Greatshadow Read Online Free PDF

taste it?
    Of course, the best place to put that to the test was exactly where Infidel was heading. Near the heart of Commonground, Infidel reached the largest barge anchored at the docks — the Black Swan . This was a saloon and gambling house that catered to the high rollers from the Silver Isles. Wealthy men could visit the Black Swan with little fear for their safety. Thieves knew that messing with a guest of the barge could result in a visit from the Three Goons. Not many people would risk that for a bag of gold. A dragon skull on the other hand...
    Infidel stepped through the door of the bar, pausing as her eyes adjusted to the shadows. The bar was decorated with a level of opulence that stumbled across the fine line separating good taste from garishness. The walls were lined with dark, polished teak; large paintings of scantily clad goddesses hung there. The various gaming tables sported crisp velvet surfaces. Only a single poker table was fully occupied. Everyone else was likely sleeping in the well-furnished rooms above. The main room was at least twenty degrees cooler than the air outside. Behind the bar at the far end of the room was the reason why.
    A first timer to the bar might mistake the creature who stood there as male, given the broad shoulders and looming height. Few people have ever seen an ice-ogre of either sex. Aurora’s nine feet tall, with pale blue skin mottled with patches of white, like a sky full of clouds. She’s bald save for a tuft of dark blue hair in a knot at the tip of her scalp. Tusks jut up from her lower jaws, reaching to her eyebrows. Her clothes offer no hint of her gender; she always wears a long sleeved, walrus-skin coat that hangs down to her ankles. Aurora exhaled as she spotted Infidel, her breath coming out in a fog. The ogress is in charge of security at the Black Swan . While most of Infidel’s visits are peaceful, she’s been known, occasionally, to cause a bit of property damage.
    “Where’s your shadow?” Aurora asked, squinting at the doorway behind Infidel. Crystals of frost on her cheeks sparkled like diamonds.
    “My shadow?” Infidel asked, walking toward the bar.
    “Stagger,” said Aurora. “I never see you without him hang-dogging behind.”
    “Stagger’s dead,” said Infidel, placing the sack onto the bar. There was no emotion as she spoke the words.
    “Oh,” said Aurora. She shook her head slowly. “I’ll miss him. Most drunks think they’re funny and charming. He really was, sometimes.”
    “He was more than just a drunk,” said Infidel.
    “No offense,” said Aurora, in a tone that sounded as if she had, indeed, meant no offense.
    Infidel looked directly into Aurora’s eyes. She knew about Aurora’s threat to sell my body for meat; Aurora probably knew she knew. Of course, Aurora was just the enforcer. If Infidel had come here looking for revenge, she’d be looking for the woman who really called the shots.
    “I need to see the Black Swan,” said Infidel.
    Aurora crossed her arms, her biceps bulging beneath the walrus leather. She and Infidel had never lit into one another; Infidel probably had an edge, but Aurora wasn’t going to be a pushover. Her strength was supplemented by a formidable array of ice magic; for a tropical town, Commonground has a surprising number of residents who’ve lost limbs to frostbite. “The Black Swan has a busy schedule,” Aurora said. “I’ll see if I can work you into her calendar.”
    “I need to see her now,” said Infidel.
    Aurora shook her head. “She’ll see you when she wants to see you.”
    “She’ll want to see me now,” said Infidel, pulling the canvas away from the dragon skull. All the people at the poker table suddenly placed their cards face down and stared at the bar. Whatever stakes they were playing for, a dragon skull would trump it.
    The ice-ogress let loose an appreciative whistle as she eyed the priceless object. “The lower jaw and everything,” she said, reaching out to