Amaranthe picked her way past ferns and around boulders, following boot prints in a muddy trail. The scent of the campfire wafted through the air.
The forest gave way to a rocky landscape again, and the men she had seen earlier came into view. They sat around their fire, heating cans of carp for a late lunch or perhaps early dinner. Noon had long since passed, and the high peaks would bring twilight early. Clouds closing in further darkened the skies and promised rain.
The two men were the only people in view, though beyond them a canyon mouth parted a fifty-foot-high cliff running parallel to the river far below. From her angle, she could not see into the gap, but, judging by the breadth of the entrance, the ravine could hold an army. Faint clanks and rumbles emanated from within.
Amaranthe left the trees and strolled toward the campfire. As soon as the men noticed her, she spread her arms, palms open. Theirs faces screwed up in suspicion, but they did not reach for the bows propped nearby. One glanced toward the canyon. Was their boss inside? Amaranthe shifted the angle of her approach to ensure no one could come out without her noticing.
“Afternoon, gentlemen,” she said. “I’m looking to speak with the, ah, new owner of this property.”
“Is that so?” The speaker, a snaggletoothed fellow with tufts of bristly hair sticking out from beneath a wool cap, gave her a long leer.
Given the unimaginative bun confining her hair and the distinctively unsexy trousers and jacket she wore, she figured he had been up on the mountain without female company for a while. The second man eyed her more professionally and his hand went to a bow.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
“The same thing as you are,” she said.
Snaggletooth’s brow furrowed. “Quarrying rock?”
She managed to keep the surprise off her face. Rock? Surely a rock quarry could not justify all the interest in this land. The entire mountain range was made from limestone. It could be quarried from anywhere.
“Looking to acquire this property for my own purposes.” Amaranthe waved in the direction of Hagcrest’s cabin. “I came to see the owner, but it seems he’s passed on recently.”
“No kidding?” Snaggletooth smirked.
“I run a few businesses down in the capital,” she said. “I have funds available for acquisitions. Perhaps I could make an offer to the new owner. I’m guessing Lord Hagcrest had no next-of-kin, and whoever holds the title now holds the land?” In the city, it would not be that simple, but out here it probably was.
“You have money?” Snaggletooth leaned forward, eyes bright. “With you?”
“Of course not. Who would go hiking with a rucksack full of ranmyas? My armed men are watching it somewhere safe and defensible.”
The speculation did not leave Snaggletooth’s eyes.
“Why,” the bowman asked, stroking his chin, “would someone from the capital be interested in land all the way up here?”
“I could use the timber and limestone for my construction business. Since this lot is located on the river, it’d be easy to ship the raw materials out of the mountains.” There. That sounded plausible. Right?
“Shipping stuff down that river won’t be easy for long.” Snaggletooth snickered.
His comrade glared at him.
“Oh?” Amaranthe considered the rocky hillside below. The river flowed past, its view impeded by only a few boulders and scrappy trees sprouting from the cracks. “Changes afoot?”
YOU ARE READING
The Emperor's Edge 2: Dark Currents
FantasyIt's been three months since former enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon and the notorious assassin Sicarius thwarted kidnappers and saved the emperor's life. The problem? Nobody knows they were responsible for this good deed. Worse, they're being blamed for t...
