The Emperor's Edge 3: Deadly Games

The Emperor's Edge 3: Chapter 5 Part 1

An ice wagon trundled across the grounds, selling blocks to vendors who turned them into chilled tea and strawberry juice. Amaranthe thought about buying a glass of the latter, but the midday sun left few shadows for wanted women to hide in. Clad in white athlete togs again, she was sitting on a bench on the edge of the grounds with a wide-brimmed sun hat pulled low over her eyes while she waited for Fasha to meet her. Sicarius had pointed out that night meetings would be safer, but Amaranthe wanted to listen in on the local gossip. The trail leading from the stadium to the baths and barracks wound past her perch, and she had already overheard quite a bit.

“...need more guards,” a woman with sweat-dampened bangs told her comrade as they strolled past.

“The enforcers aren’t admitting to anything,” the other woman answered. “They’re saying nothing’s going on, that the missing athletes probably went home.”

“Oh, sure, they trained all year, and then just went home before the competition even...”

The women walked out of hearing range. Amaranthe bent her head to study the short list of names on a notepad in her lap. Five athletes were missing now: two foreigners, including Fasha’s sister; and three Turgonians, one a local, and two from other satrapies. She recognized the local man, a warrior-caste wrestler, because they were the same age and had competed in the junior events at the same time. What eluded her was the common theme. All of the missing people had disappeared in the middle of the night from their barracks or, in the wrestler’s case, a private room in the lodge.

“You should pay attention to your surroundings when you’re in a public area,” Sicarius said from the shrubs a couple of feet behind the bench.

Amaranthe stifled her usual twitch of surprise and did not lift her head, wondering if she could wheedle her way out of a lecture. “I knew you were on the grounds.”

A long moment passed before he answered. “You are assuming that you’re safe, simply because I’m in the area?”

“You know I’m not at my most attentive when I’m plotting and mulling. I’ve come to trust you’ll keep an eye on me.”

“That’s reckless,” Sicarius said. “I’m your colleague, not your bodyguard, nor can I guarantee your safety since I cannot walk about freely here. If you must study papers in a public area, you should scan your surroundings every fifteen seconds, ensuring you are aware of the movements and interests of everyone within a radius of at least… Why are you smiling?”

Actually, it was more of a grin. “You called me a colleague,” Amaranthe said. “I’m flattered.”

“You are not taking my admonishment seriously.”

“I am, too,” Amaranthe said.

Another pair of athletes was approaching, so Amaranthe left the bench to join Sicarius in the foliage. Mischievous branches tugged at her hat and rained leaves onto her shoulders. She dusted them off. As much as she liked the idea of nature, it was difficult to maintain a tidy appearance when surrounded by it.

“I’m just bad at admitting out loud that I’m wrong about something,” Amaranthe added.

“A character flaw you should correct.”

“Likely so.” She lifted her notepad, intending to ask his opinions about the names, but he surprised her by continuing.

“It would bother me if you died while I was attending to biological needs.”

Amaranthe’s grin returned at the admission. “It would bother me if I died then, too. Or any time.” She handed him the notepad. “These are the people missing thus far. One disappeared three nights ago, two the night before last—that was when Fasha’s sister went—and one last night. I’m trying to figure out what the common link is. After talking with Fasha, I figured it might be another ploy against foreigners, but we now have more Turgonians missing than outsiders. The wrestler, Deercrest, has won often, so I could see him being targeted as someone to get rid of. Though it’s not honorable to make opponents disappear, it’s certainly not without precedent in the history of the Imperial Games. But the other four are young no-names. One isn’t even old enough to compete in the regular events; he was entered into the junior Clank Race.”