"Ed Greenwood - Spellfire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Greenwood Ed)

Ferostil followed, and then Burlane waved Shandril to go next.
The water was icy. Shandril's boots leaked at one heel, and once she stepped
into a deep place hidden under the water and nearly fell. Her firm grip on the
reins saved her; her horse snorted his displeasure as all her weight pulled at
his head for an instant, and then she recovered herself and went on.
The far bank seemed no different from the one they had leftтАФtall, drenched
grass, mist as thick as ever. The company gathered wordlessly to rub the legs
of their mounts dry and peer about. The mist brightened still more as the
unseen sun rose higher, but it did not break or thin. Burlane strode ahead a
few paces and listened intently.
Then, quite suddenly, three warriors in chain mail advanced out of the fog
with weapons ready. They bore no badge or colors, and behind them a fourth man
led a mule. The mule was heavily laden with small chests securely strapped to
a harness. Something metallic within the chests clinked and shifted at the
beast's every step.
There was an instant of surprise, and then the three strangers rushed forward
with an oath, springing to attack the company without so much as a greeting.
The fourth
SPELLFIRE
turned from the mule to flee back into the mist.
Abruptly, Burlane's glowing spear hurtled through the air to pierce the runner
at the back of the neck and bear him down. "At them!" the burly leader hissed.
"Look sharp!"
Ferostil pushed roughly past Shandril to take a stranger's blade on his own,
shove hard to rock the man back on his heels, and then, by a rapid succession
of ringing, teeth-jarring blows, batter his way past the man's blade. The two
men seemed evenly matched in strength. Shandril was shocked at the savagery of
their hacking blows.
Even as she watched, Delg trotted past her and calmly launched himself into
the air with a grunt. At the height of his leap, he cut hard at the side of
the man's helm with his axe. There was a dull crump sound as the blade bit
home, and the warrior reeled, then tumbled to the ground. Delg had already
reached the next warrior, a burly man who raised his voice to roar a warning
into the mist as he fell back before the blades of Rymel and Ferostil.
Shandril heard Burlane grunt in pain as the third warrior's blade bit into his
shoulder. The man also swung a war-hammer, but the wizard Thail caught it on
his staff before their attacker could drive it through Burlane's guard.
Shandril let go the reins of her mount and ran toward the Bright Spear, which
flickered and glowed in a tangle of grass near the man Burlane had hit. She
heard a strangled cry behind her but dared not look as she rushed over the
uneven ground. Metal skirled and clashed again behind her. As Shandril reached
the spear, she saw menacing shapes looming out of the mist. More warriors! She
had no time to look down at its victim or behind her, for one of the newcomers
was snarling at her, eyes glittering, a longsword reaching for her as he
charged.
She saw the angry face of a second attacker before she could jerk the spear
free and run, ducking low and turning, trailing the spear point down in the
grass. The closest warrior's swing clove the air, and she was away, stumbling
in her haste. Delg grinned at her as he rushed past to meet the newcomers.
Beyond him, Shandril could see the company advancing. All of their opponents