"Elizabeth Haydon - Symphony of Ages - Threshold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haydon Elizabeth)

Cantha strode off into the darkness; both men took note of her passing but did not comment. They had
become accustomed to her nightly disappearances as she went to commune, as all members of her race
did, with the wind.

тАЬClear inside,тАЭ Jarmon called from within the flickering light of the inn.

тАЬGood. Get a fire going, Jarmon. Anais, go below to the stores and bring up victuals if there are any left.тАЭ
He stepped through the dark opening and into the cold tavern.

Anais, following behind, nodded. тАЬThere should be, unless the vermin got to them. Sevirym laid in an
estimable supply down there.тАЭ He led the woman inside, then released her hand and crossed to the
stairway, starting down to the hidden passage where the food was kept, chuckling softly. He turned in the
dark on the stairs, his silver eyes twinkling. тАЬRemember how heтАЩd say that there was no point in surviving
a cataclysm only to starve to death?тАЭ

Hector smiled slightly in return. тАЬYes.тАЭ

тАЬIt was a good thing you did, sending him with theStormrider , Hector,тАЭ Anais called over his shoulder
as he headed down the steps.

тАЬIтАЩm glad you think so, Anais,тАЭ said Hector.

тАЬAye,тАЭ agreed Jarmon sourly as he blew on the sparks of the hearth flame. тАЬNow we can at least die in
peace.тАЭ

The boy woke when the tendrils of smoke that carried the scent of ham reached his nostrils; he was
eating greedily in the flickering firelight by the time Cantha returned.

Anais ceased chewing long enough to prod her.

тАЬWell, what does the wind have to say this night, Cantha?тАЭ he asked jokingly, pushing the plate they had
saved for her nearer on the heavy table board. He waited for the withering stare that he alone in the
group relished.
тАЬMuch,тАЭ Cantha replied flatly, tossing her vest onto the hearth to dry and sitting down beside it. тАЬNone of
it clear.тАЭ

The eyes of the three men locked onto her as she picked up her plate and settled in to eating. They
waited in pensive, almost tense silence to hear her elaborate, but the Kith woman merely finished her
supper and took a deep draught of SevirymтАЩs prized cider.

For a long time the only sound in the cavernous inn was that of the crackling fire. Finally Hector handed
the boy his motherтАЩs untouched supper and silently urged him to convince her to eat.

тАЬCantha,тАЭ he said, watching the woman take a piece of hard cheese from her plate and stare at it in her
hand, тАЬwhat did the winds say?тАЭ

Backlit by the hearth fire, CanthaтАЩs eyes were blacker than the darkness that surrounded them. The
chestnut skin of her thin face glowed orange in the reflected light of the flames.