Emperor of Ruin by Django Wexler

Author:Django Wexler [WEXLER, DJANGO]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

They were led deeper into the cold underworld. Buildings this far down were small and mean, nothing more than wooden boxes to trap the warmth of a precious fire. They went far enough, in fact, that Gyre realized they were taking a purposely circuitous route, one they wouldn’t be able to retrace.

“May I ask your name?” he said, pulling his coat tighter to fight off the chill.

“Enta Thickskull,” she said, giving him a glare that dared him to comment on the cognomen.

“And you work security for Rikard?”

She laughed. “After a fashion. He’s my little brother.”

“Ah.” Gyre scratched at his mask, an old habit. The scar doesn’t even itch anymore.

“In here,” Enta said. She stepped aside for Gyre and Sarah to pass, the two other men who’d accompanied them waiting a respectful distance behind.

They passed through a curtained-off crack in the rock into a small side cavern. Gyre liked it immediately—large enough for a good-sized group, off the beaten path, and with several exits in case of emergency, exactly the sort of place he’d scouted for Yora’s crew. Someone here knows their business. Inside, there was a table made from planks laid across a couple of barrels, a firepit, and a few hastily drawn maps. A man with blue-white hair and a narrow, neatly trimmed beard was explaining something to a couple of others.

“Rikard!” Enta said. “Got someone to talk to you.”

“Can it wait?” the man said. “We’re a little busy.”

“Think this one might be worth a minute.” Enta put her hand on Gyre’s shoulder. Rikard looked up and paused at the sight of the mask.

“That’s all for now,” he said, without looking back at the others. They hurried away, and Enta leaned against the wall of the cavern, arms crossed. Rikard tossed a packet of papers on the table and circled around it, still looking at Gyre.

“It’s good to meet you,” Gyre said uncomfortably.

“You certainly have the right look,” Rikard said. “But anyone can pick up a mask. How do I know you’re the real thing?”

“I vouch for him,” Sarah said. She held up her artificial arm for display. “Everyone knows I lost this arm when Yora’s crew was ambushed. This is the Halfmask who ran with us.”

“Hmm.” Rikard studied her. His eyes were a luminous purple, bright and intelligent. “All right. I accept that you are who you say you are. What do you want?”

Straight to the point, this one. Gyre hesitated. He’s not going to like this. “I wanted to talk to you about what you’re doing here.”

“It’s not me doing it. It’s the tunnelborn. I’m just coordinating a little.” He gave a slight smile with little humor in it. “No offense to Yora’s memory, but that was the problem with her whole approach. Too focused on her personally, not enough on the people she was helping. Trying to become her father without any of the groundwork.”

The casual dismissal got Gyre’s back up, but he restrained himself. When he trusted his voice, he said, “What the tunnelborn are doing, then.

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.