Jimmy and the Crawler. Raymond E. Feist

he was dismissed, stood and said, ‘Thank you, Highness.’

      ‘Don’t thank me yet, Jimmy,’ said Arutha. ‘With greater rank comes greater responsibility.’ As James turned, Arutha added, ‘And more chances to get yourself killed.’

      James hesitated for a bare moment, then continued out of the door.

      Arutha looked from Jazhara to William and back. ‘I don’t know what went on between you at Stardock and I prefer to keep it that way. I don’t intrude into the lives of my court officers unless their behaviour reflects poorly on my court, or hampers their service. I expect you both to deal with whatever difficulties may lie between you.’ He sat back, steepling his fingers. ‘James is a young man of prodigious talent, and he has ambition. If I don’t keep him on a short leash he’ll get himself killed, but too short a leash makes him ineffective; so you two will be my leash when you’re gone from the city.’

      ‘Gone, Highness?’ asked William.

      ‘It is almost certain, given what we already know, that you three will soon be on your way to Kesh.’

      Jazhara nodded. ‘Since the night of my arrival, much of what I have seen involving criminal activity in Krondor has involved Keshians.’

      ‘Not all your countrymen in my city can be your great uncle’s agents, Jazhara.’ Then Arutha revealed one of his rare smiles. ‘Though on occasion I’m inclined to think they all may be. Abdur may be the cleverest man I’ve ever encountered.’ He stood up, and they rose a moment after. ‘I must return to my other duties. You two keep a close watch on James. He may end up running this nation some day, and I suspect he’ll do a masterful job, so don’t let him get killed before that. Understood?’

      Then without another word, he turned and left them standing in his office.

      They exchanged glances and then, silently, departed.

      Jazhara waited until they were halfway between the prince’s private rooms and the great hall before she said, ‘What is it he has heard?’

      William shrugged. ‘Gossip, no doubt. His Highness keeps a close watch on everything. Rarely is anything undertaken in Krondor or the principality without his being aware of it. Your arrival was anticipated by many, for you are a novelty.’ He studied her face, one he knew in every detail from their short-lived romance.

      Being a few years older than William, Jazhara had still been young enough not to understand the difference between their feelings for one another until it was too late. She loved him after a fashion, and had enjoyed the intimacy while it had lasted, but he had been completely overtaken by a deep and abiding love. Their break-up had been bitter and he, being young, had not handled it well.

      That had been one of the many reasons why William had decided to leave Stardock and take service with Arutha. The other reasons involved disputes with his father over his role in the Academy. William had what could only be described as a ‘magical gift’: the ability to hear what animals were thinking. His father had assumed that meant William would take up magic as his calling, but other than the one odd ability, he felt no calling for, nor displayed much talent in, other areas of magic. He wished to be a soldier, a dream of his since childhood, and on several occasions after his fourteenth birthday his mother had had to end a heated exchange between William and Pug.

      William stopped and Jazhara turned a half-step later and said, ‘What is it?’

      William paused, framing his thoughts. ‘It doesn’t have to be difficult. We’ve already weathered one … adventure,’ he said with a pained grin, ‘and no doubt we’ll face other challenges for the prince. It seems Arutha is putting us in Squire James’s–excuse me, Sir James’s–charge, and we both know that means a lot more danger and a lot less comfort.’

      Jazhara nodded. ‘James does attract trouble.’

      ‘Attract? No, he’s rather keen to ferret it out,’ corrected William. ‘That’s why Arutha treasures him so much.’ He glanced around. ‘James expects to be running this castle some day, and I expect he probably will. But what I mean is, we don’t have to make this any more difficult than it already is. That’s what I think the prince was hinting at.’

      ‘His Highness doesn’t strike me as the type of man to hint, William.’

      ‘Mostly you’re right,’ said William. He walked on. ‘But sometimes he lets the other person puzzle things out for himself—’ he inclined his head, ‘—or herself, because it makes the message much more … personal, I guess.’

      ‘So what you’re saying is, you’re willing to put the past behind us?’

      William stopped in mid-stride as if to think about the question, then started walking again. ‘I’m never going to forget anything, Jazhara,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m just not going to let it get in my way, is all.’

      ‘I can accept that,’ she said, studying his face.

      ‘What?’ he asked after a moment.

      ‘Nothing,’ she said with a half-smile. ‘It’s just … you’ve grown up since Stardock.’

      ‘Being around James ages you … rapidly.’

      She laughed and they let silence overtake them.

      The next morning James, William, and Jazhara were summoned to Prince Arutha’s private apartment as he was finishing his morning meal with his wife and children. The twins jumped down from the table and ran over, shouting, ‘Uncle Jimmy! Cousin Willy!’ and hugged both in turn. They were polite in greeting Jazhara, as she was relatively new to the court and hadn’t achieved ‘auntie’ status just yet. Baby Elena grinned and laughed at the sight of the two ‘uncles’, then shrieked delightedly.

      Princess Anita took a moment to greet both young men, who bowed; and Jazhara, who curtseyed despite wearing trousers instead of a skirt. ‘It’s good to see you again, boys, and you as well, Jazhara.’ She squeezed the young woman’s hands. ‘You must find time to visit us so that we can get to know each other better.’

      Suddenly a yelp of anger and a wailing cry announced that the boys were getting into one of their usual scuffles. Both Arutha and Anita hurried to take care of the baby and herd the boys into the next room.

      Jazhara looked at James and saw an almost rapt expression on his face. She smiled.

      William said, ‘Nothing like my family back in Stardock, is it?’

      Jazhara shook her head. ‘Nothing like mine either.’

      James chuckled. ‘This is the only family I’ve ever known. If I ever do wed, I’m going to try to be as much like them as I can.’

      Arutha returned, closing the door behind him. With a rueful smile, he said, ‘I wonder sometimes how my father coped with my brother and me when we were young.’

      James grinned. ‘I believe I’ve heard parenthood described as “nature’s revenge”, Highness.’

      Arutha laughed briefly, then nodded. ‘Well put.’ He motioned for them to follow him through another door into his personal study. He sat down behind his desk. ‘Very well, where do we start?’

      Without hesitation, James answered, ‘Kesh. Specifically, Durbin. We don’t actually start there, but I’m certain that’s where we’ll end up.’

      ‘Elucidate.’

      William and Jazhara both looked on with interest: they had arrived at a similar conclusion, having discussed it over a shared meal to break their fast before coming to this meeting.

      ‘At every turn we find Keshians involved, Highness,’ answered James. ‘I’ve used every contact I have here in Krondor, inside the Mockers and outside, and I’ve ruled out an attempted takeover both from within the Guild of Thieves–the Upright Man is too smart and has too many loyal thugs at his disposal–or from without. The independent gangs still pay tribute to the Mockers and conduct only the business