"Bard's Tale 03 - Prison of Souls - Mercedes Lackey & Mark Shepherd 1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bard's Tale)

had been when Alaire first met him. From some of the
old songs and tales, Alaire learned that he had been
around in King Amber's time. Even then he was old by
human standards.
Now's a good time to ask him again, Alaire thought.
He might even answer. He'd met only with annoying
silence every other time he'd inquired.
"You know, you seem to be holding up well for
someone as, well, old as you," Alaire ventured, cau-
tiously. Naitachal frowned; but then, he usually did
when that question came up. The bardling's words still
came out wrong, as if his mouth assumed a will of its
own whenever he asked something personal about his
Master. Inwardly, Alaire winced. He didn't want to
annoy the elf, particularly when the swords were
within reach. The next bout might be even harder!
"How old are you, Master?"
The elf took his time answering. Alaire wondered if
he had ignored what had become a rather rude ques-
tion, or had chosen not to hear it.
"You're all of nineteen years old, young bardling,"
Naitachal began softly, after drinking from the ladle.
His eyes softened, and Alaire sighed in relief. "A mere
infant. A toddler. At best, a child." He smiled wistfully,
as if considering a secret, amusing thought. "I am old
by your standards."
Alaire waited, but the elf did not answer.
"Well?" Alaire asked.
"Older than you think," he said, "and not as old as
the hills or the trees." That seemed to be the end of
that.
The boy shrugged, deciding to drop that particular
line of questioning, but his curiosity still burned. Nai-
tachal served King Amber. From what Father told me,
he was quite the hero. He mentioned that he was
involved with doing away with Carlotta. He shivered
whenever he thought of the evil princess who had
tried to seize the throne by kidnapping the rightful
heir, Prince Amber. The story had real meaning in his
family. His descent from Amber gave it more impact
than "just a tale." This particular bedtime story had
places where Father would say, "And then Amber
used to say..." or "Gawaine told me that Kevin ..."
Carlotta failed, and then vanished. Years later she
reappeared and hatched a plot involving Count Vol-
mar and a book of Bardic spells. Gawaine's own
teacher, Kevin, had searched for the book in Volmar's
library, found it, and used it to defeat her.
That was all Alaire knew about the incident. The
royal family seldom discussed it, even among relatives,