"Briggs, Patricia - Sianim 3 - When Demons Walk" - читать интересную книгу автора (Briggs Patricia)

Sham sat on a low stone fence in the shadows of an alley pulling on her boots. In the darkness that
even the moonlight failed to reach, a sea breeze caressed her hair. She drew in a deep breath of the fresh
air.

Even the sea smelled different here in the hilly area of Landsend. The Cybellian conquerors, like the
Southwood nobles before them, had chosen to make their homes far from the wharves. In Purgatory, the
westside slum where Sham lived, the ocean air smelled like dead fish, old garbage, and despair.

She stood up and ran her hands lightly over the silk of her courierТs tunic to make sure that the black
and gray material hung properly. She had to fluff the opaque sleeves twice to keep them from revealing
odd bulges where she stored the tools of her trade.

It was still early in the winter season, so the silk was warm enough if she kept moving, but she was
glad the trousers were made of heavier material. After bundling her other clothes, she tucked them out of
sight in the lower limbs of a tree that graced the garden behind a wealthy merchantТs house.

Messengers were common on the streets of Landsend, SouthwoodТs capital, even in the darkness of
early morning. Female messengers were not, but Sham was lightly built and, on the streets, could pass
easily as a boyЧas she had for the last twelve years. Even the long braid that hung down her back was
not out of place. Only recently had the Southwood men begun to crop their hair like the Easterners who
had conquered them.


As she strode through the empty, moonlit street, she noticed a guardsman standing near a cross street
watching her. The east-city guards were as different from the guards of Purgatory as the smell of
sweetsalt was from rotting fish. Most of them were younger sons of Cybellian merchants and traders
rather than the glorified street thugs who were supposed to keep order in the less prosperous areas of
town.

The guard caught ShamТs eye and she waved to him. He responded with a nod and waited for her
path to bring her nearer.

УLate night,Ф he commented.

She noticed with hidden amusement that he was even younger than sheТd thoughtЧand bored as
well to talk to a mere messenger.

УEarly morning, messire,Ф she grumbled cheerfully in Cybellian, not bothering to hide her Southwood
accent since her white-blond hair kept her from claiming Cybellian birthЧas long as she chose to leave it
uncovered.

He smiled agreeably and she continued past him, careful to keep a rapid straight path and looking
neither to the left nor the right until sheТd traveled several blocks.

The house she was looking for was on the end of a block, and she waited until sheТd turned the
corner before giving it more than a casual glance. The hedge was too high for her to see much of the
building, but there were no signs of occupation in the upper story. First checking to see if anyone was
watching her, Sham dropped to the ground and shimmied under the wall of greenery that enclosed her
target for the evening.