"Rawn, Melanie - Dragon Star 03 - Skybowl" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

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Melanie Rawn
against the Vellant'im who wait to attack us. You stand between us and destruction, your grace."
She paused, as if giving him time to speak. When he did not, she went on, "They will land soon, your grace. They must be attacked. It is not enough to defend Goddess KeepЧthe battle must be taken to them. I've tried to find a way of teaching these people to fight, but they're farmers and townfolk, your grace, not warriors. And Torien impedes me at every turn. He thinks only of his vow not to kill. But I was made athri of these people by Lord Andry himself, and I cannot afford such qualms. Help us, your grace. Please."
A thoroughly uncharacteristic anger competed with the agony in his knee. Had his people come all this way only because the Sunrunners were squeamish? What in all Hells was the matter with them? He would not watch his army fight and die as Prince Tilal's had for the sake of a faradhi vow.
But he owed it to the faradh 'im to hear their side of it. He said to Jayachin, "I will speak with Lord Torien."
She nodded and clasped her hands together. The gesture was oddly possessive, as if she held within her palms a promise of love or war.
He had no right to demand that the Sunrunners forswear their most sacred vow. He had come when they called for aid; it was his duty. He had never deluded himself about leading the charge, but at least he could have stood on the ramparts, urging his people to victory. Now he was worse than useless; long familiarity with pain told him it would be spring before he could so much as set his feet to the floor.
But he must do something to fight this horror that had overtaken the continent and killed High Prince Rohan, who had befriended him with letters and gifts of books. The demands of his own honor and his affection for a man he had never met were no less binding on him than the Sunrunner oath was to them. It was what they were.
But why should his people have to die for them? Or for him?
Later, after an unspeakable journey in the litter, he swam out of slow, hot waves of pain to hear voices discussing him.
"... how he managed to sit a horse at all, with that leg," a man said.
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"Yes," a woman replied, "but the break is the best thing that could have happened."
Elsen struggled to understand. How could his injury benefit anyone? Slitting his eyes open, he saw the pair standing at the foot of the bed he lay in. The man was tall, long-boned, about a dozen years Elsen's senior, his Fironese blood strongly proclaimed in his dark features. The woman was younger, delicately made with black hair and smoky-gray eyes.
She continued, "We'll have to keep him immobile for quite a while. It depends on what I can do with that knee. I'd like to find the fumble-fingered excuse for a physician who had the original setting of the bones. Goddess, what a mess!"
"Should we find Evarin on sunlight and consult him about proper treatment?"
"TorienЧ"
"I know, my loveЧyou're wearing the same ring he is, and you're almost as good. But we're going to need his advice."
She replied grudgingly, "All right, yes. For now, we'd better just let the prince rest quietly, with no distractions."
Elsen closed his eyes again and tried to breathe around the panic in his chest. Unable to leave this bed, he would be unable to give orders. He wouldn't even know what was going on unless they told him. He had fought physical helplessness since childhood. This was worse. This was so much worse. It wasn't just himЧit was all his people, who had followed their crippled prince because they loved him.
"I wonder," the woman mused, "if Jayachin was as clumsy with words as she was with her bandaging."
"Meaning what?"
"Meaning she had him alone long enough to say just about anything."
"Jolan! She's not that much of a fool."
"You think not? Well, just consider how lucky it is that Prince Elsen is here with us, and not camped outside with her."
"I see what you mean. Come, let's leave him to his sleep."
"You realize, of course," Sioned was saying quietly as the children gathered in the Attic, "that this is a case of hiding the sheep after the dragons have feasted."
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Melanie Rawn
Meath gave her a shrug. "They have to learn."
"Granted." She leaned against the door frame and folded her arms. "I'd like to get Audran and Alleyn up here from Skybowl, too. And Jeni, if she can be persuaded to leave her dragon."
"You know we don't dare let any group smaller than an army ride anywhere. Not until Chayla's been found, and we can be sure we've cleaned out all the lingering vermin from the hills."
"I'd like to have them here all the same." Sioned nodded to the table, where five children stood behind chairs. At each place was a white candle rising from a small crystal holder. "Do you see the look on Tobren's face?" she went on in a murmur. "She knows as well as you and I that her father's not going to appreciate this at all."
"Since when have you ever worried about what Andry thinks?"
"Since I've had the feeling that we're going to need his help." Sioned ran a hand back through her short curls and moved from the door to the head of the table. "Good afternoon, ellitev'im," she greeted the children with a smile. "For those of you who don't recognize that word, it means 'little friends-in-Fire.' It's what every First Teacher at Goddess Keep calls young Sunrunners. Tobren, please tell the others whatfaradhi means."
" 'Silent knowledge'," the girl responded sullenly. Her grandmother had told her to be here, and so she was. But as Sioned had observed, she didn't approve.
"Exactly. And since none of you have much knowledge yet, you can do me a favor by taking to heart the silence part of it!" She smiled again, then looked at Meath. He stood at the other end of the table, waiting for his cue. "We'll begin with our rather large friend-in-Fire down there."
"This is the way Sunrunners greet each other before a lesson." He held both hands out before him, palms flat. "I am Meath, son of Keriv and Aldannaya, and my rings are six. Goddess blessing to you, Sunrunners."
Sioned gestured to Antalya, who stood at Meath's right. "Your turn."
SionelFs daughter blinked huge blue eyes and stammered, "IЧI am Antalya, daughter of T-Tallain and Sionell, and I don't have any rings. Goddess blessing to you, Sunrunners."
Jihan was next. She spread out her hands and identified
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herself by saying, "I am Jihan, daughter of High Prince Pol and High Princess Meiglan, and I'm a princess and the athri of Rosewall at StrЧ"
"Jihan." Meath spoke her name softly.
"But if we're saying who we areЧ"
"Your name, the names of your parents, and the number of your rings is enough," he replied. "We know who you are."
"Then whyЧ"