"Elenium 02 - The Ruby Knight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

"I asked him to," Sparhawk replied, swinging down
from his saddle. 'The soldiers won't know that we've left
the column if Olven stays a mile or two ahead of them.'
'You're smarter than you look, Sparhawk,' Kalten
said, also dismounting. "I'll get the horses back out of
sight. The steam coming off them might be visible.' He
squinted at Faran. 'Tell this ugly brute of yours not to bite
me.'
'You heard him, Faran,' Sparhawk told his war-horse.
Faran laid his ears back.
As Kalten led their horses back among the trees,
Sparhawk sank down onto his stomach behind a low
bush. The grove of trees lay no more than fifty Yards from
the road, and as the fog began to dissipate with the onset
of morning, he could clearly see that the whole stretch of
road they had just left was empty. Then a single redtunicked
soldier galloped along, coming from the south.
The man rode stiffly, and his face seemed strangely
wooden.
'A scout?' Kalten whispered, crawling up beside
Sparhawk. '
'More than likely,' Sparhawk whispered back.
why are we whispering?' Kalten asked. 'He can't hear
us over the noise of his horse's hooves.'
'You started it.'
'Force of habit, I guess. I always whisper when I'm
skulking.'
The scout reined in his mount at the top of the hill, then
wheeled and rode back along the road at a dead run. His
face was still blank.
'He's going to wear out that horse if he keeps doing
that,' Kalten said.
"it's his horse.'
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Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt
That's true, and he's the one who gets to walk when
the horse plays out on him.'
"walking is good for church soldiers. It teaches them
humility.'
About five minutes later, the church soldiers galloped
by, their red tunics dark in the dawn light. Accompanying
the leader of the column was a tall, emaciated figure
in a black robe and hood. It may have been a trick of the
misty morning light, but a faint greenish glow seemed to
emanate from under the hood, and the figure's back
appeared to be grossly deformed.
'They're definitely trying to keep an eye on that
column,' Kalten said.
'I hope they enjoy Demos,' Sparhawk replied. 'Olven's
going to stay ahead of them every step of the way. I need