Free A Crown Imperiled by Raymond E. Feist Page A

finish, and there are a few hot loaves of bread left.’ She gestured over her shoulder. ‘My dad is trying to keep ’em drunk enough to be happy, but not so drunk we can’t keep them in line. Those four from the Free Cities have been complaining all day and most of yesterday, like no one else here is suffering.’ Her smile returned. ‘Drink?’
    ‘Two of whatever you think is best,’ said Nakor.
    ‘Two dwarven ales it is, then,’ she said. ‘Back in a moment.’
    As the serving woman vanished into the crowd a tall figure made his way through the press until he stood before their table. He was blond with pointed ears and broad shoulders and was clad in a dark brown leather tunic, trousers, and boots. He held a long bow which he now placed butt end on the floor in front of them. Smiling quizzically, he said, ‘You always did know how to make an entrance.’
    Both Miranda and Nakor glanced up and then broke into broad smiles. Miranda said, ‘Calis!’
    The son of the Elf Queen and Warleader Tomas of Elvandar leaned forward slightly and said in a lower voice. ‘Aren’t you two supposed to be dead?’
    Nakor laughed, and Miranda motioned for Calis to sit. The blond half-elf, half-human, part-Valheru had been a close friend of both Nakor and Miranda, and for a time much more than friends with her. Nakor had sailed with Calis on a voyage to Novindus in the early stages of the Serpent War, the invasion of the Kingdom by the demon possessing the body of the Emerald Queen. In an odd twist of fate, the Emerald Queen had once been married to Nakor and later became Miranda’s mother.
    Calis sat down and Miranda leaned over to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek; then Nakor shook his hand.
    The serving woman returned with two flagons of ale. ‘Sir?’ she asked Calis who shook his head.
    When she had departed, Calis said, ‘A story, then?’
    Miranda reached out and put her hand on his. ‘I am not who I appear to be.’ She felt a strong sense of affection for this being, and remembered that Miranda and Calis had been lovers for a time before she had met Pug.
    She could feel his fingers tense ever so slightly under her hand, and pressed down lightly in a gesture of reassurance. ‘It is not deceit, nor trickery, but a strange twist of fate which brings us here.’ She glanced at Nakor who nodded.
    ‘If you are not two of my oldest and dearest friends, returned to me, then . . . ?’
    ‘It’s a long story and hard to believe,’ said Nakor. Grinning, he added, ‘Then again our little band of desperate men saw some things terrible and wondrous to behold on our travels, didn’t we?’
    Calis nodded. He gave Miranda a pointed look. She returned a sad smile and said, ‘I remember everything.’ She gave his hand another slight squeeze. ‘But those memories are not mine.’
    Calis said nothing.
    Nakor asked, ‘When was the last time you saw Pug?’
    ‘A year or so ago. He came to visit my mother and Tomas.’ He looked at Miranda. ‘He was still saddened by your loss, as well as Caleb and Marie.’
    Miranda couldn’t help but gasp, and tears gathered in her eyes. ‘Caleb? Marie?’ She tightened her grip on his hand; a lesser being would have endured broken fingers. Caleb had been Miranda’s youngest child and Marie, his wife.
    Calis softly said, ‘In the attack that took you.’
    Miranda looked away for a second, then finally she composed herself and asked, ‘The boys?’
    Calis squeezed her hand in return and said, ‘Tad, Zane, and Jommy are well. There were other losses when the demons attacked your island, students and two of Pug’s teachers, but given the severity . . .’
    ‘I remember.’ She said nothing for a long moment, and then lowered her eyes. ‘I will tell you everything, but not now.’ A sad sound, barely a whisper of a breath, was followed by silence.
    Nakor said, ‘Not that I’m unhappy to see you, old friend, but what coincidence brings you here on the very day we