"Sharon Green - Shadowborn - Captivity" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

Shadowborn: Captivity
by
Sharon Green

Chapter 1
It was no more than mid morning, but the heat was already so intense that it made ripples in the
air above the lines of new plants in the field. We'd been moving up the furrows between the
lines, pulling out weeds by hand, sweating heavily despite the short, thin rags we wore as
clothing. Our guards sat or stood at one side of the field, suffering more than those of us who
worked in the field despite the small amount of shade they'd found. Even leather armor is
difficult to bear in heat like that, and some of the guardsmen had leather reinforced with small
amounts of metal.
I stopped for a moment to straighten up and stretch my aching back, using the opportunity to
glance around. The other women working with me were at least two strides behind in their
respective rows, which meant they couldn't afford to take the time to stretch. How well we did
our jobs was judged by the work speed of the fastest of us, and any woman who didn't keep up
was beaten when we got back to the city. It didn't matter whether it was lack of food and
general strength that caused the lagging, or pain from a previous beating. Any woman who
didn't keep up was punished.
I raised my face in an effort to find the least, smallest breeze, but the heat ripples in the air
must have been too heavy to move. They had used men to plow the field, but planting and
weeding was done by women - an arrangement the guardsmen preferred. If there had been
male slaves in the field instead of female the guardsmen would have had to be alert, not to
mention spread out on all sides of the field. Male slaves had a tendency to try escaping, but
female slavesтАж
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand, then bent again to the plants on
my left before glancing over my shoulder to the far side of the field. All the guardsmen were
there, waiting for us to finish the rows we worked and then return toward them by way of the
next two rows. I'd done just that in the last three fields I'd been put to weeding, but only
because those other fields had been too close to the city. This field was no more than ten
strides away from the edge of the forest, and this time I meant to escape or die in the trying.
I kept casual watch over my shoulder as I pretended to pull weeds, and saw exactly what I'd
hoped to see. One or two of the guardsmen had noticed me when I'd stretched, possibly
thinking about the noon rest and mealtime, but their attention had drifted away even before I'd
bent to the plants again. No sense in picking a slave for the noon time until the officer had
picked his. That was another reason guardsmen preferred female slaves to male - or at least it
was a reason for most of them.
I counted another ten heartbeats just to be certain and then, still bent over, I scuttled toward
the near edge of the field. The hot brown dirt under my bare feet gave way to wild grass and
creepers and an occasional root from one of the short bushes, but I ignored the change and just
kept going. I had ten strides to cover before I was into the forest proper, and the distance
doubled when you scuttled rather than strode.
I had covered about half the distance when I heard the shout, but I still didn't look back and I
certainly didn't stop. The shout had come in a woman's voice, and the next instant other female
voices rose to join the first. One of my sister slaves had reached the end of her row a bit sooner
than I'd expected, had straightened and looked around, and had seen me. If she hadn't yelled
she and the others would have been punished for the escape I attempted, whether or not I
succeeded. If I was recaptured I alone would be given punishment, so they were
understandably anxious to see me retaken.
But not as anxious as I was to get away. I continued running bent over, ignoring the thudding of