"Keyes,.Greg.-.Kingdoms.Of.Thorn.And.Bone.02.-.Charnel.Prince.V1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Keyes J Gregory)

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Greg Keyes







The Charnel Prince
(Book Two of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone)








PROLOGUE


Had laybyd hw loygwn eyl
Nhag Heybeywr, ayg nhoygwr niwoyd.

The Forest speaks with many tongues
Listen well but never answer.
ЧNhuwd nhy Whad proverb, given as a warning to young children


УI HEAR A noise,Ф Martyn murmured, reining in his dappled gray stallion. УIt is an unnatural sound.Ф The monkТs predatory blue eyes strained, as if trying to burn through the huge-girthed ironoaks and rocky slopes of the KingТs Forest. Ehawk could see by the set of the manТs shoulders beneath his blood-red robe that every muscle in his body was tensed.
УNo doubt,Ф Sir Oneu replied jovially. УThis forest chatters like a woman who is half-mad with love.Ф
But despite his tone, Sir OneuТs black eyes were serious when he turned to speak to Ehawk. As always, Ehawk was surprised by the older manТs faceЧsoft and tapered it was, the corners of his eyes crinkled by fifty years of laughter. The knight hardly seemed to fit his reputation as a fierce warrior.
УWhat do you say, mТ lad?Ф Oneu asked.
УFrom what IТve seen,Ф Ehawk began, УBrother Martyn can hear a snake breathe over the next hill. I havenТt such ears, and at this moment hear little. But sir, thatТs strange of itself. There ought to be more birds singing.Ф
УSaint RoosterТs balls,Ф Oneu scoffed, Уwhat do yТmean? ThereТs one warbling right now, so loud I can scarce hear myself.Ф
УYes, sir,Ф Ehawk replied. УBut that Сun is an etechakichuk, and theyЧФ
УIn the kingТs tongue, boy, or in Almannish,Ф snapped a dour, sallow-faced man. He wore robes of the same color as MartynТs. УDonТt gabble at us in your heathen language.Ф
That was Gavrel, another of the five monks traveling with the party. His face looked as if it had been cut into an apple and left to dry.
Ehawk didnТt like Gavrel much.
УMind your own tongue, Brother Gavrel,Ф Sir Oneu said mildly. УIТm the one speaking to our young guide, not you.Ф
Gavrel glared at the reprimand, but he did not challenge the knight.
УYou were saying, mТ lad Ehawk?Ф