6) Empire 3 - Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E Feist

Author:Raymond E Feist [Raymond E Feist]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-08-05T23:00:00+00:00

'I thought as much.' Suddenly hard as barbarian iron, Pug laced his hands together under his wide sleeves and regarded her as she, too, arose to her feet. 'Walk with me to the pattern.'

Mara waved back the servants who closed in to collect the food tray, and the two warriors who moved from their positions by the outer door, to accompany her as escort. Aware that Pug could depart from any place in her house, she surmised that his request stemmed from a wish for privacy. As she led from the great hall into the dimmer inner corridor, Pug drew her to his side with a touch upon her arm. 'Why should you have concern for your safety, Mara of the Acoma?' Softly he added, 'If you were a good child who ceased troubling your parents, you would have nothing to fear by way of punishment.'

In better times, Mara might have smiled at the image. 'The last agent I sent into the Imperial Archives to research significant financial discrepancies in certain historical periods was destroyed outright by the Assembly.'

As if Pug had been born knowing the halls of a strange house, he turned up the steps toward the pattern room.

'Knowledge can be a dangerous thing, Mara of the Acoma.'

He did not ask which years her agent had inquired into, or what findings he had unearthed; his silence on those points only underscored Mara's fears. She stepped into the pattern room at the magician's side. Pug turned and closed the door. She did not see the pass he made with his hands, but her flesh felt chilled as if a cold wind blew across her, and she knew that a spell had been invoked. Pug straightened, his expression grave. 'For a few minutes, no one, not even the most gifted of my former brethren, can hear what you say.'

Mara's face drained of color. 'Great Ones could listen to what passed in my great hall?'

Pug smiled in quick reassurance. 'Most likely it never occurred to any of them to try - it's considered a breach of proper behavior. Though I can't guarantee that much for Hochopepa if the matter is weighty enough. He's a bit of a snoop.' The last was said with affection, and Mara realised that the portly magician must have been one of Pug's friends and supporters, after the upheaval in the Imperial Arena. As much as any Black Robe could be, this Hochopepa might be sympathetic to the Acoma cause.

Pug's next question caught her back from speculative thought. 'Mara, you realise that the changes you work for will turn the Empire upon its collective ear?'

Tired to her bones from the strain, Mara leaned back against the wood-paneled walls and regarded the shatra bird symbol inset into the floor. 'Should we continue as we have, and be ruled by men who murder children, and let good people become beaten down and ruined by servitude when their talents and efforts deserve better? Jiro of the Anasati and the faction he leads would see petty power struggles take precedence over all else.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.