She deemed the clearing the most likely meeting place and tugged Maldynado into a shadowy nook where they could observe.
At midnight, voices sounded, accompanied by the clanking of mail armor. Amaranthe tried to count the people based on the sounds of their footfalls, but there were too many. Sicarius would know. He would probably know not only the numbers but the height and weight of each man. She wished she had him at her side, stern and dangerous as he glared at her foes.
Before she could decide whose troops approached, another collection of voices and clanking armor arose from the other side of the yard.
“You weren’t supposed to tell them to bring armies,” Maldynado whispered in her ear.
“I didn’t. Considering they’re both committing treason, I didn’t think they’d want to involve many people. Seems they’re more paranoid of each other than of revealing their secrets.”
The two parties entered Amaranthe’s vision. They met in the cleared space and faced off, Hollowcrest on one side, Larocka and Arbitan on the other. Fifteen to twenty armed fighters backed each party. They bristled with swords, muskets, and pistols. Apparently, neither side was concerned about the legality of the weapons choices. Several men carried lanterns as well, which illuminated the clearing but left the junk piles in the shadows.
“Sorry, Hollow,” Arbitan said with none of the respect the office of Commander of the Armies required. “You weren’t willing to put into place any of our reasonable requests, and we’ve decided the emperor must die. The Strat Tiles have already been laid, so it’s too late for whatever scheme you’ve thought up.”
“What are you talking about, you power-hungry commoner?” Hollowcrest glared. “You’re the one who wanted a meeting.”
The two men fell silent, staring at each other, gazes more frigid than the surrounding air. Larocka, arm-in-arm with Arbitan, whispered something in his ear.
A howl sounded in the distance. Amaranthe recognized it immediately. Arbitan’s lips curved into a disconcerting smile.
Amaranthe nudged Maldynado, cleared her throat, and approached the circle of light.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” She wanted to surprise no one, especially not the nervous guards with firearms, so she kept her movements slow. “I’m the one who sent the messages, Amaranthe Lokdon. Please forgive my presumptuousness, but I needed to speak with all three of you together.”
She paused at the edge of the light, making the third point of a triangle between herself, Hollowcrest, and the Forge duo. Sword drawn, Maldynado guarded her back.
“Aren’t you dead yet?” Hollowcrest asked, sounding far more annoyed than intrigued by her declaration.
“Indeed, I thought the enforcers I tipped off had slain you.” Arbitan sniffed and added, “What do you want that you didn’t find snooping around our house?”
A flicker of surprise crossed Larocka’s face at Arbitan’s words, but she recovered quickly and joined the two men in glaring at Amaranthe.
“I don’t think they like you,” Maldynado whispered.
Amaranthe waved him to silence. She had to lay out her proposition quickly, before one of the guards decided to fire a musket ball into her chest.
“I want the emperor to live—free of drugs—and be permitted to do the job the people depend on him to do. In order to ensure my wishes are fulfilled, I’ve printed five million ranmyas in counterfeit bills.”
Closer to two million.
“If you do not cease your manipulations—” she looked at Hollowcrest, “—and drop your assassination plans—” a look at Arbitan and Larocka, “—I will flood Stumps with this fake currency, and I will continue to make more until the entire monetary system of the empire is devalued. Hyperinflation will destroy the economy. If you kill me tonight, it will change nothing. My team will carry on.”
Doubtful
. “Even now, men are guarding the money. They will begin distributing it at dawn if I do not return and countermand the order.”
And finish with a lie.
Would any of them believe her?
A furrow between Hollowcrest’s lowered eyebrows suggested concern. Larocka wore an open-mouthed, appalled expression. The smug condescending smile on Arbitan’s face never wavered.
Amaranthe shrugged her knapsack off her shoulder and tossed it between the two parties. “To prove what I say is true, I’ve brought a small sample of my work. The paper isn’t quite the same, but every time we’ve used the bills, they’ve passed easily.” Well, Akstyr managed to buy pastries once.
Hollowcrest eyed the bag as if it writhed with live snakes. “You crawled out of my dungeon half-dead—no,
dying
—less than two weeks ago. You haven’t had time.”
“It’s amazing what a good team can accomplish,” Amaranthe said.
“What team?” Hollowcrest demanded. “You had nothing. I turned the enforcers against you. We confiscated everything in your apartment. You’re lying.”
