"Sharon Green - The Woman Who Rides Like a Man" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

friend d'you think I am? We'll wait for them here."
Coram swore. "If ye were my daughter, I'd tan yer hide! Go!"
Alanna shook her head stubbornly. She could see their pursuers now: they were
hillmen, the worst of the desert raiders. Reaching behind her, she unbuckled
her
shield from its straps, slipping it over her left arm. Coram was following
suit.
"Stubborn lass," he grumbled. "I'd druther tangle with ten Bazhir tribes than
any hillmen."
Alanna nodded. The Bazhir were deadly fighters, but they had a strict code of
honor. Hillmen lived for killing and loot.
Renewing her grip on Lightning's hilt, she settled her shield more firmly on
her
arm. The hill-men closed rapidly, fanning out in a half circle that would
close
around Alanna and her companion. Grimly the knight clenched her jaw and
ordered,
"Take them in a charge."
"What?" yelped Coram.
Alanna charged directly at the hillmen. Coram gulped and followed her,
letting
out a war cry.
Moonlight reared as they reached the first raiders, striking out with hooves:
she had been trained for battle years ago. Alanna slashed about her with
Lightning, ignoring her enemies' yells of fury.
A one-eyed villain closed in, grabbing her sword arm. With an angry yowl
Faithful leaped from his cup with his claws unsheathed. The one-eyed hillman
screamed and released Alanna, trying to pull the hissing cat away from his
face.
"Lass! Beware!" Coram bellowed, trying to fend off three at once. He yelled
in
pain as one of them opened a deep gash on his sword arm. He swore and
attacked
again, dropping his shield and switching his sword to his good left hand.
Warned by her companion, Alanna whirled to face a giant hillman, a grinning
mountain with red hair and long braided mustaches. He guided his shaggy pony
with his knees, leaving his hands free to grip the hilt of a sword with an
odd
crystal blade. Alanna eyed its razor-sharp length and gulped, ducking beneath
the red-headed man's first swing. He reversed it, and she blocked it with her
shield just in time, yelping at the pain of impact. She struck back with
Lightning, only to miss as her attacker darted away.
She refused to follow and fight on his terms. Instead she brought her lioness
shield up and waited.
The giant returned, circling her carefully. His pony lunged forward, and
Moonlight reared, warning it back with her flailing hooves. Alanna caught
another blow from the crystal blade on her shield, feeling the shock through
her
entire body.
I hope my brother put plenty of magic on this shield, she thought grimly.