Emperor 03: Deadly Games by Lindsay Buroker

Author:Lindsay Buroker [Buroker, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: high fantasy, epic fantasy, emperors edge, Steampunk, assassins, lindsay buroker, Fiction, General, Fantasy, Science Fiction, urban fantasy, heroic fantasy, Epic
Publisher: Lindsay Buroker
Published: 2011-11-22T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

When Basilard woke, his head ached worse than it ever had after a night out carousing with Maldynado. He opened his eyes to—thankfully—dim lighting emanating from a globe hanging beside a metal door. The entire room—cubby might be a better word—was made from dark gray metal. He lay on a narrow cot, staring at riveting running along ridges traversing the walls from floor to curved ceiling. He had never been on a steam ship, but guessed that was his location. Engines somewhere rumbled, the reverberations pulsing through the floor and up his cot.

Was he being transported somewhere? Though he had never sailed, he had seen maps of the empire and knew that one could travel from the Chain Lakes down the Goldar River and all the way to the Gulf. From there, one could go...anywhere in the world. Had he been captured to be sold into slavery once again? This time someplace far away? Someplace so far away there was no chance he would ever return home again to see his daughter?

The daughter you could have already gone to see if you weren’t such a coward, he told himself.

Basilard sat up, and the pounding in his head intensified so much he groaned and grabbed his temples. Toughen up, he told himself. Sicarius would not bellyache so.

He sneered at himself. Why was he holding Sicarius up as a model to emulate?

When the throbbing calmed enough to handle, he swung his legs over the edge of the cot and found the floor—the deck? Was that what ship people called it? The cold metal numbed his bare feet. With a twitch of surprise, he realized everything was bare. He patted himself down, checking for...he did not know what, but one couldn’t trust people who kidnapped one and stole one’s clothing.

Soft, rhythmic clangs sounded beyond the door. Footsteps.

A scratch and thud echoed through the door. Basilard slipped off the cot and dropped into a defensive crouch. One that could easily turn offensive, if the situation permitted it. Though he should perhaps figure out where he was before attacking people. Who knew how long he had been unconscious?

Another thud sounded, then a clank. Multiple locks being thrown? If so, they had secured him well.

The thick, metal door squeaked open.

A woman stood there, her long red hair pinned into a swirling dervish atop her head. Two men framed her. They wore the black fatigues of army soldiers, though no rank pins adorned their collars. One appeared to be “the muscle.” He crowded the hallway with broad shoulders and tree-trunk arms that even Maldynado would have dubbed substantial. He aimed a pistol at Basilard, though the challenging sneer curling his lips said he would be happy to battle barehanded or perhaps with the sword sheathed at his waist. The surname stitched on his jacket read, LEV. The second man had neatly trimmed gray hair and wielded a clipboard instead of a gun. His tag read, TALONCREST. A warrior-caste officer involved in this scheme? Surprising.

The woman stepped inside first with no apparent fear of Basilard.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.