"Clayton Emery - Lost Empires 03 - Star of Cursrah" - читать интересную книгу автора (Emery Clayton)

and a poncho of yellow samite edged with white and black pearls completed her outdoor outfit.
Amenstar, Samira the First of the Palace of the Phoenix in Cursrah, Heir to the Blood of Genies
and Demigods, slipped into her privy chamber with its low step and frame holding a gold chamber pot.
The opposite wall was painted with a scene from legend: at the bottom of the Mother of Rivers, the
hippo-hero Khises battled Skahmau the Wolfshead. With slender fingers, Star poked the eyes of both
figures.
The wall swiveled to reveal a staircase of stone leading down. Weak sky glow from high above lit
the chamber. Childishly thrilled with her escape, Star skipped down the stairs. She'd need to conjure
another story about exiting the family compound in secret. Perhaps she could claim to have been
spirited away by a djinn, or maybe she'd sleepwalked, only to awaken miles away, or she had been
transported by a flying carpet with a will all its own . . . though her parents must have suspected a
secret passage by now. Like most of central Cursrah, the royal compound was honeycombed with
cellars. If Star continued to disappear, her parents might order architects and masons to find this
passage and block it. Star should conserve her few secrets, but once more wouldn't hurt.
Treading in near darkness, she eventually reached a main passage leading outside. Two guards
jerked to attention and stared quizzically, but they assumed her personal bodyguards would join her.
Cutting across gardens and grass, Amenstar entered the stables and bullied the hostlers to saddle three
horses, hang them with hunting gear, and open the gates.
Riding, towing the other two mounts, Star entered a necropolis a quarter mile from the compound.
Sarcophagi, steles, and obelisks stood mute amidst evergreen oaks and box-cut cedar hedges. Cursrah
served an impotent genie and the distant moon, and worshiped the unspeaking dead, so this sprawling
cemetery was always beautifully manicured.
Two figures stepped from the shadow of a white-streaked sycamore: dark Gheqet and fair Tafir.
This was their secret meeting place when Star could slip away. If she hadn't appeared, they'd have
waited a while, talking and loafing, then wandered back home.
"Horses!" snorted Gheqet. "Where are you bound?"
"To the countryside," Star laughed. "Come, there's lots to see."
"Weren't you punished for skipping out?" Tafir caught a bridle and rubbed the mare's nose to gentle
her.
"Punished? The first samira, eldest royal daughter, kin to genies and gods? Don't be silly!" Star
tossed reins to Gheqet and added, "Climb on."
"I've never ridden a horse in my life," Gheqet admitted, then flinched as the white horse tossed its
head. "Do they bite?"
"Not if you show them who's boss." Tafir swung into the saddle easily. Horsemanship had been
part of his cadet training. "You can learn to ride, Gheq. I did."
 The architect's apprentice nervously followed his friends' instructions and plomped into the saddle.
Now Tafir hesitated. "We can't be gone long," he said. "I must see the commander at dawnтАФ"
"Taf," Star cut him off, "if they can't punish me, they can't punish my friends either. I'll claim my
captain is testing you for a palace guard. The army won't argue with royalty."
"I suppose not...." Tafir hedged. Both he and Gheqet hailed from noble families, but consorting
with a princess kept the young men on tenterhooks, as if bodyguards might swoop from the sky and
arrest them at any moment. "I'd rather just obey as ordered."
"Very well," Amenstar huffed, "obey this. I, First Samira of Cursrah, command you my loyal
subjects, to accompany me where I will. Is that better?" She laughed at her own pomposity.
Gheqet and Tafir smiled crookedly, but Amenstar didn't notice.
Kicking her heels and whipping the reins, Star spun her horse and cantered for the gates. Hanging
tight, the men lumbered along behind her.
Amenstar vaulted into the street, pointing toward the surrounding hills, and crowed, "We're off to
see the kingdom, and none will dare stop us!"
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