"Bennett, Marcia J - Ni-Lach 03 - Beyond the Draak's Teeth UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bennett Marcia J)

34
BEYOND THE DRAAK'S TEETH
"If he doesn't wake soon, he may never wake."
"Do you want to see him again?" Theon asked.
"I might just as well while I'm here."
Chair legs scraped across the floor as Theon and Grin-gers pushed away from the table and followed Chagg into the next room.
Chagg was a thin, gray-haired man. The lantern he carried into the room cast a ruddy glow to his features. He set the lantern on the table and nodded when he saw that Bhaldavin's eyes were open. "Good, he's awake. Theon, bring me that stool, will you?"
After he sat down, Chagg placed his fingers at Bhaldavin's throat, then lifted Bhaldavin's eyelids one at a time.
Bhaldavin endured the examination quietly, fearing that if he moved, the pain would return.
He glanced at Theon, then at Gringers as Chagg continued his examination. Gringers approached barefooted; he wore dark brown knee-length pants, a sleeveless tunic that laced from midchest to neck, and a leather band that held his dark hair away from his face. His dark eyes and red-bronzed skin were striking. Kinsa bloodlines, not Sar-issa, Bhaldavin noted, thinking how strange was mankind's custom of naming themselves according to facial features and coloring or the places they lived. The Ni-lach thought of themselves only as the People.
Gringers moved closer, studying Bhaldavin with great interest, noting the stump of his arm, the bruise under his eye, and the crystal-gray eyes that met his glance boldly.
Bhaldavin stared at Gringers only a moment or two before a sudden tremor of uneasiness touched him; it started at the back of his neck and skittered down to his stomach. Gringers's fathomless black eyes drew him in, demanding entry into his thoughts and commanding instant obedience.
He fought against the pull and broke contact, shuddering as the strange cloak of ownership the mam.had tried to wrap him in slowly dissolved. Who is this man?
MARCIA J. BENNETT
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he wondered. He had known few men in his lifetime and had no way to judge them, yet he felt Gringers was above the ordinary. He sensed raw power in the tall man, a belief in self that bordered on arrogance.
Chagg touched Bhaldavin's head. Bhaldavin flinched.
"Ah, tender there is it?" Chagg murmured.
"Yes," Bhaldavin answered softly.
That one simple word brought three very different responses. Gringers raised a quizzical eyebrow; Chagg swore softly; and Theon sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes alight with the knowledge that he had been right about Bhaldavin.
"You can talk!" Theon exclaimed. "And in trader. Why? Why haven't you spoken before this?"
When Bhaldavin didn't respond, Chagg leaned closer. "Answer him," he said firmly.
Theon quickly pulled Chagg away. "Easy, let's not frighten him." Theon turned back to Bhaldavin. "Little Fish, tell me, how long have you been able to talk and understand what's happening around you?"
"My name is Bhaldavin, not Little Fish." Bhaldavin's voice sounded strange to his own ears. It was much deeper than he remembered it. And it was raspy, rusty from non-use. He cleared his throat.
An uneasy smile touched Theon's face. "All right... Bhaldavin it is. Will you answer my question?"
Bhaldavin wasn't sure he wanted to cooperate with men who so obviously looked upon him as a piece of property, but he finally decided that silence hadn't served him very well and that he couldn't lose anything by talking to the men.
"I remember nothing of the past fifteen years," he began. "I don't know where I am, nor how I got here. The last I remember is running from the Sarissa. They were killing alt the Ni-lach who lived in and around the Deep."
"How old were you at that time?" Theon asked.
"Twelve."
"Do you remember what happened to your arm?"
36
BEYOND THE DRAAK'S TEETH
"No."
Theon glanced at Chagg. "Amnesia?"
"It's possible. The shock of seeing his people killed, the loss of his armЧeither would be reason enough for him to want to forget what happened. The mind can be very protective."
"But why would he suddenly snap out of it?" Theon asked.
"A natural healing process, or perhaps some stimulus from the outside."
"Are you a draak singer, Bhaldavin?" Gringers's voice was low and lacked the harsh tone Bhaldavin heard in Theon's and Garv's voices.
When Bhaldavin failed to reply, Theon pressed him. "I heard you trying to sing the draak on the trail, Little Fish. Were you a draak singer once?"
"No."
"But I heard you!"
"I was young when the Sarissa declared war on my people. My father had just started to teach me to sing draak. I wasn't very good yet."
"Little Fish!" Garv's deep voice startled everyone.
Theon stood up as Garv pushed past Gringers. "Little Fish was talking!" Garv boomed. "I heard him!"
"Yes, Garv," Theon said, catching Garv by the arms. "He can talk. We were just asking him some questions aboutЧ"
"Why didn't you talk before, Little Fish?" Garv demanded, ignoring his brother.
"He couldn't, Garv," Theon tried to explain. "He didn't even know who he was. There was something wrong with his mind."
Garv leaned down, peering into Bhaldavin's face. "Garv always gave you wine when your head hurt, Little Fish. Does your head hurt now?"
"A little," Bhaldavin answered hesitantly. *
MARCIA J. BENNETT