In the Claws of the Tiger Read Online Free

work—mercenary work, I believe. I came hereshortly after that, so if she ever wrote me a letter, I never received it.”
    “When was that?” Janik asked.
    “Just after the war ended. We had been back less than a year.”
    A waiter approached, and Janik realized he hadn’t looked at the menu. He glanced at it quickly while Mathas ordered, decided on a Cyran duck dish, then fiddled with his fork as he asked, “So, did she talk about me?”
    “What do you think, Janik?”
    “I think you two probably discussed me to death, but that might just be my inflated sense of self-importance.”
    Mathas smiled. “Of course we did—as we have done many, many times over the years. As usual, we came to no conclusions.”
    “I hurt her pretty badly, didn’t I?”
    “Yes, you did.”
    Janik turned sideways in his chair, scanning the crowded room. Mathas turned his gaze out the window for a moment, then looked back at Janik. “What did she say in her letter?”
    Janik sighed. “Nothing about … what happened. It was actually the third letter I received. The first two were from the Cathedral. It’s really the Keeper of the Flame who has invited me to Thrane.”
    Mathas leaned forward. “The Keeper of the Flame? What does she want with you?”
    “Unclear. I pretty much ignored the first two letters. I didn’t feel like taking up any holy quests. Of course, Kelas assumes the Keeper wants to send us on a mission against Aundair.” Janik smiled.
    “And Dania wrote to reinforce the Keeper’s invitation?”
    “Exactly. Here, I’ve got the letter.” Janik pulled the foldedpage from his coat pocket and handed it across the table. He quoted the words he had read a hundred times. “Dear Janik, I’m writing to add my voice to the invitation you’ve already received. I urge you to come to Thrane and hear what the Keeper of the Flame has to say. And so on.”
    Mathas read the last few lines of the brief letter, then handed it back to Janik.
    “So she has allied herself with the Church of the Silver Flame?” Mathas asked. “Interesting.”
    “Yes, that’s one of the things that puzzles me.”
    “Well,” Mathas said, looking at the ceiling. “Now that I think about it, I believe that the friend of her father’s in Karrnath was affiliated with the Church. Perhaps she has simply risen through the ranks to some military position with the Church?”
    “Possibly. Anyway, as you can see, the letter says nothing important—nothing about our past together, nothing about Xen’drik or Maija …”
    “Or me,” Mathas interrupted.
    “Nothing about you.”
    “So why have you come to take me to Thrane?”
    “If the Keeper wants to send me on some expedition, then I need you.” Janik sighed and studied his wine glass. “And I can’t face Dania without you.”
    Mathas smiled kindly. “What are you afraid of, Janik?”
    Janik sipped his wine, thinking, while the waiter set their food in front of them. After the waiter left, he said, “I’m afraid—” His voice was shaking, and he took a deep breath to steady it. “I’m afraid of the past, Mathas. I’m afraid that seeing her will make missing Maija hurt that much more.” He looked down at his plate.
    “Three years have not dulled its bite?”
    “Not in the least. I’ve been keeping myself busy—alwayson the move. It keeps my thoughts from running away with me. But I dream about her all the time, and I keep thinking maybe she’s going to just show up and apologize and make things the way they used to be. I even talk to her sometimes, as if she were still with me.”
    “Then you have no clearer idea of what happened?”
    “What happened? You saw as well as I did—she took the Ramethene Sword from me and gave it to Krael.”
    “No, I mean what happened in her heart. Did you see any sign of a change in her, some dissatisfaction or anger that might cause her to leave us that way?”
    “Did we have a big fight in the ruins—is that what you’re asking?” Janik’s