"Bertin,.Joanne.-.The.Last.Dragonlord.(1998).ShareConnector.com" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bertin Joanne)

The field outside of Casna was jammed with people awaiting the Dragonlords' arrival. They crowded behind the line of scarlet-clad palace guards who kept the larger section of the grassy sward free. The guards' tabards shone like splashes of blood against the green of the grass. Banners stuck up here and there above the throng, gold and scarlet and blue, hanging limp in the still, hot air. Folk of all classes jostled and called to one another. Wine-sellers shouldered through the crowd doing a brisk business. It looked as though the entire city had come to see the fabled Dragonlords.
Kas Althume stood beneath Prince Peridaen's canopy, enjoying the shade. Thank the gods his role as Lord Steward of the prince's lands and possessions entitled him to such comforts; he had no wish to join the sweltering masses in the sun. Still, it irked him he could not sit in public with the prince. Standing like this made the old wound in his thigh ache. He rubbed it lightly.
"That leg bothering you again?" the prince asked.
Althume shrugged. "My leg is not important. This is. Look at the fools," he said, his voice scornful. He leaned closer to Peridaen. "This might as well be a fair. Look how ready they are to welcome what's been holding them back for centuriesЧand glad of it."
Peridaen shrugged. "They don't matter. And if the Fraternity has its way, the end will begin here and Dragonlords will cease their interference in truehuman affairs once and for all. Do you think your man has reached Pelnar yet?"
"Pol? He left the day we knew for certain that the Dragonlords would be appealed to. Barring unforeseen accidents, he should arrive there soon. It may take time for him to find what we need," Althume said. "It's been years since I've had word of Nethuryn."
Seated to Peridaen's right, Anstella, Baroness of Colrane, asked, "KasЧ when he returns, do you really think you can loosen theЧ"
"Quiet, Anstella," Peridaen said.
She tossed her head. "Don't hush me, PeridaenЧI'm not a child. The servants are well out of earshot. Not that they could hear me above this jabber.''
"Not a truehuman, certainly," Althume said. "But can the Dragonlords read minds, sense intent? And from how far away? Remember, that's one of the many things we don't know about them. Keep all this from your mind if possible."
Anstella inclined her head, conceding the point.
Althume looked beyond her to the nearby canopy that sheltered many of the younger nobles. One young woman caught his eye. She had the same delicacy of feature and form, the same glorious auburn hair as the baroness. But unlike the baroness, who wore the intricately twined braids of a widow, the girl's hair spilled unbound down her back. She looked bored. Her lip curled disdainfully at the other young women as they chattered, their voices high with excitement.
Yet her hands betrayed that seeming aloofness as her fingers toyed incessantly with the rings adorning them. Althume guessed she was as excited as any of them.
"I see Sherrine is not succumbing to the excitement," he said, sipping spiced wine from a chased silver goblet.
"She knows what is right, not like those empty-headed chits," Anstella said with a toss of her head. "I've taught her well. No doubt they hope to snare a Dragonlord as a lover."
So she hadn't heard the sarcasm; he hadn't expected her to. All too often Anstella heardЧand sawЧonly what she wanted. Despite her dedication, that narrow-mindedness limited Anstella's usefulness to the Fraternity. A pity Peridaen had taken up with her.
"And if the judges are all women?" Peridaen asked. "Such tears of disappointment!" He sighed and pressed a hand to his heart with a flourish. The movement disturbed the large amethyst pendant he always wore. It flashed purple fire in the sunlight.
Althume smiled thinly. "Even so, there will be male Dragonlords. It is my understanding that Dragonlords prefer not to be separated from their soultwins; the judges will no doubt bring theirs. We may have as many as six Dragonlords descending upon us."
"Oh, gods," the baroness said, her voice heavy with disgust. "That many?" Her lip curled much like her daughter's.
"Calm yourself, my lady. It's more likely there will be only four. My guess is that two of the judges will be a soultwinned couple; the fourth will simply be accompanying the third judge," Althume explained.
