"David Gemmel - Troy 02 - Shield of Thunder" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gemmel David)

He had first seen her only the previous day piloting a small sailboat, her fair hair gold in the sunlight
and tied back from her face. She had been dressed in a white knee-length tunic with a belt
embroidered with gold wire. The sun had been low in the sky, a light breeze propelling her craft
toward the islands. She had seemed oblivious to the danger as the two pirate ships had closed on her.
Then the first of the ships had cut across her bow. Too late she had tried to avoid capture, tugging at
the sail rope, seeking to alter course and make a run for the beach. Kalliades had watched her from
the deck of the second ship. There was no panic in her. But the little boat could not outrun galleys
manned by skilled oarsmen.
The first ship closed in, grappling lines hurled over the side, the bronze hooks biting into the timbers
of her sailboat. Several pirates clambered over the side of the ship and jumped down into her craft.
The woman tried to fight them, but they overpowered her, blows raining down on her body.
тАЬProbably a runaway,тАЭ Banokles remarked as the two of them watched the semiconscious woman
being hauled to the deck of the first ship. From where they stood, on the deck of the second vessel,
both men could see what followed. The crewmen gathered around her, tearing off her white tunic and
ripping away the expensive belt. Kalliades turned away in disgust.
The ships had beached that night on LionтАЩs Head Isle, on the sea route to Kios. The woman had been
dragged across the beach and into a small stand of trees by the captain of the second ship, a burly
Kretan with a shaved head. She had seemed docile then, her spirit apparently broken. It had been a
ruse. As the captain had raped her, she somehow had managed to pull his dagger from its sheath and
rip the blade across his throat. No one had seen it, and it was some time before his body was found.
The furious crew had set off to search for her. Kalliades and Banokles had wandered away with a jug of
wine. They had found a grove of olive trees and had sat quietly drinking.
тАЬArelos was not a happy man,тАЭ Banokles had observed. Kalliades had said nothing. Arelos was the
captain of the first ship and kinsman to the man slain by the runaway. He had built a reputation for
savagery and swordcraft and was feared along the southern coasts. Given any other choice, Kalliades
would never have sailed with him, but he and Banokles were hunted men. To stay in Mykene would
have meant torture and death. The ships of Arelos had offered them a means of escape.
тАЬYou are very quiet tonight. What is bothering you?тАЭ Banokles continued as they sat in the quiet of the
grove.
тАЬWe need to quit this crew,тАЭ Kalliades said. тАЬApart from Sekundos and maybe a couple of others, they
are scum. It offends me to be in their company.тАЭ
тАЬYou want to wait until we are farther east?тАЭ
тАЬNo. WeтАЩll leave tomorrow. Other ships will beach here. WeтАЩll find a captain who will take us on. Then
weтАЩll make our way to Lykia. Plenty of mercenary posts there, protecting trade caravans from bandits,
escorting rich merchants.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩd like to be rich,тАЭ Banokles said. тАЬI could buy a slave girl.тАЭ
тАЬIf you were rich, you could buy a hundred slave girls.тАЭ
тАЬNot sure I could handle a hundred. Five, maybe.тАЭ He chuckled. тАЬYes, five would be good. Five plump
dark-haired girls. With big eyes.тАЭ Banokles drank some more, then belched. тАЬAh, I can feel the spirit of
Dionysus seeping into my bones. I wish one of those plump girls was here now.тАЭ
Kalliades laughed. тАЬYour mind is always occupied by either drink or sex. Does nothing else interest
you?тАЭ
тАЬFood. A good meal, a jug of wine, followed by a plump woman squealing beneath me.тАЭ
тАЬWith your weight on her, no wonder sheтАЩd be squealing.тАЭ
Banokles laughed. тАЬThatтАЩs not why they squeal. Women adore me because I am handsome and strong
and hung like a horse.тАЭ
тАЬYou neglect to mention that you always pay them.тАЭ
тАЬOf course I pay them. Just as I pay for my wine and my food. What point are you trying to make?тАЭ
тАЬObviously a poor one.тАЭ
Around midnight, as they were preparing to sleep, they heard shouts. Then the woman staggered into