"Jennifer Fallon - Second Sons 03 - Lord of the Shadows" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fallon Jennifer)

тАЬBecause youтАЩll be killed or...тАЭ She didnтАЩt finish the sentence, not wishing to remind her father an
even worse fate awaited him. It would be far better for all of them if he were dead, if the only alternative
was Neris in the clutches of the Lion of Senet or the High Priestess of the Shadowdancers.
NerisтАЩs eyes narrowed cannily. тАЬYou think Dirk will have told Antonov and Belagren I still live,
donтАЩt you?тАЭ
тАЬWhy not?тАЭ she replied. тАЬHe seems to have told them everything else.тАЭ
тАЬHe wonтАЩt tell them about me.тАЭ
тАЬHow can you be so certain?тАЭ
тАЬBecause if Dirk wants to secure his position in Avacas with the High Priestess, then he needs her to
believe IтАЩm dead. While Belagren thinks Dirk is the only man alive who can tell her when the next Age
of Shadows is due, heтАЩs indispensable. If she knew that I lived, it would reduce his value to her
significantly and heтАЩs too smart to let something like that happen.тАЭ
Tia stared at her father, surprised to hear him make such an astute observation.
тАЬNeris, did Dirk say anything to you before he left?тАЭ she asked suspiciously. тАЬDid he give you any
hint about what he was planning?тАЭ
тАЬWhy would he tell me what he was up to?тАЭ
тАЬHe told you lots of things, didnтАЩt he?тАЭ
тАЬTia, DirkтАЩs a very smart boy. The last thing heтАЩd do if he was planning to betray us would be to
confide in a madman.тАЭ
Tia stared at her father, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. He might be. Or he might be telling
her what he believed to be the truth, which in NerisтАЩs tortured mind was quite often the same thing.
тАЬWhat did you tell him, Neris?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm sure I donтАЩt know what you mean.тАЭ He looked away, quite offended by what she was implying.
тАЬWhy now? Why did Dirk choose to do this now? Why didnтАЩt he do it months ago? Or wait another
year? Did you tell him something important? Something that would give him the ammunition he needed
to set himself up as the Lord of the Shadows? Something important enough for Belagren to appoint him
her right hand?тАЭ
 Neris grinned. тАЬLord of the Shadows? Is that what heтАЩs calling himself now? Our boy is
demonstrating a previously unsuspected flair for the dramatic, isnтАЩt he?тАЭ
тАЬWhat did you tell him, Neris?тАЭ
тАЬNothing.тАЭ
тАЬWhat about this eclipse thatтАЩs coming?тАЭ
Neris looked puzzled for a moment and then he smiled. тАЬSo he told them about the eclipse, did he?тАЭ
тАЬHe sent the message to Belagren before we even got to Omaxin. How could he have known about
this coming eclipse, if you didnтАЩt tell him?тАЭ
тАЬHe told them about the eclipse?тАЭ He began to laugh. тАЬOh, that wicked, wicked boy!тАЭ
тАЬNeris? I donтАЩt see whatтАЩs so funny about this. HeтАЩs going to consolidate BelagrenтАЩs power for
years to come. And if I find out it was you who told him about it...тАЭ
But he wasnтАЩt listening to her. Neris was laughing so hard he toppled sideways on the bed, holding
his sides as tears streamed down his face.
тАЬNeris...тАЭ
тАЬI never thought heтАЩd do it!тАЭ he gasped between great heaving guffaws. тАЬOh, thatтАЩs just too much!тАЭ
тАЬNeris!тАЭ
It was no use. Whatever Neris found so funny, it totally consumed him. Tia glared at him as he
sobbed with mirth, furious he would react to something so devastating with hysterical laughter. She
glanced down to find the water bubbling in the kettle. Snatching an old shirt of NerisтАЩs from the floor,
she lifted the kettle clear of the flames and dumped it on the floor beside the fire.
тАЬGet your own damned tea!тАЭ she snapped before stalking out of the cave and back into the rain,
wishing that just once, Neris would act like a sane man.