Ice Cracker II Read Free

sheet of paper onto the table
before her. Her wanted poster. The guards murmured to each other,
and one eyed her with calculation.
    "—something of more importance than that,"
she finished.
    "I'll bet." Though chilly, the captain's
voice was not hostile, and his dark eyes seemed to be weighing her.
"We found the bodies you mentioned. There was no sign of any
Kendorian."
    Amaranthe's stomach went for a swim amongst
the table legs. The second Kendorian must have circled back and
hidden his comrade's body. That was bad, very bad. That meant—
    "My XO thinks we should shoot you outright.
He suspects you of slaying the men yourself, especially since your
wanted poster says you traffic with that cur-licking
soldier-slaying assassin, Sicarius." The captain glowered at her,
brow furrowed.
    She kept her chin up and met his eyes. "But
you know I wouldn't have been foolish enough to turn myself over to
your guards if that were the case."
    The captain snorted. "Perhaps you are a
diversion while Sicarius sneaks aboard my ship to attempt some
sabotage." He thrust a finger toward her nose. "If my commanders
learned that fiend was within a mile of my ship and I didn't shoot
him, I could be accused of treason and booted out of the service.
I'd lose my warrior caste title, my military rank, my home, my
land, everything." A flash of real fear haunted his eyes.
    Amaranthe grimaced in sympathy. "Sicarius
isn't the one you need to be worried about. I'm here because I
don't want to see some scheming Kendorian sink this ship. I believe
one may be aboard even now."
    "The Ice Cracker II is unsinkable," the
captain growled. "Its reversible steam piston engine has redundant
screw repellers in case of failure, and the reinforced steel hull
can smash through ice over two meters thick. It can withstand more
than two thousand pounds of pressure per square inch along the
waterline. If we ran into a rock, the rock would be pulverized, and
there wouldn't be a scratch on the bottom of my girl."
    "It sounds like a
significant upgrade to the Ice Cracker
I ." Amaranthe leaned against the pole,
attempting to look casual. She had chanced upon his passion, and
nobody liked to talk as much as someone discussing his
passion.
    "Drastically. That moldy tub was made of wood
with only the bottom reinforced with iron. It's a wonder it didn't
sink years ago. Though only that drunk lout, Captain Mekam, could
ram his ship into a cliff on a lake."
    "Cliff? The newspapers said the ship was
decommissioned."
    "The papers don't—" The captain frowned at
her, eyes narrowed.
    "Was it an accident? Ineptitude?" Amaranthe
knew the captain had realized he was saying too much, but hoped she
might squeeze another drop out regardless. "Or maybe the Kendorians
were at work even then."
    "Or maybe you're about to spend the night in
the brig." The captain gestured for the guards to take her and
stalked out.
    Amaranthe barely noticed as
the soldiers unlocked her and marched her out the hatch, her arms
clamped in their hands. Her mind dwelled on that new information.
The Ice Cracker I ,
not decommissioned, but destroyed. What if—
    "How're we going to do this?" one of her
escorts asked, voice low.
    "We'll split it. Gotta make it look like she
tried to escape."
    Emperor's eternal warts, her soldiers were
going to get greedy instead of taking her to the brig. She eyed the
bleak gray corridors, textured flooring, hanging lanterns, and
intermittent ladders and hatches. Sicarius would be aboard by now,
but he would be hunting for the Kendorian, not looking to rescue
her in some random passageway.
    "This is good. Nobody's around." The men
slowed. "Get your sword out. We'll—"
    "Are you really intending to risk your
careers for a chance at my meager 10,000 ranmya bounty?" Amaranthe
asked, hoping a little chitchat might distract them.
    An alcove ahead held a bucket of sand, an
axe, and a hand pump. Though she wondered what there was that could
possibly burn on the metal ship, the firefighting station