"Maggie Furey - Shadowleague 2 - Spirit of the Stone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Furey Maggie)

anger.
тАЬDonтАЩt think about it,тАЭ Seriema ordered herself. If she fell apart now, she
would be lost. тАЬConcentrate on practicalitiesтАФlike where that trader is
taking us, and what he plans to do when we get there.тАЭ That was better. She
could do nothing to change the past, but her future, no matter how uncertain,
was something she could influence. Urging her horse onward through the
gathering gloom, she went to speak to Tormon.

My child. My child. My child. My child. The hooves of the racing horses
pounded out the words. Tormon held tightly to the blanket-wrapped form in
front of him: so small, so infinitely precious.
I have you back, my little Annas. IтАЩll keep you safe. So long as weтАЩre
together, nothing else matters. Who cares what happens to their accursed
city?
Bold wordsтАФyet a shudder ran through the trader as he remembered the
winged abomination in Lady SeriemaтАЩs mansion, and the unclean swarm of
its brethren thronging the sky. His mind replayed the screaming as the
helpless Tiarondians were slaughtered, trapped in the enclosed confines of
the Sacred Precincts like sheep in a pen. Tormon clutched Annas even
tighter, until the child whimpered and wriggled in protest.
Why should I trouble myself about their fate? They killed Kanella, my
lifemate. They deserved to die.
In his heart, however, he knew it wasnтАЩt true. Those Tiarondians were
ordinary men, women, and children. They had not murdered Kanella. Zavahl
had done thatтАФat least, he had ordered her death. And now the Hierarch
himself was surely dead. Elion, the mysterious young man Tormon had
encountered on the trail last night, had planned a rescue for reasons known
only to himself, but the trader was sure he had no chance of succeeding. No,
Zavahl must either have been sacrificed on the pyre to appease an angry god
or killed by the monstrosities that even now assailed the city. Tormon hardly
knew which he would prefer. Death by fire must be an agonizing endтАФbut
in this climate, the smoke from damp fuel would suffocate Zavahl before his

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SPIRIT OF THE STONE - SHADOWLEAGUE 2 - MAGGIE FUREY

flesh could sear. Perhaps the skyborne invaders were the better option. He
imagined the Hierarch writhing and screaming, his body ripped open, the
feral creatures clawing out his eyeballs and quarreling over the glistening
lengths of his gut...
Once, the trader would have been shocked to the core by such bloodthirsty
thoughts. Not anymore.
Night had fallen. The hooves of the laboring horses splashed through the
thick mud that stretched beyond the city. Tormon tried to keep his eyes fixed
directly in front of him, for on either side the great pyres loomed, their
smoldering glow casting a dim, smoky light into the darkness. The charred
remains of bodies were still hideously distinct, despite the gathering gloom.
He tried to protect Annas from the dreadful sights, turning her face into his
chest and pulling up her blanket to form a shield.
A shadowy shape loomed up at his side and resolved itself into Lady