"Elliott,.Kate.-.Crown.Of.Stars.3.-.Burning.Stone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elliott Kate)

year since the Proclamation of the Divine Logos by the
blessed Daisan."

One day later. Only one day. The bones she had seen by the
roadside had nothing to do with her, then. They must have lain
there for months, picked clean by the crows and the vultures
and the small vermin that feed on carrion.

Only later, rolled up in her blanket on a mat laid down in the
dark entry hall of the church, did it occur to her that the clothing
left behind with the bones on the roadside was damp but not
rotted or torn. Had it lain there for months or years, it, too,
would have begun to rot away.

THE hunting party burst out of the forest and then scattered
aimlessly into small groups, having lost the scent. The king
rode among a riot of his good companions, al laughing at a
comment made by Count Lavastine. Alain had fallen back, to
the fringe, and now he reined in his horse to watch a trio of
young men fishing in the river an arrow's shot upstream. Hip-
deep in water, they flung nets wide over the glittering surface.

"Alain." Count Lavastine halted beside him. The black hounds
snuffled in the grass that edged the cliff, which fell away about
a man's height before hillside met river. A rock, dislodged by
Fear, skittered down the slope, stirring up a shower of dust,
and the other hounds all barked in a delighted frenzy as they
scrambled back.

"Peace!" said Lavastine sternly, and at once they quieted,
obedient to his wishes. He turned his gaze to Alain. "You must
come ride closer to the king, Son."

"Their task seems easier than mine." Alain indicated the
fishermen below. Stripped down to their breechclouts, the
fishermen enjoyed the purl of the water around their bodies
and the hot sun on their glistening backs without any thought
except for the labor at hand. He heard their laughter ringing up
from the distant shore.

"A drought, a late freeze, a rainy Aogoste. Any of these could
ruin their crops."

"But at least the rivers always breed fish. I'm never quite sure
what the noble parties are hunting."

"You do not like the form of this hunt. But it is one you must
learn, and you must learn to judge which party will succeed
and which will fail. In this way we make our alliances, The
prince favors you."