"So the little fools will still have their chance," Peridaen said, stroking his beard.
"Not likely. It is said that a soultwinned Dragonlord is immune to seduction." Althume drank again.
"Pity; it might have sown some dissension in their ranks." Peridaen shifted in his chair. He beckoned to a page who bore a tray of sweetmeats. The boy hastened to obey. The prince chose one. The page offered the tray to the other two, then fell back out of earshot.
"Well trained," Althume said.
"I insist upon it," Peridaen said as he surveyed the field once again. "HmmЧa pity even your magery couldn't manage a love philter to ensnare a Dragonlord. Blast; I forgot. Because we don't know if they can sense magic, you've had to ceaseЧDamn! Rann is running about. Too much of that and no one will believe he's sickly. Kas?"
Stung by Peridaen's assumption he hadn't the magic to trap a Dragonlord, Althume angrily craned his neck to see across the field into the pavilion of Duchess Alinya, the interim regent of Cassori. He saw the young prince capering with his wolfhound. He snarled, "I'll see he gets more of the potion. He must not have received this morning's dose. It won't happen again."
Peridaen grunted, then said irritably, "I still can't believe Desia signed that warrant. If I'd known ..."
"You really had no idea she'd named Beren as regent if the contingency arose?" Althume said.
"None whatsoever. Damned nastiest surprise I've had in a long while," Peridaen said. He scowled.
Althume shrugged. It had been a setback, true, but he'd seized the opportunity to set an even more ambitious plan into action. One always had to be ready.
A scream from the crowd made him look up. People milled about, some shrieking with excitement, all pointing to the sky in the north. He shaded his eyes. After a moment he made out three dots against the blue sky. He searched for, but couldn't find, any more.
"I thought you said there would be at least four," Anstella said. Althume couldn't tell whether she was disappointed or pleased.
He didn't reply. Instead he watched the dragons approach. And wondered.
Two dragons, one brown, one yellow, flew side by side. Large as they seemed to his truehuman eyes, they were dwarfed by the dark red dragon behind them. Scales glittered in the sunlight. The three wheeled above the crowd, graceful as swallows, momentarily blotting out the sun.
Althume could feel the wind from the powerful wings as their shadows slid over him. All across the field the banners snapped in the sudden breeze, then fell limp again as the dragons passed. People screamed and ducked even though the dragons were far above them. The dragons settled on the grass well away from the crowd.
They dropped the bundles they carried between their forelegs and folded their wings. Then they moved to stand well away from each other, almost clumsy upon the earth. Their claws scored the turf. The yellow dragon limped; its right hind leg was smaller than the left.
And still no other dragon winged down from the north to join its fellows.
"I don't understand," Althume said. He was aware of an unreasoning annoyance deep inside. The Dragonlords had proved him wrong. And he had rushed to the edge of the canopied area to watch them as though he were one of the common herd of fools. That Peridaen and Anstella had done the same was small consolation. "Where is the other one? There should be at least one more."
On the field, a red mist surrounded each dragon, drawing more shrieks from the crowd. Moments later three human figures stood in their places. One stood head and shoulders above the other two. Althume could see the long clan braid of a Yerrin hanging down the man's back as he joined the others.
A glimmer of an answer came to Althume. He tensed. "PeridaenЧI must see who the Dragonlords are. If the third one is who I thinkЧ"
Looking surprised, Peridaen nodded. "Since I'm a claimant for the regency, I suppose I must greet our. .. honored guestsЧ" he spat the words "Чand be civil. No one will think it odd if you come with me. But whatЧ"
"If I'm right, the fools have played right into our hands." The memory of Peridaen's doubt stung Althume again. We'll see if even a Dragonlord is a match for my magic! "And do be cordial," Althume continued. "But don't worry; it won't be for long." He shook his head in mock regret. "Not long at all."

Five

Sherrine swept into her bedchamber, surprised at the dim light within. Her gown clung damply to her. She was sticky with the heat, had a headache, and wanted a bath.
"Tandavi," she called.