"David Gemmell - Drenai Tales 05 - In the Realm of the Wolf" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gemmel David)

Miriel lay very still, the lioness upon her, its breath foul upon her face.
But the talons did not rake her, nor the fangs close upon her. With a coughing
grunt the lioness died.
Miriel closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and eased herself from beneath the
body. Her legs felt weak and she sat upon the trail, her hands trembling.
A tall man, carrying a small double crossbow of black metal, emerged from the
undergrowth and crouched down beside her. 'You did well,' he said, his voice
deep.
She looked up into his dark eyes and forced a smile. 'It would have killed
me.'
'Perhaps,' he agreed. 'But your blade reached its heart.'
Exhaustion flowed over her like a warm blanket and she lay back, breathing
slowly and deeply. Once she would have sensed the lioness long before any
danger threatened, but that Talent was lost to her now, as her mother and her
sister were lost to her. Danyal killed in an accident five years ago, and
Krylla wed and moved away last summer. Pushing such thoughts from her mind she
sat up. 'You know,' she whispered, 'I was really tired when I came to the last
rise. I was breathing hard, and my limbs felt as if they were made of lead.
But when the lioness leapt, all my weariness vanished.' She gazed up at her
father.
He smiled and nodded. 'I have experienced that many times. Strength can always
be found in the heart of a fighter - and such a heart will rarely let you
down.'
She glanced at the dead lioness. 'Never shoot for the head -that's what you
told me,' she said, tapping the first bolt jutting from the creature's neck.
He shrugged and grinned. 'I missed.'
'That's not very comforting. I thought you were perfect.'
'I'm getting old. Are you cut?'
'I don't think so . . .' Swiftly she checked her arms and legs, as wounds from
a lion's claws or fangs often became poisonous. 'No. I was very lucky.'
'Yes, you were,' he agreed. 'But you made your luck by doing everything right.
I'm proud of you.'
'Why were you here?'
'You needed me,' he answered. Rising smoothly to his feet he reached out,
drawing her upright. 'Now skin the beast and quarter it. There's nothing quite
like lion meat.'
8
'I don't think I want to eat it,' she said. 'I think I'd like to forget about
it.'
'Never forget,' he admonished her. 'This was a victory. And you are stronger
for it. I'll see you later.' Retrieving his bolts the tall man cleaned them of
blood, returning them to the leather quiver at his side.
'You're going to the waterfall?' she asked him softly.
'For a little while,' he answered, his voice distant. He turned back to her.
'You think I spend too much time there?'
'No,' she told him sadly. 'It's not the time you sit there. Nor the effort you
put into tending the grave. It's you. She's been . . . gone . . . now for five
years. You should start living again. You need . . . more than this.'
He nodded, but she knew she had not reached him. He smiled and laid his hand
on her shoulder. 'One day you'll find a love and then we can talk on equal