Amaranthe extended her hand toward the bag. Any satisfaction she might have felt at Hollowcrest’s disbelief was dashed by the amusement on Arbitan’s face. Larocka looked alarmed at the prospect of economic upheaval, but Arbitan…pleased. If he was bluffing, he was doing an utterly convincing job.
Why do I get the feeling he’s not fighting in the same ring as the rest of us?
“Let’s see if this young lady is in earnest.” Arbitan sauntered forward and plucked up the bag. He shuffled through its contents, withdrew a bill, and examined it near a lantern. “Excellent forgeries. I’d estimate at least thirty thousand ranmyas here.”
“We can’t let this happen,” Larocka said. “My investments—most of them are in Turgonia. Even global commerce would be affected. The imperial ranmya is the world’s anchor currency!”
“Nothing’s going to happen,” Hollowcrest said. “I’ve read the woman’s record; she’s not going to do anything illegal.” He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. Good.
“You’re wrong, sir,” Amaranthe said. “It’s true you have forced me to do something I would have once never considered, but I believe in what I’m doing. Illegal or not, I
am
committed.”
“How noble for you,” Arbitan said.
A faint click sounded on one of the nearby junk heaps. A crossbow quarrel zipped out of the darkness and struck Arbitan’s chest.
The air in front of him shimmered, and the bolt bounced off, as if it had hit metal.
Instead of crying out in pain or being thrown back, Arbitan merely smiled.
Hollowcrest’s eyes grew round. Amaranthe grimaced; it seemed her suspicions about Arbitan being a wizard were correct. But who had fired the shot? Sicarius?
“Emperor’s blood,” Maldynado whispered. “How are we supposed to—”
“Basilard!” Arbitan called. “How progresses the hunt?”
Amaranthe glanced around. Hollowcrest, too, searched about, brow furrowed. He waved and his men gathered closer about him.
Soon a reluctant shuffling of footsteps grew audible. Books and Akstyr marched into view, their crossbows and other weapons absent. Behind them came Arbitan’s shaven-headed security man and several more guards. Amaranthe spotted the confiscated weapons in their keeping. Apparently, Arbitan’s men had not found Sicarius. She did not know how much hope to place in that fact. Her plan had failed. What use did he have for her now?
“Take her.” Arbitan jerked his head at Amaranthe.
Guards surged around her.
She tensed, then slumped. Fighting so many would gain her nothing. Except death.
“As you wish,” Amaranthe said. “May I remind you, my men who stayed behind have orders to begin releasing the counterfeits in the morning if I don’t return. Assassinating the emperor and replacing him with some obedient sycophant will do little good if the empire’s economy is suffocating in a sewer. Killing me would be a mistake.”
“Don’t worry, girl,” Arbitan said. “You’ll tell me everything you know before I kill you, certainly enough for me to take over control of your little ploy.”
She noted the words take over instead of stop.
“Boss?” Body tense, Maldynado stood with his knuckles white on the hilt of his sword as the men approached.
“Do nothing,” Amaranthe said.
Arbitan flicked a finger at her, and guards grabbed her. Invasive hands searched for and removed weapons. The guards tied her wrists. The rope bit into her skin, cold and abrasive. She stared at the knots, trying not to see her bindings as the shackles of failure, trying not to feel as if the last two weeks had been for nothing.
Toying with a bit of rope, Arbitan considered Hollowcrest through slitted eyes, as if thinking of taking him prisoner as well. Perhaps Arbitan regarded the odds too even, for he merely said, “I’d get out of the city before the emperor’s birthday, Hollow. We’ve already made arrangements for his capture. You’ll just be in the way after the boy’s death. And I’m sure you know what happens to people who get in the way.”
“Dungeons and death warrants,” Amaranthe growled.
Hollowcrest, Arbitan, and Larocka started arguing, but the guards dragged Amaranthe away before she could hear anything vital.
So glad I could set up a meeting for them….
O
utside the Imperial Barracks, Sespian stood before the steps, shivering beneath his parka. To his left stood Lieutenant Dunn, to his right General Lakecrest. With the hour past midnight, night lay thick about the courtyard, and the gas lights lining the walkways did nothing to warm the air. Sespian did not want to appear restless or nervous, so he did not pace or stamp his feet. He merely balled his fists inside his gloves to keep his fingers from going numb.
