"Dragonlance - Deathgate Cycle 05 - The Hand of Chaos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Deathgate Cycle)

"No, dog. We're heading for our own ship. We're getting out of here."

Haplo jumped off the deck, landed on the foul, slime-covered sand, began to edge his way along the shoreline toward his rune-inscribed ship. The dog continued to growl and bark and came along with Haplo only reluctantly and after repeated commands.

Haplo was within arm's length of reaching his vessel when he caught a glimpse of movement near the cavern's entrance.

He waited, watching. He was cautious, but not particularly worried. He was now close enough to his ship to seek the safety of its protective runes. The dog's growl became a snarl; its upper lip curled, revealing sharp teeth.

A man emerged from the cave.

Samah.

"Easy, boy," said Haplo.

The leader of the Sartan Council walked with the bowed head and listless tread of someone deep in thought. He had not come by boat; no other submersibles were moored along the shore. He had come by magic, then.

Haplo glanced at the sigla on his hands. The runes were a little darker in color, but they did not glow, were not warning him of the advance of an enemy. By this and by logical deduction, Haplo guessed that Samah's magic, like Haplo's own, must be spent. Probably waterlogged. The Sartan was waiting, resting, to regain strength enough for his return journey. He posed no threat to Haplo. Just as Haplo posed no threat to him.

Or did he? All things equal, both bereft of their magic, Haplo was the younger of the two, the stronger. The fight would be crude, undignified, menschlikeЧtwo men rolling about on the sand, pummeling each other. Haplo thought it over, sighed, shook his head. He was just too damn tired.

Besides, Samah looked to have suffered a beating already. Haplo waited quietly. Samah did not glance up from his troubled musings. He might conceivably have walked past the Patryn without seeing him. The dog, unable to contain itself, remembering past wrongs, barked a sharp warningЧthe Sartan had come close enough.

Samah raised his head, startled at the sound but not, apparently, startled to see either the dog or its master. The Sartan's lips tightened. His gaze shifted from Haplo to the small submersible floating behind him.

"Returning to your lord?" Samah asked coldly.

Haplo saw no need to reply.

Samah nodded; he hadn't expected a response. "You'll be glad to know your minions are already on their way. They have preceded you. No doubt a hero's welcome awaits you." His tone was bitter, his gaze dark with hatred and, lurking beneath, fear.

"On their way..." Haplo stared at the Sartan, then, suddenly, he understood. Understood what had happened, understood the reason for his seemingly unreasonable fear. Now he knew where the serpents were... and why.

"You bloody fool!" Haplo swore. "You opened Death's Gate!"

"I warned you we would do so, Patryn, if your mensch lackeys attacked us."

"You were warned, Sartan. The dwarf told you what she overheard. The serpents wanted you to open Death's Gate. That was their plan all along. Didn't you listen to Grundle?"

"And so now I should be taking advice from mensch?" Samah sneered.

"They have more sense than you do, seemingly. You opened Death's Gate, intending to do what? Flee? No, that wasn't your plan. Help. You sought help. After what Alfred told you. You still don't believe him. Nearly all your people are gone, Samah. You few on Chelestra are all that's left, except for a couple of thousand animated corpses on Abarrach. You opened the Gate, but it was the serpents who passed through it. Now they'll spread their evil throughout the four worlds. I hoped they stopped long enough to thank you!"

"The power of the Gate should have stopped the creatures!" Samah replied in a low voice. His fist clenched. "The serpents should not have been able to enter!"

"Just as mensch can't enter without your help? You still don't understand, do you, Sartan? These snakes are more powerful than you or I or my lord or maybe all of us put together. They don't need help!"

"The serpents had help!" Samah retorted bitterly. "Patryn help."

Haplo opened his mouth to argue, decided it wasn't worth it. He was wasting time. The evil was spreading. It was now even more imperative that he return to warn his lord.