The Night Parade Read Free

them.”
    Glancing over in shock, Myrmeen saw the party of five for whom she had been waiting seated at a table near the door. A bearded man with pale blue eyes and a red cape lifted a tankard to her.
    “Burke,” she said in a whisper. Suddenly her nervous feelings vanished, replaced with a girlish enthusiasm she had almost forgotten that she once had possessed.
    Zehla smiled and collected the untouched plate as Myrmeen rose and crossed the inn, stopping before the table where her old friends were seated. Her heart sank as she realized that she only recognized four members of the party. Sitting close to Burke was his wife, Varina, a lithe, blond-haired woman who wore black armor with red trim, the same as her husband. Across from the couple was a man in his early forties. He had tightly curled salt-and-pepper hair, dark eyes, and skin that was deeply scarred by a childhood disease he had survived.
    Despite his shortcomings, he was an attractive man, though not as dazzlingly handsome or thoroughly at ease with himself as Burke. His name was Reisz Roudabush, and he once had been in love with Myrmeen. Although she had cared for him deeply, she had not returned his affections. Reisz nodded and looked away, as if the mere sight of her was painful to him, even after a decade of separation. Sitting next to a chair that had been left open for Myrmeen was a tall, attractive woman who could have passed for her sister. Of all those who had come in answer to her summons, it was this woman, Elyn, who mattered the most to Myrmeen’s plans. In the corner was a thin, young brown-haired man whom Myrmeen had never seen before.
    “There were ten of us,” Myrmeen said as she sat in the vacant chair.
    “We are all that remains,” Elyn said. “I’m sure you know everyone but young Ord, here.”
    The dark-haired man nodded. He did not seem pleased to be at the inn.
    “What happened to the others?” Myrmeen asked.
    “Everyone but Morlan is alive and well, retired from the life, and prosperous,” Burke said in his jovial voice.
    Morlan had been a magic-user, a mage who had possessed a trove of available spells that had saved the group on many occasions. He also had possessed a collection of filthy jokes that Myrmeen continued to draw upon to this day.
    “How did he die?”
    “Fighting another wizard,” Varina said. “His death has been avenged.”
    “You should have contacted me,” Myrmeen said. “I should have been a part of it.”
    “We shouldn’t have needed to contact you,” Reisz said bitterly. “You should have been with us. If you had been—”
    “It would have made no difference,” Burke said strongly.
    Reisz returned his gaze to the drink he had yet to touch. “Probably not,” he agreed. “Of course, we’ll never know.”
    “Ignore him,” Elyn said, placing her hand on Myrmeen’s wrist. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he left the womb with his dour attitude.”
    Myrmeen became cold at the reference.
    “What’s wrong?” Elyn asked, instantly alarmed at the change in her friend.
    Myrmeen told them everything. In moments she was surrounded by a din of sympathy and outrage, oaths of vengeance and curses at fate itself. Reisz slammed his tankard on the table and the discussion abruptly ceased.
    “She didn’t come to us for our pity,” Reisz said. “She needs something from us. Hear her out.”
    Nodding slowly, Myrmeen said, “He’s right. I’ll need your help if I’m going to find my daughter after all these years.”
    “Tell us what you want us to do,” Elyn said softly.
    “I’m going to have to leave Arabel for a time, and that’s not as simple a task as it sounds. This place was ruled by anarchy before I took control. If I were to leave tomorrow, it wouldn’t be long before it returned to that state. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I do know that I don’t intend to allow what I’ve accomplished over the last eight years to be lost to me. I need someone to safeguard the city while