"Sharon Green - Jalav 1 - Crystals Of Mida" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

JALAV 1: The Crystals of Mida




JALAV 1: The Crystals of Mida
by Sharon Green

CH 1. The tower of the Crystal-and a captive is taken

I stood in the center of the cold stone room and gazed down upon the bodies of my warriors. The three
of them lay upon the rounded cobbles, grotesque in death as they had not been in life. The clan colors
worn by all Midanna, about their hips and thighs, had been torn away and scattered about the room,
leaving my warriors completely bared to their attackers. Life signs, worn on leather strips about their
necks, had been left on two, but the third no longer wore hers. Perhaps its leather had been severed when
the blade of the dagger was brought to her breasts, possibly in an effort to have her cry out in pain. I had
known that warrior well in life. She would not have cried out.

Three strong warriors, dead, though not in battle. Their attackers had come with stealth; overwhelming
them with surprise and numbers. The Keeper's Attendants, who had also been in the Tower, had been
quickly put to the sword, yet my warriors had been kept the while, to be used for the sport of those who
had come to steal the Crystal of Mida. My proud warriors had had their wrists bound tightly with leather
behind them, had been thrust to the bare, smooth cobbles of the Tower floor, had had their clan colors
ripped from their bodies, had been forced to stare up at the raftered heights of the highest Tower room as
their bodies were taken and used by the scum of city thieves. And when their shame had at last given the
thieves satisfaction, their throats had been cut where they lay, their wrists still bound, their clan colors
no longer upon them. To take a warrior's clan colors, to cut her throat as though she were an animal to be
slaughtered, stealing from her forever the honor of dying in battle-these things were the most
unforgivable. Should any of the thieves be taken alive when the Crystal of Mida was recovered, they
would pay for their crime many times over, seeing the light of as many hands of feyd as possible before
being allowed to die. Only in such a way might the souls of my warriors find rest.

I looked next at the Keeper's Attendant where she lay upon the sleeping leather, her long, graying hair
crushed beneath her, her breathing loud and harsh in the silence. She had taken the sword of the thieves
as had the others, yet clung to life till they had gone, and still longer yet, awaiting the relieving warriors'
arrival. Her clan colors, worn long to the ankles as befitted one of her station, were damp with the red of
her blood, yet she was able to relate the coming of the thieves, guessing that they came from the city of
Ranistard, far to the north. One had mentioned the city, she thought, and she would have the war leader
know. Now I knew.

Slowly, I walked to her where she lay upon the sleeping leather, gazing through the window at the
brightening of the fey. Well she knew that she would not see the coming of dark again, and wished to
remember the feeling of life upon her body, to carry with her to the Realm of Mida, where she would be


file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...reen%20-%20Jalav%201%20-%20Crystals%20Of%20Mida.htm (1 of 256)24-2-2006 20:07:23
 JALAV 1: The Crystals of Mida

made young and strong again, where she would again know the pleasures to be had with males of worth
and valor equal to hers. Yet would she never again be warrior as she had been in her youth, for she had