“You believe Ravido Marblecrest brought the makarovi here and imprisoned them to be unleashed on the Forge people?” Books asked. “Once they’d secured his place on the throne?”
Basilard nodded in grim agreement. He must have been imagining the scenario too.
“Forge is comprised mostly of women.” Amaranthe’s hand strayed toward her scars again before she caught herself. She returned to cleaning the blades. “Makarovi like women.”
“Like,” Yara choked. “That’s not the way I’d put it.”
Gunshots erupted in the distance, drowning out the muffled shouts and general din drifting down the tunnel from the courtyard ahead.
“That’s a despicable plan,” Sespian said and frowned at Maldynado. “Your brother is a monster.”
Maldynado touched his hand to his chest. “Do you hear me disagreeing? I wouldn’t be surprised if Father had a hand in this as well. Anything to assure the family’s place in imperial history.”
Sicarius caught Amaranthe’s hand before she could stand on tiptoes to clean the top part of the drill head. She didn’t plan to fall into it, but supposed she was leaning precariously close to the sharp blades. There was no point in cleaning the machine; she just hated to leave those crusty edges alone. She gave him a sheepish shrug.
“Let someone else deal with eradicating the makarovi,” Sicarius said. “There are soldiers all over the place, and the creatures can be killed by attrition-enough bullets to the head will stop one of them.”
“What about twelve?” Sespian murmured.
“Now would be the time to enact our original plan,” Sicarius said.
“Put people to sleep while they’re defending themselves from man-slaying monsters?” Books balked.
“I climbed out of the hole in the courtyard long enough to assess the situation,” Sicarius said. “The Barracks doors have been barricaded, the shutters on the first floor closed and barred. Many people are inside, and more are on the ramparts, trying to kill the makarovi and keep them from climbing up or escaping into the city. I do not believe any made it into the building.”
“You don’t believe?” Sespian asked. “What if you’re wrong? How many did you see in the courtyard?”
“Two, but I didn’t explore. I had to warn you.” Sicarius met Amaranthe’s eyes. “Currently, there are no barriers between us and the makarovi running around the courtyard. It is only their distraction that has kept them up there, but it’s unlikely there are women on the walls amongst the defenders.”
“No, but there’ll be women inside,” Amaranthe said. “Maids and kitchen helpers if no one else.”
“Yes, one of the makarovi was clawing at the front doors, trying to get inside.”
“Dear ancestors.” Yara started pacing.
Amaranthe would have lifted a fingernail to her lips for thoughtful nibbling, but Sicarius hadn’t released her hand. Given that it was the first time she remembered him holding it with others around, she wasn’t about to yank it away. Alas, it probably represented a concern that she might race off and, at the urging of some foolhardy scheme, put herself into a makarovi’s path, rather than a sudden interest in public displays of familiarity. She squeezed his hand, letting him know she’d had enough of risking herself stupidly, thank you very much. And after the debacle with the Behemoth, she wasn’t in a hurry to risk anyone else either, not without agreement from the rest of her team.
“Any chance our anesthesia will put makarovi to sleep as well as people?” Amaranthe glanced from Sicarius to Books, guessing they’d be the most likely to know, though she was starting to wish Starcrest had sent his daughter along after all. Mahliki had been more than willing to come.
“Unknown,” Sicarius said.
“Entomology is outside my area of expertise,” Books admitted, “though it’s possible. Mammals share some of the same aversions to venoms-a rattlesnake bite will kill a dog as surely as a man. It would, however, take a much larger dose to affect such a substantial creature. If it affected it at all.”
“I think… we need to get inside the building before we decide,” Amaranthe said. “Let the guards on the walls handle the ones outside. They have far greater firepower than we do, and-”
A scrape, then a pattering of earth sounded in the tunnel ahead of them.
As one, everyone stared in that direction. Something knocking dirt loose? Something jumped down into the tunnel? Amaranthe swallowed. A makarovi? More than one?
She pulled her hand from Sicarius’s grasp and signed, How far are we from the courtyard entrance?
Not far.
Any chance, Books signed, that was nothing more than loose earth falling free? Because of all the activity above us?
A heavy thud sounded, followed by more dirt pattering to the ground.
No.
Chapter 16
“Get Yara and Amaranthe into the cab,” Sicarius barked, stepping into the center of the tunnel. He crouched, his black dagger out and ready.
Before Amaranthe could decide if she wanted to object, no less than three sets of hands grabbed her. She was hoisted into the air like a sack of rice, ported into the tight aisle between machine and earthen wall, and stuffed into the cab. She landed on her rump between the back of the steering chair and the furnace. A dead man’s half-severed arm hung over the back of the chair. Amaranthe gulped.
“Let go of-ouch-you oaf!” Yara was deposited next to her.
“Stay,” Maldynado said, his eyes serious, all the lazy humor gone from his tone.
Assuming the order was for Yara, Amaranthe shifted to her feet. Maldynado pointed a finger at her chest, his hard gaze promising punishment if either of them went anywhere. Basilard, Sespian, Books, and Akstyr had already left the side of the cab to join Sicarius in the center of the tunnel.
The familiar musky scent of the makarovi rolled toward them, hanging so thickly in the air now that it stung Amaranthe’s eyes. Someone fired, and two more shots followed, the bangs thunderous in the confined passage.
“We can’t sit in here and do nothing.” Yara scrambled to her feet. She glanced at the door, then at the body in the chair, and decided against jumping out. Yes, she knew what these beasts could do and who their preferred targets were.
“I don’t disagree.” Amaranthe turned around, considering the furnace and coal box. Plenty of fuel remained. If the boiler were cold, it’d take a long time start up, but if Heroncrest’s men had been using the vehicle recently…
More shots fired out front.
“Look out,” came Sespian’s voice.
“Into the hollow,” Sicarius said. “It’ll have a harder time-”
He leaped out of sight, his black knife raised overhead.
“We have to do something,” Yara repeated. “They can be killed, yes, but not without a ton of firepower. More than they have.”
Amaranthe opened the furnace door. The flames had died down, but the embers glowed red and heat bathed her face. “Help me shovel coal.”
A makarovi shriek pierced her eardrums, ricocheting down her spine. It made her want to cringe and crawl under the dead man’s chair. Or maybe crawl into the furnace and shut the door. If not for the burning embers, she might have been tempted.
“I hope that means Maldynado shot its balls off,” Yara growled. There wasn’t a second shovel, but she hurled coal in with her hands.
Amaranthe had to stop her lest they smother the fire with their vigor. She grabbed a bellows and blew fresh oxygen onto the embers. Flames burst to life.
“Take over.” Amaranthe thrust the bellows at Yara and turned to the controls. One of them would have to figure out how to work the machine.