Issola
by Steven Brust

Description:
On the run from House Jhereg, which he double-crossed, Vlad Taltos has been living far too long in the woods, where you can't even get a decent cup of klava first thing in the morning. Then suddenly he's found by, of all improbable people, Lady Teldra, the courtly, preternaturally charming sevant of his old friend the Dragonlord Morrolan. Teldra has come to ask for Vlad's help, because Morrolan and Aliera have disappeared, and it looks as if they may be literally gone from the world. Consulting the ever-interesting and fabulously powerful Sethra Lavode, Vlad and Teldra find that Morrolan and Aliera are being held captive by the Jenoine. Who have hitherto been a mystery - perhaps not to a lord like Morrolan, but certainly to Vlad. Indications are that the Jenoine may have made Dragaera and may have once been the masters of the gods themselves. Not the kind of guys you want to go up against. Cynical, Vlad may be. And he certainly claims to be devoted to looking out for Number One. But Morrolan and Aliera are his friends, and he can't bring himself to abandon then - even if it means doing battle at the Sea of Amorphia itself. After all, what's a little cosmic battle with beings who control time and space? It's better than hunkering down in the woods without even so much as a drinkable cup of klava.