"Katherine Kerr - Deverry 02 - Darkspell" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kerr Katherine)

with us if you like, but I warn you, the Goddess I serve is a goddess of darkness and blood. ThatтАЩs what
I meant about Her blessing. Think well before you take it.тАЩ

They did think on the matter, staring at her all the while until at last Abryn spoke for them both.

тАШWhat else have we got, my lady? WeтАЩre naught but a pair of dishonored men without a lord to ride
for or a clan to take us in.тАЩ

тАШDone, then. You ride at my orders, then, and I promise you, youтАЩll have your chance for vengeance.тАЩ

In sincere gratitude they smiled at her. In those days, a warrior who lived through a battle in which his
lord died was a shamed man, turned away from everyoneтАЩs shelter and mocked wherever he went.

As the warband made its way south to Cerrmor, they picked up other men like Abryn and Draudd,
some other survivors from the StagтАЩs warband, some who were stubbornly closemouthed about their
past, but all of them desperate enough to lay aside their amazement at finding a priestess at the head of a
warband. Eventually Gweniver had thirty-seven men, just three short of the number that Avoic had
pledged to bring. In fact, they pledged to her so gladly and accepted her so easily that she was surprised.
Their last night on the road, she shared a campfire with Ricyn, who waited upon her like an orderly.

тАШTell me somewhat,тАЩ she said to him. тАШDo you think these lads will still follow my orders once weтАЩre
down in Cerrmor?тАЩ

тАШOf course, my lady.тАЩ He seemed surprised that she would ask. тАШYouтАЩre the one who took them off
the roads and gave them the right to feel like men again. Besides, youтАЩre a priestess.тАЩ

тАШDoes that matter to them?тАЩ
 тАШOh, twice over. Come now, weтАЩve all heard those tales about Moon-sworn warriors, havenтАЩt we?
But itтАЩs twice a marvel to actually see one. Most of the lads think itтАЩs an omen, you see. ItтАЩs like
dweomer, and youтАЩre dweomer-touched. We all know itтАЩs bound to bring us good luck.тАЩ

тАШLuck? Oh, it wonтАЩt bring that, but only the favor of the Moon in her Darktime. Do you truly want that
kind of favor, Ricyn? ItтАЩs a harsh thing, a cold wind from the Otherlands.тАЩ

Ricyn shuddered as if he felt that wind blowing. For a long time he stared into the campfire.

тАШHarsh or not, itтАЩs all I have left to me,тАЩ he said at last. тАШIтАЩll follow you, and you follow the Goddess,
and weтАЩll see what She brings us both.тАЩ

Cerrmor lay at the mouth of the Belaver, the watercourse that was the natural spine of the kingdom,
where the estuary had cut a broad harbor out of the chalky cliffs. With over eighty thousand people
sheltering behind its high stone walls, it was the second biggest city in the kingdom now that Dun Deverry
had been laid waste.

From a long line of piers and jetties, the city spread out upriver in a sprawl of curved streets like
ripples from a stone thrown into a pond. As long as its gwerbrets kept it safe, its trade with Bardek kept
it rich. A fortress within a fortress, Dun Cerrmor stood on a low artificial hill in the middle of town not far
from the river. Inside a double ring of walls were the stone broch complex, stone outbuildings, and
barracks, all with slate roofs; nowhere was there a scrap of wood that might be fired with a flaming
arrow. Outside the main gate were barbicans, and the gates themselves were covered with iron, opened