the finish line to lock you up.”
“I’m not racing.” Maldynado pointed atBasilard. “He is.”
“Oh?” Mancrest asked. “No bounty on yourhead?”
Basilard ran his fingers over the scarredflesh of his scalp. The sweat had dried, leaving his skin dusty andwarm beneath the sun. No.
“Surprising. You look…” Mancrest shrugged,perhaps thinking better of offering what could only have been aninsult.
“Thugly?” Maldynado suggested.
Basilard frowned at him.
Maldynado slung an arm over his shoulder.“Basilard’s a good fellow. Only fights when he hasn’t got a choice.And besides, who would waste money putting out a bounty for aforeigner?”
Basilard removed Maldynado’s arm.
“I understand Amaranthe is researching thekidnappings here, too. I want to exchange notes with her,” Mancrestsaid.
“Does that mean you believe what reallyhappened when the emperor was kidnapped?” Maldynado asked.
“It means…sometimes present deeds count formore than past actions.”
Basilard shook his head wistfully, wishingthat were true. Neither man caught his movement. He missed being amore viable part of conversations. He missed…mattering.
“Anyway,” Mancrest said, “I’m interested inwhat she knows about the missing people. Tell her I’d like to meether at-”
“You don’t get to pick any more meetingplaces,” Maldynado said.
“Fine, what do you propose?”
“I’ll tell her you’ll be at Pyramid Park twohours before midnight.”
“That sounds like a good place to get yourhead thumped in and have your purse stolen,” Mancrest said.
“Not with Sicarius around.”
Mancrest snorted. “He’s just as likely tothump my head in as a pack of gang kids.”
“Quit whining. You’re warrior caste, not somedefenseless kitten.” Maldynado pointed a finger at Mancrest’s nose.“And if there are enforcers lying in wait, we’ll know not to trustyou. And you better believe Sicarius will do more than thump onyou, too.”
“Any chance you can tell him he’s notinvited?” Mancrest asked.
“I’ll pass on your message, that’s it.”Maldynado shooed the other man away. “We’ve got training todo.”
As soon as Mancrest left, Maldynado asked,“Think we can trust him?”
Doubtful, Basilard signed.
“Think that’ll keep Amaranthe from meeting upwith him again?”
Doubtful, Basilard signed again, thistime with a wry twist to his lips.
Maldynado sighed. “That’s what Ithought.”
CHAPTER 6
Before they entered the boneyard, Sicariusstopped Amaranthe with a hand on her arm. He pointed at plumes ofblack smoke wafting into the sky ahead of them. Overgrownblackberry bushes and the rusted carcasses of locomotives hid thesource.
“Bonfire?” Amaranthe guessed.
“No. Listen.”
Amaranthe closed her eyes and cocked an earin the direction of the smoke. Despite the homeless and hunted thatcamped in the boneyard, quiet ruled there, except for the cicadasthat favored the trees on the southern end. She and Sicarius wereat the northern entrance, though, closest to the city, and sheheard nothing beyond chirping birds. A working train rumbled by tothe west, following the tracks along the lake and into Stumps.Wait. She listened harder. Maybe that was not a locomotive, andmaybe it was not far enough west to be on the tracks.
“Steam carriage?” she asked. “No, I can’timagine anyone wealthy enough to own one spending time here.Enforcer wagon more likely.”
Amaranthe took a step in the direction of thesmoke, intending to check it out, but Sicarius had not released herarm.
“Don’t you want to investigate?” she asked.“Or did you want to stand here and fondle my arm for a while?”
He released her. “I was alerting you to thepotential of trouble so we could avoid it.”
“So…no interest in arm fondling, eh?”
She expected him to ignore her or perhapssigh. Instead, he said, “Were that my goal, your armwouldn’t be my target.”
Amaranthe blinked. “Why, Sicarius, is itpossible you have a playful side beneath your razor-edged knives,severe black clothing, and humorless glares?”
“I will lead.” Sicarius headed into theboneyard. “Make no noise.”
She was the one to sigh, but she followed himanyway. One day, after they finished their work and made peace withthe emperor, she was going to drag him off some place where itwould be impossible to train and the only acceptable activity washaving fun. She had heard of tropical islands in the Gulf where theinhabitants welcomed everyone with bead necklaces and feasts. EvenTurgonians were supposed to be allowed, so long as they did notcome to conquer.
Sicarius did not choose a direct path to thesmoke. He circled through weed-choked aisles between rows of boxyfreight cars. Nobody stirred in the shadowed interiors, not withenforcers around.
Sicarius climbed the rusty side of an earlymodel locomotive. Salvagers had torn away the siding, removed thewheels, and scavenged any engine parts light enough to carry.
Crouched in the shadow of the smokestack,Sicarius waved for her to come up. She clambered to the top. Theywere closer to the source of the smoke now, and she glimpsed thetop of a steam wagon between rail cars a couple of aisles over. Itgleamed with familiar red and silver paint. Enforcers.
Something clanged, like a baton striking themetal side of a car.
“See any more?” a man called.
“We probably got the wizard already,” cameanother male voice.
“The ones we’ve chained say it’s notthem.”
“Of course they’re not going to admitit, patroller. Not when the punishment is death.”