"Rawn, Melanie - Dragon Star 1 - Stronghold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

He followed her into the bathroom. "You're a miserable, disrespectful, incorrigible group and ! don't know why I put up with you."
"Yes, my Lord," she agreed, and twisted the faucets. The silver spigot gushed forth steaming water from the closed cistern on the roof, heated by the sun in summer and by fire the rest of the year. The tub drain connected to the pipes of the middens, flushing them out every time someone took a bath. Modern plumbing was Andry's contribution to comfort at Goddess KeepЧgrossly expensive, but worth it.
Valeda tested his bath water and gestured for him to get in. She scooped up a cake of herb-scented soap, a soft brush, and a razor, obviously intending to give him a thorough bath and shave.
"I'm quite capable of washing myself," he said.
"Don't sulk. And it's always wise to be nice to the lady with the razor."
He grinned and submitted to her ministrations. She rubbed soap down his back and he leaned into her strong, massaging hands. "I consider myseif warned. But I refuse to be placated by pampering. You're all going to Kierst as soon as I can find a boat."
"Yes, my Lord."
"And don't think you can get around me by being sweet to me."
"Of course not, my Lord. Although I'd be more inclined to believe you if you weren't purring like a hunting cat in the sun."
He chuckled unwillingly. After a few moments' silence, he said, "Rusina really enjoyed fooling me."
Valeda shrugged. "She's always held a grudge."
"It wasn't my fault."
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"Not your fault she got pregnant?"
"You know what I mean."
"Yes. But the mistake was made just the same."
He was quiet for a moment, then burst out, "How in all Hells did she and Evarin do this, anyway? I thought it was only in the planning stages."
"If I tell you, will you promise not to shout at them?"
"Well. ..."
"Promise, Andry."
He sighed. "Just keep rubbing my back."
She walked her thumbs down either side of his spine. "They used dranath."
"They what?"
"Oh, come now. We've all experimented with it. If it makes you feel better about Rusina, consider the headache she'll have for the rest of the day."
Andry jerked away and turned to grab her wrist. "She used it without my permission. How dare any of youЧ-"
Valeda responded by dumping a pitcher of cool water over his head to rinse him off. "Stop being so damned self-righteous!" she snapped. "As if you had a lock and key on power!"
Letting her go, he snatched up a towel and got out of the tub. "Don't you understand how dangerous this is?"
"That's never stopped you. And it's from you that we all take our example, my Lord," she said acidly. "In case it had escaped your notice."
He scrubbed himself vigorously with the towel, glaring at her. "Tell me the rest." Х
"Not while you're yelling at me."
"I promised to spare them, not you. By the Goddess, Valeda, you of all people should know better than to countenance this!"
"Who said I did?" She stalked out of the bathroom and into his bedchamber. Andry followed, the towel wrapped around his waist.
"Explain yourself," he ordered.
Valeda whirled, blue-gray eyes flashing. Yet her voice was tightly controlled, her words clipped. "How would you react, my Lord, if you opened your chamber door one morning and looked into your own face?"
I
STRONGHOLD 41
four culprits sat in chairs before Andry's huge desk. ;d now, uneasy at his silence, they did not look like brought up before their schoolmaster after some transgression, but instead like adults caught playing like -ХIdren with something much too dangerous.
Andry let them wait. He sat straight-spined and unmoving in his chair, his hands with their ten gleaming rings flat on the polished wood before him. Four rings were set with tiny rabies or diamonds, tokens of his lineage in the colors of his father's holding. The rest were plain gold or silver, con-aected by chains as fine as woven hairs to bracelets clasping IBS wrists. The left cuff was gold, set with a huge, irregular cabochon lump of darkest blue sapphire. There was a similarly sized moonstone, smooth and milky and glowing, in the silver encircling his right wrist. He had chosen the gems and bracelets himself some years ago when he felt himself to oe truly the Lord of Goddess Keep. The sapphire represented truth; the moonstone, wisdom; together with the virtue signified by rubies and the cunning of diamonds, they ╗ere the jewels he considered most symbolic of his aspirations. That rubies also meant success in war afforded him a enm private smile. Andrade had worn a different gem on each finger, taking unto herself all the traditional symbolism. Andry had not done the sameЧnot because he was more modest than Andrade, or less ambitious, but because his ambitions were more keenly focused.
There were no windows in this room to spill the day's sunlight onto the jewels, but by candlelight they danced and sparkled just the same. Andry had made this chamber his office primarily because no outside light ever shone in it. He wanted no prying eyes, either Sunrunner directed by Pol or Soned. or sorcerer directed by persons unknown. He elimi-aated the risk of flames lit here by hand, fire that might be Хsed by someone else to watch him, by igniting candles only with his own Sunrunner's Fire. Today, if any diarmadh'im attempted observation by unfamiliar means, Torien would sense it: he had the Old Blood in his veins, and in the presence of sorcery his faradhi rings would burn as if to sear the flesh from his bones.
So Andry felt perfectly safe in discussing this new and
42 Melanie Rawii
would not until his people had had the chance to appreciate the fine points of the morning's trick.
He kept his gaze on them, waiting for the moment when none of them had the temerity to look at him. As expected, Rusina was the last to submit. The othersЧOclel, Torien, even the usually irrepressible EvarinЧhad been staring at their folded hands for a long while now. But Rusina kept stealing small glances at him, smug amusement slowly becoming resentment. When her gaze finally lowered for good, Andry spoke.
"Now," he said softly, "since you've all had the chance to consider your actionsЧwould one of you care to tell me how in all Hells you did it?"
Evarin cleared his throat. "We didn't meanЧmy Lord, it was justЧ"
"Чtoo good to pass up," Andry finished. "I understand. I even forgive you for startling me out of five years of my life. You'll have to make your own peace with poor Valeda for showing up at her door like that this morning." He grinned. "Start explaining or I really will find that ship."
Evarin exhaled in relief and began. Andry listened, and remembered another experiment when another ruler of Goddess Keep had received a shock and another arrogant youth had done the shocking.
"Чand so when I realized the working done for a first night could be adapted, I asked Rusina to help. She's familiar with it and was willing to try the variation. A few days ago we succeeded in changing her enough to make her unrecognizable as Rusina. But we couldn't get her to look like another specific person. That's when we went to Torien and came up with the dranath idea."
The chief steward nodded. "We know that it augments power. But there's nothing in the Star Scroll about shape-changing. We've had to go about it on our own. This seemed the logical approachЧespecially considering that Mireva certainly and Princess lanthe's sons probably were addicted to dranath."
"One dose isn't enough to cause any serious harm," Rusina said. "I've taken it before, as part of the devri training." She gave a resigned sigh. "But I can already feel the headache beginning."