Deadly Games

CHAPTER 14

Though darkness had fallen hours earlier,light crept beneath the door of Deret Mancrest’s flat. No lampsburned in the hallway outside.

“He stays up late for a respectable newspaperman,” Amaranthe said.

“Maybe he’s entertaining,” Maldynado said.“Though I’d expect more thumping and moaning if that were thecase.”

Books was not there to glare at him.Amaranthe had sent him and Akstyr to slip into the library andresearch krakens-specifically how to kill them-and check forinformation on underwater habitations as well, though she doubtedthey would find anything there. She did not think the technologyexisted to create something like that without the mental sciences,and the curators of the imperial libraries would never put booksdiscussing otherworldly construction on the shelves. Not if theyvalued their necks.

“Be ready. He answers the door with a swordstick.” Amaranthe knocked.

“Naturally,” Maldynado said.

Shuffling sounds came from within, along witha noisy yawn that could have woken half of the building. A momentlater, the door opened. Mancrest stood inside, leaning on his swordstick, his tall form limned by candlelight coming from behind him.Papers scattered a desk, as well as a couple of quills and anold-fashioned ink jar.

Mancrest gaped at them, though he dismissedMaldynado with a glance and focused on Amaranthe. She tensed,expecting a barrage of imprecations.

“Ms. Lokdon!” he blurted.

“Yes….” She tried to judge his tone, butcould only read the surprise. Given the hour, that was hardlyshocking.

“Hello. I didn’t expect you.” Mancrestwinced. “That’s obvious, isn’t it? What time is it? Aftermidnight?” He peered at a clock perched on a fireplace mantle. “Itis. Huh.”

“Does he seem scattered to you?” Amaranthewhispered to Maldynado.

“His shirt buttons aren’t in the wrong holes,so I don’t think he’s been entertaining,” Maldynado whispered back,then he raised his voice. “Have you been drinking, Deret?”

“What? No?” Mancrest rubbed his eyes andyawned again. “Just been up. Thinking.”

Amaranthe fought back a yawn of her own.

“Come in, come in.” Mancrest shuffled to thetable in sandals that slapped the wood floor with each step. Theneighbors below probably loved that. “Since you’re here,” he said,“I might as well…” He poked through papers. Some were empty, somehad a line or two on them, and some had more. A few crumpled ballsoccupied a nearby waste bin. “No, that’s awful. Ugh, what was Ithinking there?” He discarded those two pages and surveyed others.“No, I was closer on a previous draft. Uhm…this one isn’tentirely horrible. It’ll have to do.”

Amaranthe exchanged eyebrow raises withMaldynado while Mancrest folded the selected page with care. Heplaced it in an envelope, melted the end of a wax stick over acandle, and sealed the missive with a smudge. He tugged on a goldenchain around his neck, pulling a flat, oval signet out. Mancrestpressed it into the wax, leaving the image of a soldier holding asword aloft-his family’s crest.

Amaranthe was about to interruptletter-crafting time-they had important matters to discuss-whenMancrest straightened, marched the envelope over, and handed it toher.

“Er, what’s this?” she asked.

“It’s in the letter.”

“Did you…want me to read it now?”

Mancrest glanced at Maldynado. “Maybe later.When my ego isn’t around to watch.”

“Definitely drinking,” Maldynadowhispered.

Mancrest was acting strangely, or atleast not in accordance to what she expected from him based onprevious meetings, but no scent of alcohol lingered about him.

“All right.” Amaranthe considered the creamyenvelope. It was too large to stick into a pocket without folding,and she feared it was rude to treat a missive stamped withsomeone’s warrior-caste seal so cavalierly. “Can we talk, LordMancrest? It’s about your brother’s ship, the Saberfist. Andthe missing people.”

Mancrest’s forehead crinkled-had he thoughtshe’d come about something besides business? No, he was probablysurprised to have his brother brought into things. He recovered andwaved them to seats around a gaming table.

“No soldiers waiting to jump out?” Maldynadoslid open the door of a credenza, as if a squad might be hidinginside.

“Not this time.” Mancrest smiled. “I wasn’texpecting you.”

Amaranthe slid into a seat and launched intothe story, sharing not only the information on the underwaterstructure, but everything that had led them to discover it. Whenshe admitted to the garbage vehicle destruction, Maldynado chokedand thrust an accusing finger her direction, claiming she“ practically forced me to drive at knife point.” Amaranthe swattedhis finger away and continued on. She wanted to be honest since thehead of The Gazette would have the resources to tease outany truths she left untold-especially truths that involved arsonsand collisions. Mancrest merely stared at her through therecitation.

When she finished, he leaned forward, peeringinto her eyes from different angles.

“I believe,” Maldynado said, “he’s nowwondering if you’ve been drinking. Or worse.”

“No.” Mancrest leaned back. “I just wasn’tsure… Well, I don’t know you that well, so I don’t know whenyou’re joking.”

Amaranthe resisted the urge to tell him thathe would know her better by now if he had not been so insistent ontrying to apprehend her.

“No joke,” she said. “I don’t know if they’llattack the Saberfist or not, but this is a threat to Stumpseither way, and your brother’s ship is best equipped to deal withit.”

