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RAYMOND E. FEIST
and JANNY WURTS
Servant of the Empire
Book Two of the Empire Trilogy
HarperVoyager An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
Previously published in paperback by HarperCollins Science Fiction & Fantasy 1993
First published in Great Britain by Grafton Books 1990
Copyright © Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts 1990
The Authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780586203811
Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2012 ISBN: 9780007385362 Version: 2017-08-15
Dedicated to the memory of
Ron Faust, always a friend
Table of Contents
Chapter Seventeen: Grey Council
Chapter Eighteen: Bloody Swords
Chapter Twenty-One: Keeper of the Seal
Chapter Twenty-Four: Breakthrough
Chapter Twenty-Five: Confrontation
Chapter Twenty-Six: Resolution
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Beginnings
The breeze died.
Dust swirled in little eddies, settling grit over the palisade that surrounded the slave market. Despite the wayward currents, the air was hot and thick, reeking of confined and unwashed humanity mingled with the smell of river sewage and rotting garbage from the dump behind the market.
Sheltered behind the curtains of her brightly lacquered litter, Lady Mara wafted air across her face with a scented fan. If the stench troubled her, she showed no sign. The Ruling Lady of the Acoma motioned for her escort to stop. Soldiers in green enamelled armour came to a halt, and the sweating bearers set the litter down.
An officer in a Strike Leader’s plumed helm gave his hand to Mara and she emerged from her litter. The colour in her cheeks was high; Lujan could not tell if she was flushed