Balanced on the Blade's Edge (Dragon Blood, Book 1) by Lindsay Buroker

came at his door, and he cursed
himself. He had been so busy thinking about
other
things that he hadn’t heard anyone walking up.
“Yeah?” he called, wondering if his visitor had heard him talking
to himself. Wondering, too, if his visitor was… she.
    Captain Heriton poked his head in. “Sir, I’m
never quite sure if that’s an invitation to enter.”
    “I’m rarely doing anything in here that’s so
scintillating that I can’t be interrupted.”
    “Yes, sir.” Heriton pushed the door open
wider, but paused again. “I’m not sure that was an invitation,
either.”
    Ridge winked. “Maybe you’ll have it figured
out by the time I leave.”
    “I’m hoping I get to leave sooner, sir. Six
months left on my orders… ” Heriton gazed wistfully out the
window.
    Understandable. “Come in, Captain. What do
you have for me?”
    Heriton glanced over his shoulder, shrugged,
and came in with a stack of papers. “It’s actually what you have
for me, sir. Did I understand your memo correctly? You want these…
reading lists to go out to the guards to be posted for… the
miners?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Oh. I thought you might mean it for the
soldiers.”
    “I trust
you
all
have a good education already.” Ridge waved toward the papers. “I’m
trying to improve morale, offer some incentives for them to better
themselves.”
    “Better themselves, sir? To what ends?”
    “To work more efficiently for us.”
    “And, uh, reading the classics will cause
that?”
    “Call it the crazy colonel’s experiment.”
Ridge was certain the gaming tables would be more popular, but if
some of the prisoners
did
start reading…
“Those who show an interest might prove themselves worthy of more
responsibility. What I’m hoping these changes will ultimately do is
give us some trustworthy individuals who might help us—or at least
keep others from stabbing us in the back—should we need to funnel
all of our resources into defending the fort.” And if that didn’t
work, Ridge had his backup plan. The doors.
    “Ah, I see, sir.” Heriton did sound a tad
less perplexed now. Or at least he had decided to go along with his
eccentric C.O. He pointed to the bottom of a page. “And you want to
give them a day off if they finish a book?”
    “If they can summarize it sufficiently and
answer questions that prove they read it. Those are hefty tomes,
and those men don’t have a lot of free time. There has to be some
sort of incentive.”
    “I think I understand, sir. But, uhm, who’s
going to quiz the miners?”
    “What’s the matter, Captain? Haven’t
you
read those? They’re classics.”
    “I, uh… a couple.”
    Ridge grinned.
    “I’ll familiarize myself with them,” Heriton
said, though not without a daunted look in his eyes.
    “Good. Dismissed.”
    “Thank you, sir. Oh, I almost forgot. You
have another visitor.” Heriton pushed open the door, revealing
Sardelle standing in the hallway, her lush hair loose about her
shoulders, her mouth curving into a tentative smile.
    Last night, Ridge had been certain it would
be better for his sanity if she didn’t come today, but seeing her
there made his soul soar. It also made his cheeks flush as his
thoughts from the night before reared to the forefront of his mind
again. Thank the gods that matronly prison dress didn’t do anything
to distract him further. Aware of the captain’s eyes, Ridge managed
to keep his face neutral.
    “She
assures
me
she’s expected.” Heriton raised his eyebrows.
    “Yes, she’s my insider on the magic
investigation.” Ridge chose the word magic instead of murder,
understanding that nobody here seemed concerned about the deaths of
miners. Magic, on the other hand, was surely something they could
all understand investigating.
    Heriton’s brows rose higher. “Oh, really?
Does that mean you don’t need her report anymore?”
    “No, I’m still waiting for you to produce
it.” Ridge smiled and waved the man out of his