"Brackett, Leigh - Skaith 2 - Hounds Of Skaith" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brackett Leigh)

"Not in such numbers, and the hounds will watch."
"If there's another sandstorm," said Ashton, "let's pray there's somewhere to hide. The next wayhouse is a week's journey."
"You'll not reach it," Jofr said. "My father will send the Swiftwing."
"Swiftwing?"
"The bird of war. All the clans of the Ochar will gather. Your demon dogs will kill many, no doubt, but there will be many more." He twisted around and smiled at Stark, his small white teeth showing sharp as a knife-edge.
"Um," said Stark. "And what of this place of rocks, and the Hooded Men who are not of the First-Come?"
"Ask the wise woman," said Jofr contemptuously. "It is her vision."
"Your father mentioned the Fallarin. Who are they?"
"I am only a child," said Jofr. "These things are not known to me."
Stark let it go. "Simon?"
"They're a winged folk," said Gerrith suddenly.
Ashton glanced at her. "Yes. Undoubtedly a controlled mutation like the Children of the Sea and the Children of Skaith. They seem to be held in some sort of superstitious awe by the Hooded Men. They are important to tribal life but in what way I was never told. The Ochar are closemouthed with strangers, and the Wandsmen respect their tabus. Anyhow, I had other things to think about. But I do know one thing, Eric."
"What?"
"When that boy said I am an Ochar, he was doing more than stating a fact or making an affirmation of courage. He was also saying that an Ochar knows the ways of the desert, sharing its powers; that an Ochar destroys his enemies, never turning aside from sacred feud as long as he has breath. That's a blue-eyed viper you hold there, and never forget it."
"I've known desert men before," said Stark. "Now let me think."
The wind dropped. The face of the desert became peaceful. The veils of dust fell away from Old Sun, and the rusty daylight showed the markers of the Wandsmen's Road marching on ahead, never so far apart that if one was buried the next one, or the one beyond that, could not be seen.
Stark said, "Simon, what lies beyond Yurunna? You spoke of something called the Edge."
"The plateau we stand on drops away, four thousand feet or so. It's much warmer below, and there are places where springs make cultivation possible. There are cliff villagesЧ"
"Where the Hooded Men raid?"
"Not the villages themselves, they're out of reach, but they try to catch people in the fields, or steal their harvest. Beyond that is more desert until you come to the Fertile Belt."
"The good green land of the Farers."
"I was brought straight up the road from Skeg, so I didn't see too much of the country. The only city I saw was Ged Darod, the city of the Wandsmen. It was quite a place."
"A place of pilgrimage," Gerrith said. "Sanctuary, whorehouse, foundling home, spawning ground of more Wandsmen. That's where they're trained and taught, and every scrap of windblown rubbish in the world that drops there is made welcome."
"The whole of the lower city is crammed with Farers and pilgrims from all over Skaith. There are pleasure gardensЧ"
"I've heard of it," Stark said. "But first comes Yurunna."
Happy as a bird, Jofr's clear voice said, "You will not reach Yurunna."
He flung his arm skyward, a gesture of triumph. Where he pointed, high up, a winged shape of bronze and iron glinted and was quickly gone.
"It will go first to the nearest clan chiefs, and then to the farther ones. From its collar they will know that it belongs to my father. They will raise up their men at once, to come to him. You cannot pass through them on the way to Yurunna."
"Then we must go another way," said Stark. "And if there's no safety for us among the Ochar, we'll have to seek it among their enemies. Perhaps Gerrith's vision has purpose after all."
Ashton said, "You'll go to the Lesser Hearths?"
"It seems the only choice."
Jofr laughed. "The Ochar will still come after you. And the folk of the Lesser Hearths will eat you."
"Perhaps. What about you?"
"I am of the blood. I am man, not meat."
"What will they do to you?"
"I am a chiefs son. My father will buy me back."
"Then will you guide us to the Lesser Hearths? Or at least to the nearest one."
"Gladly," said Jofr. "And I myself will share in the feasting."
Stark said to Gerrith, "This guide you have chosen for me does not inspire trust."
"I did not choose him," Gerrith snapped. "And I did not say he would guide you out of love."
"Which way?" asked Stark of Jofr.
Jofr considered. "The Hearth of Hann Is nearest." He indicated a northeasterly direction, frowning, "I must wait for the stars."
"Does that sound right to you, Simon?"
Ashton shrugged. "Judging from where the Ochar lands are. They have the best, of course."
"The Lesser Hearths are weak," said Jofr. "The Runners eat them. When they are gone, we shall have all the land and water."
"But that time is not yet," said Stark. "Let's go."
They left the markers of the road behind them.
They moved on across boundless desolation while Old Sun slid down to the mountaintops and vanished in a cold brassy glare that streaked the land and then gave way to blackness and starshine and the dancing aurora.
Jofr studied the sky. "There. Where the big white one hangs under a chain of three. That is the way we must go."
They altered course toward the star.