"Maggie Furey - Artifacts of Power 1 - Aurian" - читать интересную книгу автора (Furey Maggie)

"She did. And I ignored it. Do you want to hit me now?" He was
fighting hard to keep his anger in check.

Eilin turned away, avoiding his eyes. "I want you to go away. Why
did you come here?"

"I came as soon as I could, when I heard what had happened to
Geraint. I wish it had been sooner. It might have saved you from


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turning into a bitter old woman."

"How dare you!" she cried.

"It's the plain truth, Eilin. But I came to offer you my service
for Geraint's sake, and that still stands."

Eilin stalked away to the far side of the room, her movements
jerky with anger. "Curse you, Mortal! Fickle and faithless, like
all your kind. What use is your service now? Where were you and
your service eight years ago, when I needed you? You were
Geraint's friendтАФhe listened to you. With your help I might have
dissuaded him from his insanity. But noтАФyou had an itch to
wanderтАФto see the world. Well, I hope the experience was enough to
recompense you for the death of a friend. Your service comes far
too late, Forral. Get out of here, and don't come back!"

Hardened warrior though he was, Forral flinched from Eilin's
bitter words. His grief at Geraint's death was still raw, and her
accusations contained just enough truth to hurt. Perhaps it would
be as well if he did go ... Then Forral remembered the child.

"No." He squared his shoulders. "I'm not leaving, Eilin. It's
obviously been bad for you to be alone like this, and the child
needs someone to care for her. You might as well get used to the
fact that I'm staying, because there's nothing you can do about
it."

"Oh, can't I?" She whirled, and Forral saw too late that she held
her staff in her hand. The floor seemed to drop away beneath him,
and a loud roaring filled his ears. His vision exploded in a burst
of colored lights and he gasped with pain as a brief wrenching
sensation tore through his body. Then the ground came up to hit
him, hard.

Forral opened his eyes gingerly. He was lying on a smooth carpet
of turfтАФon the other side of the bridge. He stared across the calm