"Dave Duncan - Tales of King's Blades 4 - Impossible Odds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

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Impossible Odds



By Dave Duncan



PROLOGUE



Awaken the Dead



The night was unusually dark. The day had been hot and clear, but heavy clouds had rolled in after
sunset to blot out the stars. There was no moon. In Chivial such nights were calledcatblinders.

The guard changed at midnight. In pitch darkness Mother Celandine, Sister Gertrude, and their escort
paraded through the grounds ofNocarePalace . NocareтАЩs gardens were de-servedly famous and
especially lovely now, at the start of Eighthmoon, except that they were totally invisible. Al-though Trudy
was catching enough scents of night-flowering plantsтАФstock, evening primrose, possibly
moonflowerтАФto tell her what she was missing, the lanterns carried by the two footmen leading the way
illuminated only the paved path underfoot and mere hints of shrubbery.

The four men-at-arms of the Household Yeomen marching noisily at the rear she considered an
unnecessary precaution, because any evil-intentioned intruder who glimpsed her and the majestic Mother
Celandine in their voluminous white robes and steeple hats was likely to run screaming off into the


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darkness, gibbering about ghosts. Besides, one of them was wearing a talisman that jangled her nerves
like a tortured cat. In the few days since she had arrived at Court she had been appalled by the number
of people who put their trust in such quackery. Good luck charms would attract bad luck as often as
good, because chance was elemental. Educated people ought to know this. Other than that, midnight
prowling was rather fun. Sour old Mother Celandine must not be finding it so, for she had barely spoken
a word since they met.

The White Sisters were rarely required to use their conjuration-detecting skills in the middle of the night.
Nighttime security was normally a male sportтАФthe Yeomen guarding the gates and the grounds, the
Blades patrolling the inside of the palaceтАФbut now the King was entertaining an important guest and
either he or someone in his train had been tactless enough to include conjurements in his bag-gage.
Anyone else would have been reprimanded and made to turn them in, but a Grand Duke had to be