“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.”
616
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 9/3/02 3:50 PM Page 617
SHADOW OF A DARK QUEEN
617
“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.”
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 9/3/02 3:50 PM Page 618
618
RAYMOND E. FIEST
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?”
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 8/29/02 5:13 PM Page 619
About the Author
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.
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 8/29/02 5:13 PM Page 620
Books by Raymond E. Feist
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
Mistress of Empire
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 8/29/02 5:13 PM Page 621
Praise for The Serpentwar Saga
The San Diego Union-Tribune: "An epic reading experience."
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel: "A massive, enter-taining 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 fan-tasists."
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 8/29/02 5:13 PM Page 622
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.
SHADOW OF A DARK QUEEN: 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-transfer-able right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmit-ted, 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 PerfectBound™.
PerfectBound ™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trade-marks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader edition v 1. September 2002 ISBN 0-06-053836-8
First Avon Books Printing: May 1995
First Avon Books special printing: December 1994
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
52887_Shadow of a Dark.qxd 8/29/02 5:13 PM Page 623
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900
Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercanada.com
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.fireandwater.com
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.
perfectbound.com
Please visit www.perfectbound.com for free e-book samplers of PerfectBound titles.