Rise of the Serpent (Serpent's War Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

poise and said, “What I make I will keep. This, I want you to keep. You’ll need it to hire a replacement.”
    Lyden frowned but his frown didn’t last. He slipped them into his shirt with a nod. “I should get back to my shop,” he said and started to rise.
    “You won’t dine with us?” Namitus asked.
    Lyden considered the offer for a moment before shaking his head. “I think not. I appreciate the offer and appreciate what you are doing for Amra. Shazamir is not what it once was. We were a mighty nation once. Perhaps we had our troubles, but what I see happening to the city of Mira seems to take away from who we once were. Our pride and heritage is fading. Greed rules the hearts of men here now.”
    “Come with us,” Amra urged.
    Her father shook his head. “I cannot. I have my duties, and you have yours. Heed this young man as you would me.”
    Namitus managed to keep his comments to himself while Amra rose and embraced her father. He returned it and then stiffened and cleared his throat. With a final nod to Namitus, he turned and hurried out of the tavern.
    Namitus watched Amra sit down again and studied her. She stared back and dropped her eyes to the satchel still on the table.
    “Why did you slip one of those pouches into my tool pouch earlier?” she asked.
    Namitus smiled. “I did no such thing. You must have picked my pocket.”
    She snorted. “I think nothing could be further from the truth. Are you for real, or just a thief who has gotten lucky?”
    “Would that I had this sort of luck,” he said. “And if that was all I was, what reason would I have to come to your father’s shop?”
    She grunted and leaned back as the barmaid returned with the drinks. Her eyes went to the spot that Lyden had vacated. She shrugged and delivered all three drinks before turning and heading back to tend to other customers.
    “You are a very strange man, Sir Namitus.”
    Namitus smiled. “I’ve been getting that a lot today. And please, drop the title. At least between us. It makes me feel old…or at least proper.”
    “You’re not proper?”
    The rogue grinned. “I could tell you stories.”
    “I like stories. Go ahead.”
    He drank from his cup before saying, “What else can you tell me about the elf with the simple but masterful dress?”
    Amra gasped and turned around. She studied the elven woman and the human girl for several seconds before turning back to face him. “Sorry, I don’t get many chances to be this close to an elf. Two elves with two humans, that seems odd.”
    A chair scraped across the floor. The large human stood up and turned towards them. Namitus kept his groan internal but did say, “You looked too long.”
    “What? I—”
    Namitus nodded as the warrior with the massive axe walked around the table and stared down at the drink. “Anybody drinking this?” he asked.
    Namitus grinned and waved with his hand at the drink. “I was hoping you’d want it. Seemed a shame to let it go to waste.”
    The man grinned and reached down. His fingers barely closed around it before the girl stepped beside him and reproached him, “Gor! That’s not yours.”
    “By all means, young miss, I have given it to him,” Namitus said.
    Gor grinned and looked at her.
    “Is it water?” she asked.
    Namitus chuckled. “Of course not! What—oh.” He stopped when he saw her face harden. He offered an apologetic shrug to Gor and said, “Oh, I see.”
    “No ale, remember? You gave me your word,” she said to the man.
    “Bring a thirsty man to a tavern,” he grumbled. “That’s like taking a lion to freshly slain deer and telling him not to eat.”
    “Except this lion has enough control, doesn’t he?”
    Gor scowled and pushed the ale back.
    Namitus watched their exchange and then glanced at Amra. The girl with Gor didn’t look wealthy or noble, but she gave him orders as though she was. Even more, she looked to be about the same age as Amra. Not impossible or even uncommon, but something