Lindsay Buroker - Conspiracy

“Books,” Amaranthe whispered, making a cutting-off motion with her hand. “Let’s focus on the details of how it can be removed, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, yes, I apologize, Sire.”

Though Sespian had grown pale, he said, “No, it’s fine. I want to know everything before I make any decisions.”

“That’s about all I have. Akstyr will have to tell you the rest.” Books shifted to face Amaranthe. “Though I need to talk to you about our flight over here. The pilot Lady Buckingcrest sent with us assaulted me, and there were two men hiding in the engine room who tried to shoot Akstyr when he went down to explore.”

“I see.” Amaranthe dropped her chin into her hand. “Do you think the men might have been along to spy and Akstyr, in stumbling across them, forced them to take action?”

“The pilot wasn’t open to discussing the situation with us, and the other two died in the fight. Akstyr was lucky to survive.”

Amaranthe glanced at Sespian, worried he would frown with disapproval over men being dispatched, whether it was in a fight or not, but whatever he was thinking wasn’t on his face. He’d been much easier to read when he’d been influenced by that drug. Now, he reminded her more of Sicarius, though there was a gentleness to his visage, even when it wasn’t giving anything away.

“Is it possible Maldynado’s lady friend is a member of Forge?” Amaranthe asked Books. “Or one of their allies? And unbeknownst to Maldynado, she sent the men along to hinder us?”

“Perhaps. Or…” Books eyed the open door and lowered his voice. “What if it wasn’t unbeknownst to Maldynado?”

A chill crept in the pit of Amaranthe’s stomach. “What are you saying?”

“He’s the one who directed us to Lady Buckingcrest and this mode of transportation. As I recall, you had another errand you wished him to accompany you on that night, but he insisted that we needed a superior conveyance.”

Sespian’s interest sharpened at this new turn in the conversation. “As a Marblecrest, he could stand to gain much if his family took the throne. If Forge knows you’re between them and success, they might have infiltrated your group with a spy.”

Amaranthe raised both hands and patted the air. “Maldynado’s not a spy. He’s the first man I recruited for my team, and running into him was accidental.”

“Are you certain?” Sespian asked.

“Yes. I was dodging enforcers at the time, and he was wearing a loincloth. Nobody would set something like that up. Since then, he’s been among my most loyal of team members.”

“Well, he would be, wouldn’t he?” Sespian stroked his chin. “An unreliable man would be suspect or in danger of being released.”

“He’s not a spy, Sire. We’ve been through life and death together in the last nine months. He would have gotten fed up and left my side at some point if he didn’t have a very good reason for being there.” Amaranthe glowered at Books, annoyed that he’d brought this up in front of the emperor. Sespian had just met Maldynado and had no reason to trust him yet, but Books ought to know better.

“And what is that reason?” Sespian asked.

“He wants a statue made of himself,” Books said.

“I see,” Sespian said in a tone that meant he didn’t think that was “a very good reason” at all.

Amaranthe sighed. “Let’s wait until we have more evidence before we start accusing comrades of colluding with the enemy. For all we know, those two men followed Books and Akstyr, snuck on board, and were hoping to collect someone’s bounty.”

“That wouldn’t explain why the pilot attacked us,” Books said, “but I’ll agree that there’s insufficient evidence to accuse anyone. Besides, Akstyr might be the one to blame for at least some of our troubles. He has a new bounty on his head, and he told his mother he’d be at Forkingrust or the pass.”

“His mother?” Amaranthe resolved to get the full story from Books, but he’d already said more in front of the emperor than she would have liked.

Someone cleared his throat in the corridor. Basilard. We are approaching a tall mountain, and this boat may need to make a course adjustment.

Books stood, bowed to Sespian with a, “Sire,” and headed for the door.

Also Maldynado is attempting to teach himself how to pilot.

“Dear ancestors.” Books’s calm walk toward the door turned into a sprint.

“Boat?” Amaranthe asked Basilard, in part because the word choice amused her and also because she wanted Sespian to know they weren’t chatting about suspicious things when her people signed back and forth.

No word yet for… Basilard pointed toward the ceiling.

“Not many dirigibles in your mountain homeland, eh?” Amaranthe asked. Though Sespian had other concerns at the moment, it wouldn’t hurt to remind him that Basilard was a foreigner, here helping because he wanted to improve his people’s lot.

Basilard shook his head and lifted a hand for a departing wave.

Shut the door, please, Amaranthe signed. And if you see Sicarius, can you tell him to join us in a few minutes?

After Basilard left, Sespian crossed a finger over his throat and asked, “What’s that sign mean?”

“Ah, that’s the one Basilard made up for Sicarius.”

Sespian grimaced. “I hope you were telling him to have him leave us alone.”

“If you’re left alone with me, I’ll pour all my efforts into convincing you to let us perform this surgery on you and then to use my team as your own personal… emperor’s edge.” Amaranthe felt silly saying the group’s name-Maldynado had teased her about it so often that she’d stopped using it-but maybe it would amuse Sespian.

“Hm,” was all he said.

“Are you thinking of letting us try to remove it?” Amaranthe asked, wanting a feel for where he stood.

“Oh, I’m thinking of very little else. Having the promise of instant death held over my head every day for the last five months has dampened my enthusiasm for my job. In the beginning, I thought I could fight Forge, keep them out of the Barracks and the government, but they have spies everywhere. Knowing they can track me down and end my life at any time has made it difficult to keep up the fight, but if the implant were gone…”

“How did they embed the device to start with?” Amaranthe asked.

“A team of hooded men came into my bedroom one night, held me down, and gagged me. My first thought was that Sicarius had finally come to kill me, but he always worked solo. I didn’t see any of these men’s faces, though the leader was older. He had hard gray eyes, and I could see the hint of a scar under one.”

Amaranthe sat up straighter, but Sespian wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at his lap, and he continued speaking.

“While they held me down, Peadraga, that woman who was with me on the train, strolled in and inserted the device. She didn’t need any tools. She simply laid it on my throat, and it burrowed in while I could do nothing to stop it.” His lips twisted as if he wanted to spit. “I don’t know if my personal guards, who should have been at my door, were Forge’s from the start or were paid to look the other way. Turgonians pride themselves on duty and honor, but it seems there’s little loyalty that can’t be bought. Maybe I’m just not the ruler my father was and people feel they have no reason to risk themselves backing me.” He pushed a hand through his hair.

“That’s not true. You care about the people. They’ll see that one day and appreciate it. You’ve been born into a difficult era, where the empire is trying to reconcile great technological and socio-economic changes with a centuries-old system of government. None of your predecessors had to deal with anything like this. Besides, you’ve yet to have a real chance to rule, so you can’t compare yourself to Raumesys.” Amaranthe realized that what she meant as an encouraging talk sounded a bit like a lecture, so she tacked on a weak, “Sire.”