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

They sat beside the sheltering rocks. Pol brought out a small wineskin and took a swallow.

"To Prince Zagroy. I understand you're about to emulate him." Handing the skin to Riyan, he conjured the faintest of fingerflames to see by and went on, "Let's see if I remember it correctly. The other camp breaks at dawn and marches beyond the rise. When the Merida and Cunaxans come looking, you attack from ambush."

Riyan nodded. "To Prince Zagroy," he echoed, drank, and passed the wine to Tallain.

"But that's not how he did it, you know," Pol said.

Tallain gave a startЧand not because the singing had finally stopped. Riyan couldn't even feel much relief at knowing the danger of observation was judged to be past.

"We're in roughly the same position he was," Tallain was saying, "in numbers as well as geography. It's about the same time of year, too. And he overwhelmed a force twice the size of his own."

"Desert history belongs to all three of usЧbut my family's history belongs to me." The High Prince stretched

his right shoulder under the dark wool of his cloak, as if already feeling his sword in his hand. Rohan's sword, Riyan thought with a sharp ache in his heart as he recognized the tooling on the hilt and scabbard. He'd seen that sword hanging in the Great Hall at Stronghold since he was five years old.

"Then tell us what happened," Tallain invited.

"My grandfather's grandfather believed as much in the power of shadow as he did in the power of light. What he really did here was make use of both."

*

Prince BiriocЧfor so he termed himself now, making no pretense about either his leadership of the Cunaxans or his birthright as a MeridaЧwas roused from sound sleep by his uncle.

"It's the middle of the night!" Birioc grumbled, squinting at the candle glow that cast weird shadows as Urstra moved around the tent. "Why is everyone arming outside? Have Tallain and Riyan attacked?"

"No, vanished," Urstra informed him tautly, and tossed his trousers at him.

"Impossible. My brother Ezanto came back with the patrols just after midnight and said they were camped near the Pillar, singing their fool heads off. Why did they pack up and leave so early?"

"That's what needs discovering." He set his candle on a wooden camp stool and handed Birioc his boots. "There was more noise from them earlier, and when I sent scouts to look, they were gone."

"Well, they won't get far." Birioc yawned behind his hand and scratched his beard. It was still new enough on his face to itch.

"We've lagged behind them too far, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. We can't wait any longer."

"You're the one who said to keep well back so our troops could catch up!"

"I was wrong," Urstra said with a shrug. "Those

dragon-spawn have led us along like a virgin taunting a lovesick boy. Put your shirt on, I'll arm you."

"So we fight them today?"

"If at all possible. This has gone on long enough."

"I disagree. The outlying levies can't be more than a half-day's march from us now. We can track Tallain and RiyanЧ"

"Who are in the process of luring us toward Tiglath, where Tallain knows the surrounding land blindfolded! We should never have let him pull us away from Tuath." He shook his head. "We can't let him choose where to give battle. So today we shall follow, overtake, and destroy."