Girl in the Shadows by Brent Nichols

Author:Brent Nichols
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, action, sword and sorcery, rescue, escape, swordplay, sword fight
Publisher: Brent Nichols

Chapter 14

The little parlor was nice enough, but the chairs were entirely too soft. Tira sat nodding, looking up every few moments in blinking confusion before drifting off again. To her chagrin the servant who came to fetch her was light on his feet, and the first she knew he was there was when he delicately cleared his throat.

"Miss Archer?"

She blinked at him, trying to look more alert than she felt. It was a man in his middle years, portly and dignified despite the ridiculous clothes his masters dressed him in. Slippers, stockings, and bright blue pants that ended at the knee, with a shiny jacket of the same bright color and generally absurd design. He should have been cringing in embarrassment. He should have been seeking a more dignified position. Like mucking out stalls in a cow barn.

Instead, he looked her over with cool disdain. There was condescension in his voice as he said, "Won't you come this way?"

Tira looked around the small room. Tam was gone. She hadn't even heard him leave, and she frowned. What in the name of Mystra was he up to?

"Is something wrong?" The tone of the man's voice told her that he valued his time and didn't appreciate her keeping him waiting.

Some servant.

"No, nothing's wrong. Please, lead the way." She gave him her sweetest smile, which earned her a skeptical raised eyebrow in reply. Then he strutted out of the room, glancing back to see if she was following.

It was a short walk through a narrow stone corridor, a long strip of blue and green carpet soft under her feet. The servant brought her to an unassuming doorway and gestured her through.

Tira almost didn't recognize Lady Carnora. The breastplate and cavalry trousers were gone, the riding boots replaced by delicate shoes of soft blue silk. Her dress was blue as well, a fashionable gown with a high square neckline and puffy sleeves. Her hair was cut short, but it hung around her ears in elaborate golden curls that looked as if they could never have been flattened under anything so coarse as a helmet.

Only her face was the same, cold and haughty, with a hardness that made her curls look as out of place as a wreath on a goblin. She ran her eyes over Tira from head to toe, and curled her lip. "You asked to see me?"

Tira scowled, fighting the urge to touch the bruise on her jaw. "Actually, I asked to see anybody BUT you. I want to find out why Sulane Carver was arrested. I want to see if she can be released."

Lady Carnora's eyes bored into Tira, bright with suspicion. "What is your interest in this woman?"

It wasn't easy to keep her voice level, but Tira managed it. "She risked her life to help me when I was set upon by… bandits."

Lady Carnora sneered, and Tira felt the familiar surge of battle lust rising warm and sweet in her belly. She pushed it down, with only partial success. "Then, we met someone much worse.

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