shaman will figure out after about two seconds of talking with him. Why assume we’d risk our butts to get him back?”
“Because that’s what friends do for each other.” Amaranthe rotated her head to find Basilard, wondering if he would continue to keep things from her with Books’s life at stake. “Will you have a problem battling a countryman to get Books back?”
Basilard gazed at the dam, but not for long before shaking his head. I wouldn’t help someone who harnesses makarovi. Who kills.
Amaranthe pointedly did not mention Basilard’s own record of kills, but his lips twisted wryly, as if he guessed her thoughts.
The wryness shifted to sadness. I wouldn’t help me either.
“Sorry,” she said.
Maldynado lifted a finger. “I’m confused.” He paused, glancing around, almost as if he was waiting for Books to insult him. “Why would the shaman want us to start with? Unless he’s after bounties, but if he can make something like that-” he waved toward the defunct artifact in the lake, “-he could earn a million ranmyas legitimately. Well, legitimately outside the empire.”
“There are other reasons to want someone,” Amaranthe said.
“But he could have had us when you were unconscious and I was concentrating on healing on you,” Akstyr said. “He had Books helpless and just would have had to go through Maldynado and Basilard.”
Maldynado propped his fists on his hips. “ Just? Basilard and I are burly and formidable.”
“What were you able to do against that wizard, Arbitan?” Akstyr asked.
Amaranthe watched Sicarius while the men argued with each other. Where had he been during Books’s kidnapping?
“I don’t recall,” Maldynado told Akstyr. “My face was busy being scrubbed by his carpet.”
“May I have a moment alone with Sicarius?” Amaranthe asked.
Maldynado arched his eyebrows. “Shouldn’t you surround yourself with pleasant things when you’re healing?”
As Sicarius stepped to Amaranthe’s side, he fixed a glare on Maldynado, who threw his hands up and backed away. Akstyr shrugged and went down to the water. Basilard-the one she most wanted out of earshot- picked up a spyglass and joined Akstyr.
“Where were you during all this?” Amaranthe asked when Sicarius crouched beside her.
“In the dam, looking for the shaman.” His dark glare returned to Maldynado. “I was told he was in there.”
“I agree with Maldynado that it’s strange this fellow would take Books as bait for one of us, but these Mangdorians have made it clear they want you.”
“This whole plot would not have been conceived to get at me.”
She checked on Basilard. Too far away to listen in on their conversation, he was scanning the opposite shoreline with the spyglass. Maldynado sat on a stump, ears turned toward Amaranthe and Sicarius. Though she was not sure he was close enough to hear, she caught his eye and waved for him to move farther away.
“Maybe the shaman isn’t worrying about his partners or the water scheme at this point,” Amaranthe said. “Maybe, with you in his sights, he’s changed focus. He could have taken Books, hoping you’d come for him or that Books would provide information on you.” When Sicarius did not respond, she lifted a hand, palm up. “Either way, we have to find the shaman and get Books back.”
“He could be anywhere,” Sicarius said.
“Not if he wants you to find him.”
“I can’t track teleportation,” Sicarius said.
“He has a hideout.”
A beat passed, but Sicarius remembered without prompting. “The enforcer sergeant did not tell you where.”
“No, but she’s on her way back with reinforcements, right?”
Maldynado ambled over. “You two done being private and secretive yet?”
“No,” Sicarius said as Amaranthe said, “Yes.”
Maldynado took that as an invitation to sit down.
“She’s on her way back with reinforcements,” Sicarius said. “Probably a company or two from the garrison. She’ll be surrounded.”
“I just need a few minutes with her.”
“You need to rest,” Sicarius said.
“I agree with him,” Maldynado said. “Did you see yourself when you were unconscious? You looked dead.”
“We need to talk to her,” Amaranthe said.
“I will question the woman,” Sicarius said.
“No!” Amaranthe tried to sit up, but agony ripped through her belly, and she flopped back with a hiss. “No. Sicarius, you’re, uhm, I appreciate your willingness to help, but diplomacy isn’t your biggest strength.”
“I wasn’t going to be diplomatic.”
“I know, and therein lies the problem. When they get back, I need to go. We’ll take it slow, wait for nightfall. Sneak in, chat, then leave. No problem.”
“Five minutes,” Sicarius said.
“What?”
“How long you lasted acquiescing to my wisdom.”
“Oh.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “Are you sure it wasn’t closer to ten?”
• • • • •
Raindrops pattered on the forest floor. Cold water dripped from the branches and splashed onto Amaranthe’s neck, dribbling under her collar. The stink of burning coal hung over the lake and irritated her eyes and nose. The soldiers had brought a caravan of steam vehicles this time.
Though she leaned against Sicarius for support, her abdomen and back stung with each slow, carefully placed step. Sweat bathed her face, and she breathed through gritted teeth. Under other circumstances, she might have appreciated the heat of Sicarius’s body and the corded muscle beneath his sleeve, but she was busy distracting herself from her discomfort by mulling over what she planned to say to Sergeant Yara. Should she explain the whole story? Everything that had happened since last they talked? No, best to keep it succinct. It was unlikely Amaranthe would get more than a few minutes with Yara, if that. Let the woman research on her own and form her own conclusions.
Sicarius steered her away from a route that would have ended with her crashing into a tree. “We’re close,” he said in a tone that implied paying attention would be good.
“We sure this is a good time to infiltrate their camp?” Maldynado asked softly. He, Akstyr, and Basilard gathered close.
All around the lake, lanterns glowed as soldiers searched the area in pairs. Campfires burned ahead, and Amaranthe could make out the outline of tents through the trees. Many more tents than had been there previously.
“Must be nice to get paid to show up after all the work’s done,” Akstyr said.
“Not all the work,” Maldynado said. “We’ve got to get Booksie back.”
Amaranthe smiled. For all that those two sniped at each other, Maldynado actually seemed to consider Books a friend. She was not sure Books reciprocated that feeling, but perhaps he would one day.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s a shame the soldiers are too late for the fun. I wonder…”
“What.” Sicarius’s tone did not make it sound like a question.
“Nothing. Let’s find Sergeant Yara.”
“Back to my original question,” Maldynado said. “Shouldn’t we wait until everyone is sleeping? These people are…” He lowered his voice as a pair of soldiers trod past twenty meters ahead. “These people are looking for trouble.”
“Yes, but most of them are outside of the camp,” Amaranthe said. “If they’re still worried about the makarovi, Sergeant Yara will likely be inside.” Unless the soldiers left the enforcers behind when they decided to
