"Rawn, Melanie - Dragon Star 2 - Dragon Token" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

"Hush! Do you want Meiglan to hear you?"

". . . what you think, Lord Kazander. Lure them from here by taking all but what seems a token force to Fer-ucheЧmake them think Skybowl isn't worth defending, so they'll pass it by. The problem is hiding the troops we do leave here. I can'tЧ"

"Threadsilver Canyon," Ruala heard herself say. Sethric looked around at the interruption, then began to nod, hazel eyes shining below a headful of thick, dark brown curls.

"The dragon caves?" Maarken asked.

Jeni elbowed her brother and he immediately vacated his own chair for their brother's wife. Ruala smiled at him and shook her head. Dannar gave her a stern look so reminiscent of both Riyan and Ostvel that she went almost meekly to the offered seat. Her limbs turned boneless and she knew she'd been right; she would not be getting up again for quite a while.

"And stay there," Dannar added firmly.

"Threadsilver Canyon," Sethric murmured, then ran a hand from his forehead halfway to his napeЧhis fingers tangling in the mass of hairЧand jumped to his feet. "Daniv, Isriam, let's go take a look."

They joined him at the door, Daniv saying, "It's still twilight, we'll only need a torch on the way back."

Jeni rose quickly. "Take me and you won't need a torch at all." She held out one hand, and a tiny fin-gerflame rose from her palm.

"Show-off," muttered her little brother. "Goddess be merciful," Maarken groaned. "If you're determined to be so energeticЧand so damned youngЧ then do it someplace else!"

"And take a torch anyway!" Audrite called, and sighed as the door closed behind them. "Should they be out this late? It'll be dark soon."

"They'll be safe enough. And it gives them something to do," Walvis said with a shrug. "Better their young bones than my old ones. That's a good idea about the caves, Ruala."

At Meiglan's silent prompting, her squire Kierun approached Ruala with a steaming cup of taze. She thanked him and drank deeply. "Sethric says you'll leave enough soldiers here to protect us if the Vellant'im attack. I appreciate the thought, but you're going to need everyone if you plan to fight them at Feruche. I assume that's the idea."

Maarken said slowly, "It would be nice if we could fool them into thinking Skybowl isn't worth bothering to defend. But they've wanted every other castle in the Desert. Why should this be the exception?" He stretched wearily, a bone in his shoulder cracking. "We'll put enough people in Threadsilver just in case. Don't worry about us up in Feruche. After Riyan and Tallain finish the Merida, they'll come join us there."

"And then," Kazander added with a wolfish grin, "we obliterate them."

"To such victories do we all aspire." Audrite raised her cup.

Ruala glanced across the room to Meiglan. "Is Pol feeling any better?"

"He's sleeping now. He always does after Azhdeen talks with him."

Maarken shook his head. "That great beast of his always leaves him staggering. Pavisel is so delicate with

me, you'd think I was made of Fironese crystal. How about you, Ruala? No headache?"

"Feylin gave me something to take the edge off."

Meiglan was frowning. "Why is it that PolЧI mean, the rest of you don't have the same trouble, my lord."

"Soft skull," Walvis said with a snort, then chuckled. "No, it's more like the meeting of two great princesЧ equally powerful and equally stubbornЧwho, though they're friends, tend to bruise each other a bit."

"Pol's not the only one who gets bruised," Ruala observed. "I think it has to do with the sex of our dragons. My Azhly is a sire, too. So is Abisel, and it takes Hollis a while to recover. And Sadalian was a perfect brute before Riyan finally got it across that drowning him in color wasn't the best way to communicate."

"I never thought of it that way," Maarken said musingly. "Elisel is very tender of Sioned, I know, and Mor-wenna always saysЧ" He broke off.