“I got the signal,” Dunn said. “Hollowcrest should be arriving shortly. He left a couple hours ago and took fifteen loyal men with him. I have someone following, but I’m not sure yet where he went.”
Arrows of anxiety pierced Sespian’s stomach, but he simply said, “Very well.”
The gate to the courtyard rattled open. Hollowcrest strode through with his men marching behind him. A scowl rode his face, one that deepened when he spotted Sespian.
For a moment, Hollowcrest looked as if he would stride right past, but he stopped when he spotted his loyal general. “What’s going on, Lakecrest? Staff meetings are usually reserved for daylight hours.”
“You won’t be here after dawn,” Sespian said. “In front of these witnesses, I hereby revoke your title of Commander of the Armies and all privileges and rights associated with that rank.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Hollowcrest snapped. “I don’t have the patience for this. Do you know what’s going on out there?” He pointed behind him in the direction of the city. “Powerful people are plotting to assassinate you, and your enforcer girlfriend is making a mess of the economy.”
Sespian stared. Amaranthe? Was that who Hollowcrest had been meeting?
Sespian pushed the thought away. He dared not lose his forward momentum or give Hollowcrest time to think. “You have committed treasonous acts against the throne—specifically drugging me—and your crimes demand death. For your years of loyal service to my father, I’ve decided not to have you killed, but you will leave the Barracks by dawn and Stumps by nightfall. Failure to obey will result in your prompt and permanent imprisonment in the dungeons.”
“I have to collect reinforcements and go deal with Forge.” Hollowcrest waved to his closest men. “Take the boy inside. We’ll discuss his accusations in the morning.”
“I don’t think so.” Sespian lifted an arm and waved two fingers.
Behind him, the front doors opened. Forty armed soldiers jogged out and lined up before Sespian.
“Lakecrest?” Hollowcrest asked.
The old general avoided his eyes.
The sound of footsteps marching over packed snow came from around the side of the building. Hollowcrest looked that direction. Sespian did not. He knew who was coming.
Soldiers, marching in a column two wide, tromped into view, shackles binding their wrists. Men from the loyal-to-the-emperor list led them. They parked the column of prisoners next to the front gate.
Sespian dug in his pocket and withdrew a key ring. He threw it toward Hollowcrest, who caught it and stared at it, eyebrows drawn down.
“The keys to their chains,” Sespian explained. “You can release your men once you’re on the other side of the gate.”
“How did you—” Hollowcrest started but slammed his mouth shut and scowled instead.
Sespian exchanged a triumphant look with Dunn. Without the lieutenant’s help, he never could have arranged this. Knowing he had chosen the right man for the duty thrilled Sespian.
“You’ll regret this,” Hollowcrest said. “By dawn.”
“Is it necessary to be so melodramatic?” Sespian asked. “Whatever business deal you’ve ensconced yourself in, I care not.”
“Fool,” Hollowcrest growled. “If I fail tonight, you’re a dead man, and the empire will be in chaos.”
“We’ll handle it.” Sespian hated to ask Hollowcrest for anything, but curiosity drove him to voice the next question. “How is Amaranthe involved?”
“Since you’re so clever these days, figure it out yourself.”
Hollowcrest strode out of the courtyard, taking his long string of men with him. Guards slammed the wrought iron gate behind them.
General Lakecrest almost looked like he wanted to follow, but after a cool look at Sespian and Dunn, he stomped inside the building.
“That was well played, Sire,” Dunn said. “I wish…”
Sespian looked at the lieutenant and raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Nothing.” Dunn’s face grew masked. “It’s late, Sire. Perhaps you should rest. I can alert you if Hollowcrest makes more trouble.”
After a moment of hesitation, Sespian nodded. “Very well.”
• • • • •
The pair of steam carriages waiting down the block from the scrapyard featured modifications Amaranthe had never seen: massive caterpillar treads instead of wheels. The vehicles stretched longer than usual with room to seat more than a dozen men.
Accompanied by two guards and a driver, Arbitan and Larocka took one steam carriage. The other fifteen guards clambered into the second, forcing Amaranthe and her men to join them. The closed passenger area had a single barred window in the door. Getting in was like crawling into a cave. Or a dungeon cell.