Lindsay Buroker - Deadly Games

As she crunched along the park’s main gravelpathway, she vowed to enjoy the summer evening. She inhaled thefloral scents that wafted from flower baskets hanging fromlampposts alongside the path. She passed a group of teenage boyscompeting at draftball in a sandy arena while younger childrenplayed hide-and-seek amongst the tall, dense shrubs of theEmperor’s Maze.

Deret had suggested they meet at LookoutVista at the center of the park, but she spotted him beforereaching the base of the hill. He leaned against the waist-high lipof a fountain. Above him, Vlem the Valiant held a sword aloft, anda curtain of water streamed from the granite blade. Amaranthesmirked, thinking of Maldynado’s concern about a statue being madeof him swimming up a squid’s hind-end. That wouldn’t likely makecenter stage in an imperial park.

“Good evening, Ms. Lokdon.” Despite havingthe sword stick in one hand, and a bulging canvas tote in theother, Deret performed a graceful bow. He wore a sleeveless tunicthat accentuated muscular arms, which he managed to display nicelyduring the greeting. “You are looking lovely this evening.”

The suave greeting was somewhat diminishedwhen the head-sized draftball from the boys’ game sailed into thefountain, sending a splash of water into Deret’s face. He steppedaway and awkwardly rearranged his belongings so he could wipe hisspectacles with his shirt. A nervous boy trotted up to retrieve theball amongst numerous utterances of, “Sorry, my lord.”

“Good evening, Lord Mancrest,” Amaranthe saidto rescue the boy from any backlash, though Deret did no more thangive the lad a faintly peeved glance.

“Please, call me Deret. Now that you’ve hadme at your mercy a couple of times, I feel you’ve earned the rightto call me by my first name.” He winced. “That sounded arrogant,didn’t it?”

“Yes, but I’m used to that from warrior-castetypes. I’ve been working with Maldynado for several monthsnow.”

“He’s…not exactly someone to whom I’d wishto be compared.”

“Because he’s disowned?”

“Because he’s Maldynado .”

“Ah.” Good answer.

“May I call you Amaranthe?” Deret looped thetote over his opposite wrist, eliciting a clinking of glasswarewithin. He gripped his sword stick with the same hand and offeredAmaranthe his free arm.

“Yes, though you’ve been particularlytroublesome, and I’m not sure you’ve fully earned the rightyet.” She smiled to let him know she was joking and accepted hisarm. Sadly, she could not remember the last time a man had offeredher his arm. Though she appreciated the gesture, a twinge of guiltran through her, as if she were betraying Sicarius. But this wasjust a dinner related to work. A chance to further their cause.Besides, it was not as if Sicarius had given her reason to hopeanything might happen between them.

“You’re most kind.” Deret guided her towardthe path leading up the hill to Lookout Vista. “I’m glad you came.I wasn’t certain you would after you read the article in TheGazette . I’m sorry it said so little about you and so muchabout the bravery of those on the Saberfist . I could onlyreport what I witnessed with my eyes. I know you and your team weredown there and may have been the ones responsible for destroyingthat strange ship, and the kraken as well, but…”

“It’s fine,” Amaranthe said. “You mentionedus, and you didn’t imply we were behind everything.” It was nothingshort of their most visible triumph yet.

“Still,” Deret said, “I’d like to hear yourstory and about everything that happened. Maybe we could do aninterview for the paper.”

“I’d be happy to tell you about it, butperhaps it’d be better for us-and your health-if you didn’t comeout too openly in favor of my team.”

“My health?” He frowned.

“You’ve heard of a group called Forge?”

Deret’s jaw tightened. “Yes.”

“We’ve irked them a couple of times, and itsounds like they had an interest in this venue, too.” They hadreached the crown of the hill, offering a view of the lake beyondthe trees and warehouses, and she nodded toward the sunset-streakedwater to indicate the laboratory vessel. It had sunken back to thebottom as soon as the athletes were pulled out. She had thought the Saberfist might want to salvage it, but the marines hadseemed happy to have it disappear. It would be hard to continuedenying the existence of magic with a ship full of evidence to thecontrary. She wondered what Sespian thought of the whole event.

“I’m not one to run from a threat.” Deretthumped his sword stick into the gravel path and grimaced at it.“Or hobble from a threat either.”

“But if you have a facade of neutrality, oreven come out in favor of business in the capital, then you won’tlikely be targeted, and you’ll have an easier time gettinginformation from various enemy sources. Perhaps you could evenshare some of that information.” She gave him her best winsomesmile.

“Ah, so you want your own personal spy at The Gazette ?”

“Are you offering to work for me?” Her smilebroadened.

“Er, no. I mean…” He poked at the gravelwith his sword stick. “You’re good, you know that, right? Since theday I met you, it’s been hard for me to think of you as an enemy tothe empire.”

“That’s because I’m not an enemy tothe empire.”

They reached the top of the hill where stonebenches waited for those wishing to watch the sunset. A meditationpit and a pair of wrestling rings occupied the area too.

“No, it’s because you don’t seem like… Youknow those sexy, dangerous women who you can tell just want tomanipulate you to their own ends? You don’t seem like that atall.”

Amaranthe raised an eyebrow at him.

Deret stopped. “What?”

“You said I wasn’t sexy. I hope you weren’texpecting a kiss tonight.”

“Oh! I didn’t mean, uhm…” His bronze skintook on a suffused hue that matched the crimson warblooms in theplanters framing the benches. “I just meant you seem nice. Andwholesome.”

“ Wholesome? ” This time both of hereyebrows flew up. “That’s what my father used to say aboutbroccoli.”

“Wholesome isn’t bad,” Deret said. “I like wholesome.”

“Hm.”

He set the tote on a bench, withdrew ablanket, and spread it on the sand of the meditation pit. Deret wasavoiding her eyes, and his cheeks were redder than ever. He removeda bottle of apple wine, glasses, a covered dish, and slices offlatbread for dipping in oil.

He cleared his throat. “This kiss, was thaton your mind for tonight?”

“Uhm.” Amaranthe had only blurted it out as ajoke. She could easily see liking Deret, but more? Maybe thatwouldn’t be so bad. Being with someone who would take her onpicnics to parks and share laughs with her…. It was not as if shecould see Sicarius ever doing those things. Dear ancestors, she hadnever even gotten a true smile out of him. “Let’s just see if wecan make it through the evening without you trying to turn me overto some marines.”

“That sounds like a good start.”

Deret maneuvered himself onto the blanketwith a faint wince, and she sensed irritation in the stiff way heset the sword stick aside. Though war wounds were common in thebattle-seeking empire, he was young to have to deal with apermanent disability. He converted the wince into a smile andlifted a hand, inviting her to join him.

She sat cross-legged beside him.

“So,” Deret said as he dug out a corkscrew,“are you going to give me the full story of what happened downthere, or am I going to have to go into aggressive interviewermode?”

“Does an aggressive interview involve threatsand punches?”