her.
But anyone was already there, standing a few feet away and holding a musket.
“The sign said no trespassing,” the man said, his voice rougher than the pockmarked skin on his face. Though young, he already had lines etched at the corners of his mouth, probably from glowering often. The way he was now.
“Did it?” Amaranthe asked, mustering her most innocent expression. “I didn’t see it.”
“Them.”
“Pardon?”
“ Them. The signs. There are fifteen or twenty around the property.”
“Oh.” Amaranthe smiled. The fellow didn’t look like the type to be impressed by her smile, but at least he hadn’t shot her yet. That was something to feel cheerful about. “Do you work here? Doing research?”
His thick eyebrows drew together, forming a V. “What did I say that could possibly be construed as an invitation to ask questions?”
“When you didn’t shoot me, it was assumed. I’m the curious sort. Aren’t you? You must be if you’re collecting all those specimens in there.” Amaranthe hoped her chatting-burbling, Sicarius would call it-made her seem innocent and innocuous. “Is that what the underwater cart is for?”
The man’s head drew back. “ Cart? ”
“Yes, that black ball on the treads.”
“Woman, that is a UWMTV, a research vessel equipped with the latest imperial technology for underwater maneuverability. A sophisticated wind-up mechanism allows one to turn human energy into ten times the amount of stored energy, sufficient to propel the craft around the lake shallows. It has dual-articulating arms with mechanical hands, suitable for gripping and clipping foliage or scraping samples into bottles. A shock stick holds an electric charge for stunning and collecting ambulatory specimens. It can be applied on nosey trespassers as well.” The man’s glower promised severe repercussions if Amaranthe dared to call it a “cart” again.
“That’s impressive,” Amaranthe said. “Can you truly power something so big with a clockwork mechanism? No furnaces and boilers?” She decided not to mention magic, as that would truly set this man on a rampage, and, from his pride, she could already tell nothing but imperial technology powered the vessel.
“That’s right.”
“How do you transfer the energy? Through a crank?”
His eyebrows rose. “I’m not going to give you instructions on how to steal it and crash it. That’s happened often enough already. Thrice-cursed kids.”
Amaranthe chuckled, though it was a nervous chuckle. After all, she had been thinking of stealing, er, borrowing it herself. “Is that the reason for the signs?”
He grumbled an affirmative under his breath. “Emperor knows, these rural clods wouldn’t be interested in our research.”
“The fish?” Amaranthe asked, still wondering why this facility would be military-funded.
“That’s part of it.” The man lowered the musket so that it no longer pointed at her. “The electrical charge system I mentioned, that came out of studying the eels. My lieutenant does that research. It’s the hot springs and the geothermal system that I work on.”
He eyed her, a question on his face. Maybe he wondered if she might be interested in his specialty. Given the way he’d gone off about the cart, he must be an engineer or something similar.
“Geothermal? Like using nature to create steam that can be used to heat a building or power an engine?”
For the first time, a smile softened his face. “Yes. Want to see my lab?” He pointed at the building.
His willingness to offer a tour to a stranger surprised Amaranthe. She supposed this remote of an outpost, one manned by only two people, didn’t hold itself to the same security standards of a typical army fortification. Perhaps, as well, the rustic townsfolk failed to show interest in his work and he yearned for someone to listen. Realizing he awaited a response, she nodded for him to lead.
“I’m Amaranthe, by the way,” she said as they approached the door.
“Sergeant Pabov.” He faltered when she stepped out of the building’s shadow and into the sunlight. He frowned at her bruises. “What happened to you?”
“I didn’t see someone’s no-trespassing sign.”
Pabov snorted and led the way inside. “That I believe.”
Amaranthe hesitated on the threshold. As soon as Pabov had entered, he’d leaned the musket against a wall, but she had to fight down an uneasy premonition that going into a building with an unknown man wasn’t a good idea. It was an old type of uncertainty, something she hadn’t felt since she’d finished her training as an enforcer and gained the confidence that she could take care of herself in most situations, and she knew she had Pike to blame for it.
Amaranthe clenched her teeth and strode inside. She could still take care of herself. Besides, Pabov had stopped exuding menace during their conversation outside, and she trusted her ability to read when people were and weren’t a threat. That hadn’t changed either, she told herself.
Fortunately, Pabov hadn’t noticed her hesitation. He offered a cursory overview of the specimens in the display cases, nodding to a few unusual frogs, eels, and fish that were only found in the tepid waters of Lake Seventy-three-the only time he lingered was to point out, with the pride of a ten-year-old boy showing off a truly disgusting find, the stuffed body of a fifteen-foot-long “mutant” eel-then he led her to what was obviously his passion. The pipes, tanks, and turbines humming in the back.
Though Amaranthe listened as he explained the technology and what sorts of improvements he’d been working on, she still hoped to spot that key and, every time he looked away, scanned the walls and work benches. A large map tacked above a schematic-filled desk distracted her from the search. It featured the lake and its islands. Amaranthe drifted toward it while making encouraging grunts to keep Pabov talking. She eyed the islands, noting that several had eponymous names such as Deercrest Isle or Dourcrest Cove. She hoped to see one with the name of a Forge founder, or-her spine straightened at the new thought-maybe the Marblecrests had an island, one that might have been loaned out to friends arranging to put certain generals on certain thrones? Unfortunately, only a handful of the seventy-three dots on the map were labeled.
Pabov surprised her by coming up behind her and pointing over her shoulder. Amaranthe jumped. Even though his approach hadn’t been as silent as Sicarius’s always were, and all he was doing was pointing to some of the islands on the map, she had to fight down a nervous urge to skitter out of reach.
“That one, that one, and that one have impressive geothermal facilities on them.” Pabov didn’t seem to notice Amaranthe’s nervous twitch. “They’ve been here longer than the academy’s facility. In fact, we used to lease the one on Dourcrest Cove for research, until Lady Dourcrest decided that having our soldiers roaming around interrupted her terribly important writing.”
“I don’t suppose there’s a Marblecrest Island?” Amaranthe asked, though she doubted allies of Ravido would choose such an obvious meeting spot.
Pabov frowned fiercely.
“Is that a no?”
“There’s one somewhere in the middle, yes, but why are you concerned with the Marblecrests?” His eyes had hardened with suspicion.
“Well, I’ve heard they’re… ” Amaranthe spread her hand, hoping Pabov would take the bait and share what was on his mind. It sounded like he might have heard of the coup and that he disapproved. If so, he might make a useful ally for more reasons than his underwater vehicle.
“Trying to declare the eldest son the next emperor?” Pabov asked. “Yes, they are. From what the papers say, General Ravido Marblecrest is already occupying the capital with his troops, making sure there are lots of men around who are loyal to him. With Sespian dead-”
Amaranthe’s mind hiccupped, and she didn’t hear what Pabov said after that. Sespian dead?
No, Sicarius had said Sespian was alive, that he and the rest of the team had walked away from the crash. Unless Sespian had been killed after Sicarius left the area…
No, she thought again. The papers were wrong. Either accidentally or deliberately. After all, Sespian’s train had been blown up, thanks largely to her. The rest of the world didn’t know he’d survived. Yes, that had to be it.
