Shadow of a Dark Queen (68 page)

“You've got a knack, son, even if you're not mean enough. Hell, Charlie Foster was a nice guy by anyone's measure before I got my hands on him. A couple of years with me and you'll be spitting cobbler's nails and pissing lightning!”

“Me in the army?”

De Loungville said, “Not just any army. Nicholas is going to give Calis a mandate, signed by the King. We're going to raise up an army the likes of which no man has seen before. We'll train them and drill them, and when we're done we'll have the finest fighting men in history.”

Erik said, “I'm not sure.”

“You think about it. It's an important job.”

Erik said, “I'm a little soured on killing right now, Sergeant.”

De Loungville's voice dropped and he spoke firmly but softly. “That's why it's important and that's why you're the right man for the job. We're going to train these men to stay alive.”

He patted Erik once on the shoulder. “It's a long voyage. We'll have plenty of time to talk. I'm going to take a rest now.”

Erik and Roo watched him leave and Roo said, “You're going to take the job, aren't you?”

“Probably,” said Erik. “I don't know that I want to be a soldier the rest of my life, but I do seem to have the knack, and there's something about knowing where I belong that appeals to me, Roo. Back home I never felt that way. I was always ‘the Baron's bastard,' or ‘that crazy woman's son.' ” He lapsed into silence a moment, then said, “In Calis's army I'd just be Corporal Erik.” He smiled. “Besides, I have no ambitions to be rich like you.”

“Then I'll get rich enough for the both of us.”

Erik laughed and the two men stood quietly for a while, simply relishing the fact of having survived to be able to plan a future.

T
he traveler
squinted.

Atop a nearby hillock a figure sat, playing a thin reed pipe . . . badly.

The traveler leaned on a staff that compensated for his limp, due in the main to a nasty sword wound to the thigh that was only just now beginning to heal. He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, and the figure on the hill started waving.

Owen limped closer and at last said, “Nakor?”

“Greylock!” said Nakor as he walked down the hill. The road was heavily traveled as thousands fled the invaders, making their way up the old coastal trading route toward the distant City of the Serpent River.

The two men embraced and Nakor said, “You didn't get out with the others?”

“I don't know who got out,” he said, using his staff so he could ease himself to the ground. Nakor squatted next to him and put his pipe away in his ever-present shoulder sack.

“Most didn't,” said Nakor. “I saw a boat and I think Calis was in it, pretty sure. And some others. Saw a ship, but they were too far away to see me.”

“So someone's getting word back to the Prince in Krondor?”

“Pretty sure,” said Nakor with a grin.

“What are you doing now?”

“I was practicing my flute and resting. I'm going to the City of the Serpent River.”

“Mind if I walk with you?” asked Greylock. “I'm afraid I'm going to slow you down.”

“That's all right,” said Nakor. “I've got lots of time.”

“What happened to you?” asked Greylock. “I got caught up in the crush when everyone was trying to get back to the estuary. I got a horse but got knocked off, then a guardsman swung at me with a sword before he ran off.” He gestured to his leg. “I barely got out of the city when the citizens broke down the northeastern gate. Something happened to the invaders and there weren't a lot of them around for a while, so I got through. I hid for a couple of days, until the leg healed enough for me to limp along.” He massaged his stiff leg. “Don't know what happened, back there, but something played fair havoc with their invasion.”

“Pug of Stardock,” said Nakor. “I think it was his trick. He dumped them all into the river. It was grand. I couldn't see much, though, as I was trying to keep from burning.”

“You were responsible for all that in the city?”

“Most of It. A trick, really Got the Pantathians to do the work for me.”

“How did you get out of that holocaust?”

“I found that tunnel I told Calis about, the one that led to the western precinct. I got past some rubble and some guards, and when I reached the west side of the river, most of the defenders had fled.”

Greylock said, “Ingenious.” Then he said, “Wait a minute. If you were on the
other
side of the river, how did you . . .” Pulling himself up with the staff and a hand up from Nakor, Greylock said, “Why don't you tell me about it as we walk?”

Nakor grinned. “Good. If we hurry we may reach the City of the Serpent River before Calis and the others sail home.”

“You sure they got out alive?”

“Ship I saw sail past a few days ago?” said Nakor with a grin, pointing out to sea.
“Freeport Ranger;
if that was Calis I saw in the boat, then they're alive, and they're heading that way.” He pointed toward the northeast. “City of the Serpent River. They'll do some talking with the clan chiefs, make plans, do other things.” They started walking. “If we don't dawdle, we might get there in time.”

“Think we can steal some horses?” asked Greylock.

Nakor only grinned in reply as he dug into his sack and pulled out a large round object. “Want an orange?”

Raymond E. Feist's novels include
Magician
;
Silverthorn
;
Faerie Tale
;
Prince of the Blood
; and
The King's Buccaneer
; as well as his
New York Times
-bestselling
Serpentwar Saga
:
Shadow of a Dark Queen
;
Rise of a Merchant Prince
;
Rage of a Demon King
; and
Shards of a Broken Crown
; and
The Riftwar Legacy
:
Krondor: The Betrayal
;
Krondor: The Assassins
;
Krondor: Tear of the Gods
. He is the creator of the immensely popular computer games “Betrayal at Krondor” and “Return to Krondor.” Mr. Feist lives in Southern California.

Magician

Silverthorn

A Darkness at Sethanon

 

Faerie Tale

Prince of the Blood

The King's Buccaneer

 

Shadow of a Dark Queen

Rise of a Merchant Prince

Rage of a Demon King

Shards of a Broken Crown

 

Krondor: The Betrayal

Krondor: The Assassins

Krondor: Tear of the Gods

 

With Janny Wurts:

 

Daughter of Empire

Servant of Empire

Mistress of Empire

The San Diego Union-Tribune
: “An epic reading experience.”

Ft. Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel
: “A massive, entertaining tale.”

Chicago Tribune
: “Classic . . . Feist has a command of language and a natural talent for keeping the reader turning pages.

Portland
Oregonian
: “Action and intrigue and evocative writing. . . . Feist brings a new world alive.”

San Francisco Chronicle
: “Adept storytelling . . . true readability.”

Locus
: “A place to start for those yet to discover Feist's fantasy worlds.”

Booklist
: “Vivid and well-choreographed battles . . . real emotional impact. . . . The action is nonstop. . . . Feist remains in the forefront of fantasists.”

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

S
HADOW
OF
A
D
ARK
Q
UEEN
:
Book One of The Serpentwar Saga.
Copyright © 1994 by Raymond E. Feist. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ePub edition September 2002 ISBN 9780061751615

First Avon Books Printing: May 1995
First Avon Books special printing: December 1994

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