Maldynado leaned close to her and whispered,“If they deal with it, what will we do? We’resupposed to solve the problems and get credit, right?” Whisper ornot, his aside was loud enough for Mancrest to hear.

“What’s important,” Amaranthe said, liftingher chin and meeting Mancrest’s eyes, “is that the threat to theempire is vanquished. Who gets credit is immaterial.”

Besides, her plan should let her team comeout as heroes to people who mattered-those trapped in the submergedstructure. She brushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear,using the movement to hide a covert wink for Maldynado.

“The good of the empire,” Maldynado said.“Right, right.”

Mancrest stroked his jaw. “I’m not sure whowould believe this story, but my older brother was a younglieutenant during the Western Sea Conflict, and he’s seen magicbeing used. He knows the imperial stance is propaganda. But, youmight not get a chance to tell your story. He and all his marineswould be duty-bound to apprehend you as soon as you stepped aboardhis ship.”

“I wasn’t planning to talk to him.”She smiled at Mancrest. “I was hoping you would.”

“Oh. Yes, of course. I should have realizedmore prompted this late night visit than an interest in sharing atip for the paper.”

“I wouldn’t interrupt your sleep-” Amarantheglanced at the envelope, “-or midnight scrivener aspirations forsomething that wasn’t important.”

“Yes,” Maldynado said, “she’s not youraverage girl who shows up in the middle of the night to ply youwith wine and sex in the hopes of being impregnated with awarrior-caste scion that your family would feel obligated to helpraise, and, oh, maybe there’d be a stipend for the mother aswell.”

“Surely, that’s not your idea of anaverage girl,” Amaranthe said, though Mancrest’s ruefulsmile might have meant he had experienced similar situations. “Areyou willing to meet your brother at the docks in the morning?” sheasked. “If he’s been gone on a long voyage, he’ll doubtlessly beeager to reunite with family and hear about what’s been going on intown. And the lake.”

“Doubtlessly,” Mancrest said dryly. “Thougheven with his ecumenical background, I don’t know if he’ll believeany of this. Especially from his little brother, the writer, wholoved to tell stories as a boy.”

“He doesn’t need to accept it as fact basedon words alone. I’ll give you the location. You just need toconvince him to float over there and send divers down to take alook.”

“And get eaten by a kraken?”

“Well-trained military men know how to takesuitable precautions, do they not?” Amaranthe hoped Books wouldcome up with a tactic to use against the kraken, but she knew verywell she might be endangering lives with her request. If that waswhat she had to do to get her men back and rescue the captives, sobe it.

Mancrest sighed. “Why do I have a feelingworking with you will cause me as much trouble as trying to captureyou did?”

“That’s a given,” Maldynado said.

Amaranthe merely folded her hands on thetable and smiled agreeably. Mancrest had given in; there was noneed to cajole him further.

Her smile faded a few minutes later when shewas standing beneath a streetlamp, reading Mancrest’s note.

Ms. Amaranthe Lokdon,

I have treated you unfairly, and for that Iapologize. I had plenty of time to think over my behavior when Iwas failing to reach those keys and waiting for the soldiers towake up and…rescue me. Yes, that’s what it was, and I mustconfess it. For the second time, you left me helpless…butunharmed, though I deserved worse for trying to apprehend youwithout listening to your story or researching your situation.

I have done so now, and though I do notbelieve all the facts are out there to be discovered, I suspect youdeserve to be exonerated. Of course, I am not in a position togrant you that, but I am open to listening, if you are stillinterested in sharing. You have no reason to trust me, but if youwill give me another chance, I’d like to take you for a picnicdinner in the Imperial Gardens. I’ll understand if you bring yourbodyguard (but I hope you won’t).

To the peace after the war,

— Deret

“Guess you wooed him after all,” Maldynadosaid.

Amaranthe twitched, jerking the paper away.She had not realized he had been reading over her shoulder.

“I thought there was no hope for therelationship once you dropped the keys in the pyramid hallway andleft him locked up.” Maldynado reached over her shoulder and tappedthe page. “I agree. If we’ve got Sicarius back by then, leave himbehind. He’ll kill the sunset-picnic-mood faster than a swarm ofmosquitoes.”

“You know, people like privacy to readletters.” Amaranthe returned the page to the envelope. She had toomuch else on her mind to worry about Mancrest’s words. “Let’s checkon Books and Akstyr. We need a way to defeat that kraken.”

“You mean the plan isn’t to use the marinesas bait while we sneak in from below?”

“It is, to an extent. I do want the soldiersthere as a distraction, so nobody will notice us walking up in ourdiving suits, but I don’t want them getting mauled either. We needto kill the kraken.”

“No chance you can woo it with your tongue,huh?” Maldynado asked.

“Judging by our previous encounter, I thinkit’d be more likely to pull my tongue out, wrap it around my bodylike bacon, and swallow me whole.”

“Such imaginative imagery.”

“I get creative when I haven’t had anysleep.”

“The next few hours should be interestingthen,” Maldynado said.

“Likely so.”