“Yes. She used to send me off with old crones who regularly competed in the city’s Most Trite and Tedious Conversationalist Contest. Costace said it wasn’t seemly for me to check my watch every three minutes, so I perfected the art of telling time-and knowing when my hours were up-without a clock.”
“It’s amazing that you’re such a noble and compassionate man, considering all the terrible life experiences you’ve endured.” Amaranthe peeked over the coal mound, checking for Sicarius.
“I know,” Maldynado said.
With him, Amaranthe was never certain if he was truly oblivious to sarcasm or if he simply chose to ignore it. She shifted her weight, trying to lessen the discomfort of sitting on lumpy coal for prolonged periods. “As long as we’re here chatting, why don’t you tell me about your brother? Is he-”
“An arrogant, condescending know-it-all who couldn’t be bothered to spit on you to cool you off if you were staked out naked in a scorching hot desert? Yes. Yes, he is.”
“I was going to ask if he’s politically conservative or progressive,” Amaranthe said.
“He’s about as progressive as a rock.”
“How does he feel about Sespian?”
“I haven’t talked to Ravido for five years, and Raumesys was still alive then, so Sespian wasn’t much discussed, but my brother doesn’t approve of anyone with new ideas. He only likes spending time with devoted soldiers who, when they’re deep in their cups, talk about things like duty and honor and the good old days of the empire.”
“I can see why you two might not have gotten along well then,” Amaranthe said.
“I haven’t gotten along well with anyone in my family, not since… Never mind.”
Amaranthe was debating on prying further when a touch on her shoulder startled her. A dark shape slipped in beside her. Sicarius.
She tried to scoot over to give him room, but bumped into Maldynado. “Why don’t you go entertain Yara for a while?” she told him. “She can’t understand Basilard’s signs, so she’s probably missing your charms.” Actually, if Amaranthe read Yara correctly, the woman appreciated the silence and had been relieved when Maldynado and his charms had sat down on the far side of the car. But there wasn’t room for three, and Amaranthe wanted to digest Sicarius’s report without the others around.
“Of that I have no doubt.” Maldynado slipped out of the hollow.
“Find anything?” Amaranthe patted the vacated spot, inviting Sicarius to sit.
“Sespian is in the fourth car back.”
Sicarius sat beside her, keeping a few inches of space between them. Amaranthe thought about scooting over to lean against him-after all, it wasn’t exactly warm in that coal bed with the autumn wind sweeping past-but Maldynado and the others were in sight. A mercenary leader probably shouldn’t be witnessed cuddling up with an employee.
“Is he surrounded by soldiers?” Amaranthe asked.
“Yes.”
“Full car?”
“Very.”
“See any other assassins lurking about?”
“No,” Sicarius said.
Amaranthe wondered if Sicarius would be chattier than this when he came face to face with Sespian. How many years since they had spoken, she wondered. Or had they ever spoken? If Sespian had grown up being afraid of Sicarius, he must have gone out of his way to avoid the dark figure slipping in and out of his halls like an ancestor spirit. Ah, Sicarius, she thought, how much of the angst in your life might have been mitigated if you simply smiled at Sespian and gave him a lollypop when he was a kid?
“Is there anyone with him except for soldiers and bodyguards?” Amaranthe asked.
“A woman. Sixty, sixty-five. She was reading a book. Sespian kept his back to her.”
“Sounds like the woman Basilard described from the athletes’ dinner. She must be his Forge escort to ensure he doesn’t get out of line.”
“Not for long,” Sicarius said.
“Er, don’t you think you’ve killed enough of their people this week? If we turn them into martyrs-”
“She may be the one who put that implant in Sespian’s neck,” Sicarius said. “She may be the one who has the power to kill him if he goes astray.”
“She may simply be along for the ride.”
“I’m not risking that.” Nothing in Sicarius’s tone suggested she could persuade him otherwise.
Amaranthe sighed. “Be careful then. She may be a practitioner.”
With the darkness shrouding Sicarius’s face, she couldn’t see him giving her a you’re-stating-the-obvious look, but she could feel it.
“I know, you don’t need my advice on how to navigate battles, but women say things like ‘be careful,’ when we mean, ‘I care about you, and I don’t want you to get hurt.’ It’s our way of keeping feminine sentimentality to a minimum. I thought you’d appreciate it.”
Sicarius said nothing to that, though his gaze seemed to soften a tad.
The clouds had blown away, revealing a quarter moon. Amaranthe leaned back against the wall of the rail car and pulled her watch out again. Two and a half hours to the pass. “Maybe… once we have Sespian on our side… we can help him fix the empire and turn it into a place where you don’t feel compelled to kill people anymore.”
Sicarius sat back against the wall as well, this time letting his shoulder touch hers. “What would I do for a living?”
Amaranthe squinted at him, suspecting him of making one of his oh-so-rare jokes. With all of his skills, he could qualify for countless jobs. “I understand Maldynado is still acquainted with that lady who runs the male escort service. With your physique and agility, you ought to be able to entertain her clients effectively.”
“At what rate of payment?” he asked in his usual monotone.
The prompt and unexpected response made Amaranthe fumble her watch and drop it. Now, she knew he was joking. She thumped him on the arm and said, “Never you mind. If we fix the empire, you’re not entertaining anyone except me.”
Sicarius picked up the watch and pressed it into her hand. The warmth of his fingers brushing hers made her think of… Well, she wasn’t thinking of the mission.
Something clanked at the end of the coal car, and Amaranthe jerked away with a start. Had that been a door opening?
She sank deeper into their hollowed valley. Sicarius stayed low, but he shifted into a crouch.
“Corporal Kevelak?” someone called from the door to the first passenger car. “You up there?”
Across from them, Maldynado stirred as well. Amaranthe lifted a hand, hoping he saw it and wouldn’t take any action. She didn’t want anyone thinking it would be a good idea to impersonate the corporal. Nothing in the soldier’s voice sounded alarmed. For all he knew, his comrade had gone to water a bush and been left behind in Forkingrust. Amaranthe had a feeling the army would do a thorough search, but she hoped it would take time. It’d be far better for her plan if they could wait until the train reached the pass and the distraction of the blocked railway before her team had to make its move.
“You seen Corporal Kevelak, Sergeant?” the soldier called, louder this time. From the sound of his voice, he had poked his head over the lip of the coal car.
“What?” someone bellowed from the side door of the locomotive cab.
“Corporal Kevelak! Is he up there?”
“Not since we left Forkingrust,” came the return call.
“He was here, though, right? He handled the refueling?”
“Yes.”
After a moment, the door clanged shut again. The soldier had gone back inside, but whether to search for his colleague or alert a superior that something was going on, Amaranthe didn’t know.
She leaned close to Sicarius to ask him his opinion, but his hand covered her mouth as soon as she opened it. She squeezed his arm to let him know she understood the message. Be quiet.
Amaranthe tried to hear or sense whatever he’d heard or sensed. Wind blasted past the train, and the mounds of coal beneath her reverberated in synch with the wheels pumping below. She couldn’t detect anything out of place, but, from Sicarius’s vigilant posture, she assumed someone was coming from the other side.