The Emperor's Edge Read Online Free PDF Page A

soldiers have not been able to do over the last few years.”
    Amaranthe took a step back before she could catch herself. All she would have to do was
seduce someone
? She was an enforcer, not a prostitute. Besides, she had spent her entire adult life trying to act as tough, strong, and confident as her male counterparts. What did
she
know about seduction? And assassination? She captured criminals and took them to the magistrate for justice. She didn’t kill them. To deliberately seek someone out for that purpose… That was despicable.
    “Sir, I’m not—” Amaranthe started.
    “Such an accomplishment,” Hollowcrest interrupted, “would gain you great recognition…a promotion.”
    She sucked in a breath.
    “In fact,” Hollowcrest went on, “Someone who could handle Sicarius would doubtlessly be officer material.”
    He was offering her a chance to jump straight to lieutenant? Emperor’s ancestors almighty.
    Hollowcrest watched her intently. He was manipulating her, luring her into doing something she found distasteful. Any fool could see that, but what he offered was everything she wanted.
    Surely she could eliminate somebody who was a proven criminal. True, assassinations circumnavigated justice, which made them undeniably wrong, but if this Sicarius was brought in, the magistrate would assign him the death penalty anyway. By killing him in the field, she would save the department time and manpower. It would be for the good of the empire.
    Amaranthe rubbed her face. The need to justify her decision was trampling all over her thinking. Still, was this really that bad? Would it truly be a blemish on her integrity? Even if it was, every day people sacrificed a lot more than integrity to get what they wanted. Besides, this was the Commander of the Armies, not a man it would be smart to refuse. She didn’t even know if refusal was permitted.
    “I’ll do it, sir,” Amaranthe said.
    “Excellent,” he said simply, though she caught a predatory gleam of satisfaction in those dark eyes.
    Hollowcrest slid a folder out of a drawer and withdrew a single paper. “A sketch of Sicarius. It’s fairly accurate, at least as of five years ago.”
    Amaranthe accepted the sketch and studied it. She admired the precision of the crisp portrait. The artist was surely not related to the unsubtle sculptors responsible for the statues on the first floor. In the black ink drawing, the criminal’s features appeared cruel and menacing. Military-style short hair topped an angular face above a lean, muscular torso.
    “It’s blond,” Hollowcrest said, startling her.
    “What?”
    “His hair. It’s hard to tell in the drawing.”
    “Oh,” she said. Blond hair was rare in the empire, a nation of people whose blood had been mixed and mixed again via generations of conquering and expansion; most citizens shared Amaranthe’s bronze skin and dark locks.
    “Where should I look for him, sir?” She thought of Wholt’s suggestion that Sicarius might be behind the pottery shop arson, but that had been groundless speculation. The man could be anywhere in the city.
    “I’ll leave that to your ingenuity,” Hollowcrest said. “Finding him is a feasible task. Sicarius doesn’t travel in disguise and, though discreet, he goes where he pleases. He does have a knack for knowing when our soldiers or enforcers are trying to spring a trap on him though. Then he disappears.” Hollowcrest grimaced. “Or doesn’t. The results are less devastating when he does.”
    “I understand, sir. When should I start?”
    “Immediately. Speak to no one about this mission. It’s imperative the criminal not find out we’re aware of, and angling for, him.”
    “What about my regular duties, sir? I’ll need to report to my superior.”
    “I’ll see to it that your district chief is informed. You don’t even need to go home; I have a soldier waiting with money for you. If you decide to buy new clothes—” A crinkle of his nose at her soot-stained