Dark Currents by Lindsay Buroker Read Free Book Online Page A

supposed to be a T-section,” she said.
    The waterway was narrower here, and Sicarius hopped the six-foot channel as if it were a puddle. He probed the wall on the far side. “If it ever was, it’s not apparent. The bricks and mortar are aged.”
    “Odd and odder.” Amaranthe took out the map and marked the missing passage. “If we had the construction blueprints, I could understand if there were differences in what was actually dug out down here and the original plans, but this is the as-built drawing from the pumping house for this section of the city aqueducts. It should have been completed after the construction and updated anytime there was an expansion or alteration.”
    “The pumping house has mediocre security,” Sicarius said. “Perhaps only dummy drawings are kept there.”
    “To what ends? If something breaks, city workers need accurate maps to fix the problem.”
    “There’s no machinery that would need repairs out here.”
    “Just miles and miles of brick passages, huh?”
    Though Sicarius had inspected the wall, Amaranthe felt the need to look herself. She pocketed the paper, considered the mildew-fuzzed bricks on the ledge, and found a spot that appeared slightly less treacherous than the others.
    She lunged across the channel. Her foot skidded on the narrow ledge. Sicarius surprised her by catching her elbow and keeping her from thudding into the wall.
    “Thank you.” Amaranthe arched an eyebrow. “Though I’m not sure why I deserve the gentlemanly treatment here, after you let me scrape the skin off my belly button climbing into that loft last night.”
    He released her elbow. “I didn’t want you to drop the lantern.”
    “Ah, so I merely appeared less competent and more in need of assistance today.” Amaranthe set the lantern down and ran her fingers along the damp bricks.
    “There is nothing here,” Sicarius said.
    She continued probing. Maybe Akstyr’s mulishness was contagious. Or maybe she just relished the idea of finding something when he had searched and discovered nothing. She took her sword out and tapped on the wall with the hilt, thinking she might hear hollow clanks that suggested a secret space behind. Alas, none of her banging sounded unnatural, and running her hands along the wall revealed nothing but slimy and slimier bricks.
    “Let’s go back to that pipe,” she said.
    He followed her along the ledge, but she had the feeling he thought they were wasting time. Or perhaps, he simply did not think roaming aqueducts a suitable task for his skills.
    “If trailing along with me is boring you,” she said, “you could go check on Books and Maldynado in the real estate office.”
    He did not speak at first, and she thought he might be considering it, but then he said, “My presence unnerves Books.”
    “Your presence unnerves everyone.” Amaranthe grinned over her shoulder to soften the comment.
    “Not you,” Sicarius said.
    “No, but I’m told my sanity is questionable.”
    She wriggled her eyebrows at him. Someday she was going to get him to smile, maybe even laugh. The one and only time she’d seen him truly break his facade, it had been in anger. At her. It seemed fate should offer her the other side of the coin once.
    “Huh,” was the only response she got.
    The outlet pipe came into view. More than eight feet in diameter, it rose well over her head. This side trip was a whim, and Amaranthe did not expect to find anything, but she lifted the lantern to inspect the pipe’s rim by the light.
    Splashing water flung droplets onto her clothing when she edged closer, and she was about to abandon the search, but Sicarius reached above her head. He plucked something from a gouge in the metal.
    “What is it?” Amaranthe asked.
    He held a soggy chunk of hair up to her light. Human hair.
    Amaranthe probably should have been horrified, but excitement thrummed through her. The dark brown hair could have belonged to half the people in Stumps, but she said, “Think