"Robert Jordan - The Wheel of Time 11 - Knife of Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jordan Robert)

Apparently it was best not to press their new masters too far. Distrust of the Children was always strong in the Seanchan.
Trom displayed none of the uncertainty that might have been expected from a man who had held his present rank barely a month. тАЬAn
urgent matter, my Lord Captain Commander,тАЭ he said smoothly, making a very precise bow, neither a hair deeper nor higher than
protocol demanded. тАЬA
Child of my command charges another of the Children with abusing a female relative of his, and claims the right of Trial Beneath the
Light, which by law you must grant or deny.тАЭ
тАЬA strange request, my son,тАЭ Asunawa said, tilting his head quizzically above clasped hands, before Valda could speak. Even the High
InquisitorтАЩs voice was doleful; he sounded pained at TromтАЩs ignorance.
His eyes seemed dark hot coals in a brazier. тАЬIt was usually the accused who asked to give the judgment to swords, and I believe
usually when he knew the evidence would convict him. In any case, Trial Beneath the Light has not been invoked for nearly four
hundred years. Give me the accusedтАЩs name, and I will deal with the matter quietly.тАЭ His tone turned chill as a sunless cavern in
winter, though his eyes still burned. тАЬWe are among strangers, and we cannot allow them to know that one of the Children is capable
of such a thing.тАЭ

тАЬThe request was directed to me, Asunawa,тАЭ Valda snapped. His glare might as well have been open hatred. Perhaps it was just dislike
of the other manтАЩs breaking in. Flipping one side of his cloak over his shoulder to bare his ring-quilloned sword, he rested his hand on
the long hilt and drew himself up. Always one for the grand gesture, Valda raised his voice so that even people inside probably heard
him, and declaimed rather than merely spoke.

тАЬI believe many of our old ways should be revived, and that law still stands. It will always stand, as written of old. The Light grants
justice because the Light is justice. Inform your man he may issue his challenge, Trom, and face the one he accuses sword-to-sword. If
that one tries to refuse, I declare that he has acknowledged his guilt and order him hanged on the spot, his belongings and rank forfeit
to his accuser as the law states. I have spoken.тАЭ That with another scowl for the High Inquisitor. Maybe there really was hatred there.

Trom bowed formally once more. тАЬYou have informed him yourself, my Lord Captain Commander. Damodred?тАЭ

Galad felt cold. Not the cold of fear, but of emptiness. When Dain drunkenly let slip the confused rumors that had come to his ears,
when Byar reluctantly confirmed they were more than rumors, rage had filled Galad, a bone-burning fire that nearly drove him insane.
He had been sure his head would explode if his heart did not burst first. Now he was ice, drained of any emotion. He also bowed
formally. Much of what he had to say was set in the law, yet he chose the rest with care, to spare as much shame as possible to a
memory he held dear.

тАЬEamon Valda, Child of the Light, I call you to Trial Beneath the Light for unlawful assault on the person of Morgase Trakand, Queen
of Andor, and for her murder.тАЭ No one had been able to confirm that the woman he regarded as his mother was dead, yet it must be so.
A dozen men were certain she had vanished from the Fortress of the Light before it fell to the Seanchan, and as many testified she had
not been free to leave of her own will.

Valda displayed no shock at the charge. His smile might have been intended to show regret over GaladтАЩs folly in making such a claim,
yet contempt was mingled in it. He opened his mouth, but Asunawa cut in once more.
тАЬThis is ridiculous,тАЭ he said in tones more of sorrow than of anger.
тАЬTake the fool, and weтАЩll find out what Darkfriend plot to discredit the Children he is part of.тАЭ He motioned, and two of the hulking
Questioners took a step toward Galad, one with a cruel grin, the other blank-faced, a workman about his work.
Only one step, though. A soft rasp repeated around the courtyard as Children eased their swords in their scabbards. At least a dozen
men drew entirely, letting their blades hang by their sides. The Amadician grooms hunched in on themselves, trying to become
invisible. Likely they would have run, had they dared. Asunawa stared around him, thick eyebrows climbing up his forehead in
disbelief, knotted fists gripping his cloak. Strangely, even Valda appeared startled for an instant.
Surely he had not expected the Children to allow an arrest after his own proclamation. If he had, he recovered quickly.

тАЬYou see, Asunawa,тАЭ he said almost cheerfully, тАЬthe Children follow my orders, and the law, not a QuestionerтАЩs whims.тАЭ He held out
his helmet to one side for someone to take. тАЬI deny your preposterous charge, young Galad, and throw your foul lie in your teeth. For