"Simon R. Green - Haven 06 - Bones of Haven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

dismiss him as just another bravo, perhaps already past his prime, but there was a dangerous alertness
in the way he carried himself, and the cold gaze of his single eye was disturbingly direct. He carried a
short-handled axe on his right hip, instead of a sword. He was very good with an axe. He'd had lots of
practice.

Isobel Fisher walked at his side, unconsciously echoing his pace and stance with the naturalness of
long companionship. She was tall, easily six foot in height, and her long blond hair fell to her waist in
a single thick plait, weighted at the tip with a polished steel ball. She was in her late twenties, and
handsome rather than beautiful, with a raw-boned harshness to her face that contrasted strongly with
her deep blue eyes and generous mouth. Some time ago, something had scoured all the human
weaknesses out of her, and it showed. Even wrapped in her thick cloak against the driving rain, she
moved with a determined, aggressive grace, and her right hand never strayed far from the sword on her
hip.

People gave them plenty of room as they approached, and were careful to look away rather than risk
catching the Guards' eyes. None of them wanted to be noticed. It wasn't healthy. Hawk and Fisher were
feared and respected as two of the toughest and most honest Guards in Haven, and everyone in the
Northside had something to hide. It was that kind of area. Hawk glared balefully about him as he and
Fisher strode along, and stamped his boots unnecessarily hard on the water-slick cobbles. Fisher
chuckled quietly.

"Cheer up, Hawk. Only another month or so of utter misery, and the rainy season will be over. Then
you can start looking forward to the utter misery of the boiling hot summer. Always something to look
forward to in Haven."

Hawk sniffed. "I hate it when you're this cheerful. It's not natural."

"Me, or the rain?"

"Both." Hawk stepped carefully over a tangled mass of bunting that had fallen from a nearby building.
"I can't believe people are still going ahead with celebrations in this downpour."

Fisher shrugged. "Any excuse for a holiday. Besides, they can hardly postpone it, can they? The Kings
will only be here two more days. Then it'll all be over, and we can get back to what passes for normal
here in the Northside."

Hawk just grunted, not trusting himself to any more than that. His job was hard enough without extra
complications. Haven was without doubt the most corrupt and crime-ridden city in the Low Kingdoms,
and the Northside was its dark and rotten heart. No crime was too vile or too vicious to be overlooked,
and if you could make any kind of profit out of it, you could be sure someone was doing it somewhere.
And double-crossing his partner at the same time, like as not. Violence was commonplace, along with
rape and murder and protection rackets. Conspiracies blossomed in the shadows, talking treason in
lowered voices behind locked doors and shuttered windows. Throughout Haven, the city Guard was
stretched thin to breaking point and beyond, but somehow they managed to keep a lid on things, most
of the time. Usually by being even harsher and more violent than the people they fought. When they
weren't taking sweeteners to look the other way, of course. All of which made it increasingly difficult
for anyone to figure out why the Parliaments of both the Low Kingdoms and Outremer had insisted on
their respective Kings coming to Haven to sign the new Peace Treaty between the two countries.

It was true that the Peace Talks at which the Treaty had been hammered out had taken place in Haven,