"Stephen Goldin - Storyteller" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goldin Stephen)

legation returned to Marakh via a most circuitous route. They were taken immediately before the king,
where it was obvious they were frightened out of their witsтАФnot by being in the king's presence, but by
what had happened to them upon the road. Under stern questioning by the king and his wazirs, they told
their eerie tale.

At first, they said, all had gone as planned. The prince's party had walked into the ambush unprepared
for battle. Tabib abu Saar and his retainers retreated from the scene the instant the fighting started and
watched the skirmish from a safe distance down the road. The Marakhi soldiers far outnumbered Prince
Ahmad's troops, and the battle was going well when suddenly a supernatural manifestation appeared.

An enormous black whirlwind arose from nowhere, towering above the treetops, and from it streaked
bolts of lightning that struck the Marakhi warriors and burned them instantly like so many lumps of coal.
The whirlwind did not harm the prince's men, and abu Saar's retainers speculated the prince must have
had strong magic on his side to defeat the opposing force.

So fearsome was the whirlwind that abu Saar's horse reared in terror, spilling the Marakhi ambassador
on the hard ground and breaking both his legs. The servantsтАЩ asses were braver, but still would not
approach the whirlwind, and the servants were afraid to dismount and help their master, lest the asses run
off and leave them stranded in the forest.

Then the whirlwind transformed itself into a giant rukh, grabbed one of the prince's soldiers, and flew off
into the sky. The retainers didn't know what to make of that, but thought perhaps the soldier might have
been a sacrifice by the prince to the evil powers he'd summoned to defeat the ambushers.

Abu Saar had lain on the ground in pain, pleading with his servants to help him, but they were afraid and
didn't know how. When some of the prince's men came looking for them, they turned and fled, taking a
long and devious route back to their native city to avoid being followed and captured. They knew nothing
more of what had happened to Tabib abu Saar and Prince Ahmad's party.

This news sent the king into profound fits of anxiety, and he pulled out even more of his sparse beard.
Shammara would be awaiting word from him about the success of his raid. Though he had never met the
woman, her reputation was that she was not a person to cross casually. Even though the ambush's failure
was due to supernatural intervention and was no fault of King Basir's, Shammara might well take strong
action that was bound to be unpleasant. She was even rumored to have connections with the rimahniya,
the secret religious cult of fanatical assassins. King Basir did not wish to die from one of their poisoned
daggers stuck between his ribs.

With his stomach aflame he dismissed the gibbering servants and discussed the matter with his wazirs.
He thoroughly regretted letting himself be talked into betraying his contract with Prince Ahmad, but
nothing could rectify that now. He had to evaluate the situation given but the flimsiest of evidence and
make new plans based on events as he understood them.

They had to assume Tabib abu Saar was captured and questioned by Prince Ahmad. With both legs
broken he would not put up much resistance under interrogation, and thus would tell Prince Ahmad all
about the secret alliance between Shammara and King Basir. The prince was known as a well-trained,
but inexperienced, fighter, and it was conceivable that his anger at the betrayal would lead him to take
some action against Marakh.

тАЬIs it too late to apologize to him and offer him help against Shammara?тАЭ King Basir asked.