"Katherine Kerr - Deverry 06 - A Time Of Omens" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kerr Katherine)

old and decrepit though it was.тАЭ

Much to MaddynтАЩs surprise, everyone believed this, to him, less-than-satisfying tale. They wanted to
believe it, he supposed, so they could stop thinking about these dark and troubling things. Later, when
most of the men, including the prince and the captain, were asleep in their blankets, Maddyn heard a bit
more of the truth as he and Aethan sat up with the old man at a dying fire.

тАЬYouтАЩre just the man I want,тАЭ Nevyn said to Aethan. тАЬYou rode for the Boar up in Cantrae, didnтАЩt you?
Take a look at this pewter roundel. Is that pig the same heraldic device or some other version of a
boar?тАЭ

тАЬItтАЩs the gwerbretтАЩs, sure enough.тАЭ Aethan angled the bit of metal close to the last blazing log. тАЬThe
curve of those long tusks gives it away, and IтАЩve been told that pointed mark on the back is the first letter
of the wordapred .тАЭ

тАЬSo it is. That settles it, then. There was at least one Boarsman in that lodge this winterтАФalthough, truly,
he could have been someone who was ousted from the warband, I suppose, and brought his old gear
with him.тАЭ
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тАЬI canтАЩt imagine any of the lads I used to ride with treating a dead man that way.тАЭ

тАЬAh. Well, the man this belonged to might well have been the man who was killed. He was murdered for
trying to do an honorable thing. I did find out that much.тАЭ

тАЬYou talked with the haunt?тАЭ Maddyn found it hard to speak, and Aethan was staring horrified

тАЬNot to say talked, but I asked questions, and he could nod yes or no.тАЭ The old man gave him a sly grin.
тАЬDonтАЩt look so shocked, lad. You were mistaken for a ghost yourself once, if I remember rightly.тАЭ

тАЬTrue enough, but I wasnтАЩt exactly dead.тАЭ

тАЬWell, while this poor fellow was a good bit less alive than you, he wasnтАЩt exactly dead either. He is
now, and gone to the gods for a reward, or so I hope.тАЭ Nevyn considered for a moment, frowning at the
roundel. тАЬTell me somewhat, Aethan. When you rode for Cantrae, did you ever hear any rumors of
witchcraft and dark wizardry? Did anyone ever say that so-and-so had strange powers or the second
sight or suchlike?тАЭ

Aethan started to shrug indifferently, then stiffened and winced, like a man who shifts his weight in the
saddle only to pinch an old bruise.

тАЬAn odd thing happened once, years back. I rode as a guard over the gwerbretтАЩs widowed sister, you
see, and once we went out into the countryside. It was late in the fall, but she insisted on taking a hawk
with her. ThereтАЩs naught to set it on, say I, but she laughed and said that sheтАЩd find the game she wanted.
And she did, because cursed if she didnтАЩt fly the thing at a common crow, and of course the hawk
brought it right down. She took feathers from its wings and its tail and threw the rest away.тАЭ He was
silent for a long moment. тАЬAnd what do you want those for, say I, and she laughed again and said she