"Tanya Huff - Kigh 1 - Sing the Four Quarters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

Huff, Tanya - Sing the Four Quarters




CHAPTER ONE

"Was it something I said?" The innkeeper laughed as the young woman continued her headlong
dash out the door, ignoring him completely. Lifting a slab of fried ham off the grill and onto an
already full plate, he slid the pile of food across to his other overnight guest. "Kids these days.
You just can't make 'em understand that if you sit up all night drinkin' you pay for it in the
morning."

The burly wool merchant lowered his tankard, wiped the ale foam off his mustache, and dug into
his breakfast with enthusiasm. "Used to be," he said around a mouthful of fried potatoes, "I could
empty a good half barrel on my own and never feel it. But these daysтАж" He sighed and speared a
pickled onion. "I remember when my youngest brother got joined; the hangover nearly killed me.
I was seeing cross-eyed for three days."

"Wine," declared the innkeeper sagely. "Don't get that kind of a hangover on ale."

The merchant snorted. "Depends on how much you drink."

The story that followed probably contained as much wishful thinking as accuracy, but it was well
enough told that the innkeeper rested his forearms on the counter and settled in to enjoy it. No
point fixing more food when the only person around to eat it was still dumping her evening into
the privy.

Annice spit the last of the bile out of her mouth and straightened, brushing damp strands of short,
dark-blonde hair up off her forehead with the back of one hand. Her face felt clammy.

"No surprise," she muttered, sagging sideways against the rough plank wall. "All things
considered."

Perfectly willing to pay for a night's excess, she considered it entirely outside the Circle to be so
sick when she'd only had water and a little soft cider to drink. She hadn't overindulgedтАФ
Overindulged? I haven't even indulged!тАФfor about a month now because the smell of anything
containing alcohol was enough to send her racing from the room.

In fact, the memory of the smellтАж

Stomach heaving, she bent over the hole again.

A few moments of painful dry retching later, she lifted her head.

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 Huff, Tanya - Sing the Four Quarters