"Daley,.Brian.-.Coramonde.1.-.Doomfarers.Of.Coramonde" - читать интересную книгу автора (Daley Brian)

door, to find himself faced with a figure from his past. The light was
poor but he still knew his old playmate Micko, stableboy now, but
close companion back in the days when rank meant less and
larking was the order of the day. Micko was at one with animals, just
as his father was, though he hadn't inherited his sire's affinity

20

Of Deaths, Of Departure 21

for forest and field, and was most at home in kennel, aerie or barn.
But even Micko, never one for insight or subtlety, knew the drift of
things at Court and must know it was his obligation to raise the
alarm on pain of a traitor's fate. Springbuck could only wait and
taste bitterness. But Micko, a sorrowful expression on his grimy
face, said only, "Do not let him take his head, as he likes to; he will
wear himself out early in the ride." Springbuck's cheeks burned. He
wanted to explain why he was flying by night like a criminal, how his
enemies had an infinite number of ways to ensure that he wouldn't
survive a duel for the throne, but he couldn't think of any words
which did not strike him as self-serving.

So, he brushed brusquely past Micko and, mounting and masking,
guided his horse through the stable and out across the main bailey,
clopping over smooth paving lit by fluttering torches and toward the
portcullis, raised in this time of moribund festivity. He fell in with a
group of riders, laughing celebrants who'd just mounted nearer the
palace proper. The gate warder did not try to delay them, obvious
guests of the Queen. As they all rode down the rampway from
Earthfast, Springbuck gradually fell behind his temporary escorts.

Once down the long slope, he stopped and turned in his saddle for
one last look at the ancient keep with its bright lights and whipping
flags and battle pennons, as the faint sounds of gaiety drifted out
over the night. With a sigh, he faced back to the way before him.
He knew he must make good distance before dawn, and started
down the broad boulevard which led from the palace-fortress
through the city spread at its feet. He'd thought to perhaps hide in
the city for a while until it was feasible to travel overland, but had
dismissed the idea. Kee-Amaine would be torn brace from beam
in the search for him and the rewards offered would guarantee
betrayal from anyone else who identified himЧ unless Micko had
already changed his mind.

He cantered slowly down the way, not wishing to attract attention by
moving any faster.

Kee-Amaine, the City of the Protector, surrounded Earthfast as a
gaudy collar does* a desperado's neck,