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

"And sing?"
"A little."
A slow smile spread across Laran's face. He reached out and patted Bhaldavin lightly on the shoulder. "That's all I wanted to know, Green One."
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BEYOND THE DRAAK'S TEETH
Laran turned to Theon. "We have some talking to do, you and I. I suggest we get started."
Theon grunted noncommittally and headed toward the doorway. Things had not gone as he had hoped. Laran was no man's fool, and it was going to take more than fast talk to outmaneuver him.
Before the door closed behind the two men, Bhaldavin got a glimpse of Gringers and Garv seated at the table in the next room. They were playing some kind of dice game. Gringers looked up as Theon and Laran emerged from Bhaldavin's room.
"I'll be out for a little while," Theon told Gringers. "Don't let anyone else in until I get back."
The door to the bedroom closed, leaving Bhaldavin in darkness. A moment later he heard the outside door shut. He waited a few minutes, then left the bed and walked to the bedroom door where he stood and listened.
Garv and Gringers were talking, but the words were too indistinct to make out.
He moved away from the door. Theon had said no more visitors, which meant that for a while he would be undisturbed. If he could work fast enough, it was just possible that he could be gone by the time Theon returned.
Hours passed. Eventually a small amount of daylight filtered through a crack in the west wall of the room, giving Bhaldavin just enough light to see what he was doing. His fingers were sore from prying at the half-rotted floor boards, but he wouldn't give up. He had already loosened three boards to a point where he knew he could wrench them up out of the way when the time came. One more board and the hole would be wide enough to allow him to slip out and under the floor. The crawl space below offered him plenty of room to maneuver.
The smell of damp dirt wafted up from below as he continued to work, using the handle of a spoon as a wedge. Suddenly something stabbed a finger. The board snapped
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back into place as his hand jerked back in reflex. The solid thump of wood against wood was clearly audible.
He froze. Though the door was closed, he could hear someone moving around in the next room. He tasted blood as he explored the cut with his tongue; the wound was shallow and of little consequence.
He wiped his hand on his tunic and returned to work, determined to escape before Theon returned. As he bent over, his empty sleeve brushed the floor. Late that morning, Theon had brought him an old tunic and a pair of thigh-length pants. The clothes were frayed, but clean. He had put them on with Garv's help.
It was strange, he thought, but with the stump of his arm covered he felt less vulnerable; his visitors that afternoon hadn't stared at his maimed body, but had looked him in the face, eyes alight with curiosityЧand sometimes with fear, which baffled him. He didn't feel at all threatening.
He carefully wedged the floor board up, bracing it with his knee. He then reached down and under, searching for the sharp object that had cut him. He found a shard of stoneware caught in a crack; he worked it back and forth until it finally came free.
Suddenly the door behind him opened and light flooded the room. Startled, he jumped and lost his hold on the board. It snapped back, catching his arm.
"I thought I heard something in here," Gringers said. "What in the name of Cestar's Eyes are you doing?"
Bhaldavin tried to pull his arm free, but before he could do so, Gringers was upon him, jerking him backward by the hair. He cried out as his arm scraped between the two pieces of planking; he felt as if his skin was being stripped away.
Gringers caught him by the tunic front and thrust him up against the nearest wall. Bhaldavin struggled to break free, but his resistance earned him only a stinging blow to the face.
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BEYOND THE DRAAK'S TEETH
Gringers crushed Bhaldavin between himself and the wall. "Don't fight me, Little Fish," he growled, laying his forearm across Bhaldavin's throat. "You can't win."
Bhaldavin gasped in pain as Gringers caught his arm at the wrist and slammed it up against the wall, pinning him securely. Suddenly fear and rage gave Bhaldavin strength, and he kicked out, catching one of Gringers's legs.
As Gringers lurched to the right, Bhaldavin wrenched free and brought his arm up and around, slamming his elbow into the side of Gringers's face, knocking him down.
Numbing pain shot up Bhaldavin's arm as he darted around the fallen man and headed for the doorway.
Gringers rolled to his feet and lunged at Bhaldavin, catching him by a pant leg and slamming him hard against the floor. Bhaldavin fought instinctively, kicking at Gringers's head. The man grunted in pain, but somehow blocked another kick with his forearm. He rolled away as Bhaldavin scrambled to his feet; then he too had regained his feet and stood between Bhaldavin and the door.
Bhaldavin feinted to the left, then broke to the right. Gringers grabbed the back of Bhaldavin's tunic, then turned and swung him into the wall.
Bhaldavin hit the wall with his good shoulder and bounced back into Gringers's arms. Gringers drove him back against the wall again and held him.
"Stop it. Stop it, Little Fish," Gringers snarled. "You're only hurting yourself."
"No!" Garv's bellow of anger was deafening.
Gringers turned just as Garv plunged into the room and grabbed him around the waist. He swore and began hitting Garv in the face as the big man lifted him from his feet. A solid blow to the nose finally broke Garv's hold.
Gringers turned as he dropped, caught Garv by an arm, and hauled him up and over his side. The floor shook with the impact of Garv's body. Whirling around, Gringers threw himself on top of Garv, pinning the large man to the $oor.
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Suddenly Theon was there. He threw himself into the battle, and soon he and Gringers had Garv immobilized.
"What happened?" Theon demanded, panting with the effort of holding Garv still. "Did Garv start this?"
"No!" Gringers snapped fiercely, glaring at Bhaldavin, who stood with his back to the wall. "He did!"
Nose streaming blood, Garv yelled incoherently at his brother.
It took them minutes to bring Garv under control and longer to get him out of the room.
"Go and wash the blood from your face, Garv," Theon commanded, pushing Garv out of the doorway. "Then bring me some fresh water. I'm going to need it to clean Little Fish off."
Garv eyed Gringers warily as he shuffled toward the other room. "You don't touch Little Fish again," he warned. "Or I'll kill you."
"Go on, Garv," Theon yelled. "Do as I told you!"
He watched until Garv was out of sight, then turned to inspect Bhaldavin. When he saw the blood dripping down Bhaldavin's arm, he stepped closer. "What a mess," he muttered as he bared the arm. "Come on, Little Fish, sit down. Let me see the damage."
Gringers crossed to the bed. "How bad is it?"