"Paul Kidd - The Nobles 05 - The Council of Blades" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kidd Paul)

window stood open to the summer breeze. Like a great raffia-work comet, the bird swooped downward in
a graceful arc, lofted superbly up toward the ivory window frame, and smacked himself straight into the
wall.
The addle-witted bird slid like a jellyfish down the tower wall, dropped onto a balcony and sat giddily
watching a cascade of stars. Lurching to his feet, the creature shook off his hurt, fluffed out his plumage
and quickly scuttled in through the balcony door.
Moonlight struck brilliant sparks into the great bird's eyes and the crystal chandelier instantly fled his
mind.
A mirror and dressing table stood beside the far wall. On a rosewood bust, a necklace of emeralds sat
upon display; a collar of golden chain, encrusted with green gems that hurtled the light like confetti to the
skies. The huge bird gaped at the thing in shock and let pure childish delight shine in his gaze.
Alone of all his race, only he had been clever enough to brave the empty skies! The most courageous,
the most clever, the most handsome bird of all! Now a fan-tasy land of sparkling pretties would be his. He
would line a nest with glittery baubles, and a thousand females would worship him with their sighs.
 The bird danced; he stuck his head down low and his tail up high, giving a waggle to the left and a
waggle to the right. He kicked his feet and trilled a busy tune, los-ing himself in the display of his brilliant
orange tail. The firebird strutted about in celebration of his own amazing cleverness, closing his eyes and
becoming quite lost to the world.
"Sofia? Sofia! The bath was still filled with yesterday's ass's milk! The stench was quite atrocious. Pray
do not allow it to happen again!"
"Yes, milady."
Voices! The bird ceased its dance, flapped around in a mad circle, and nearly tripped over his own tail
as he snatched the emerald necklace in his beak. With a great thrash of wings, he lumbered out onto the
balcony and launched into the air. An instant later, the bird's stream-ing tail feathers had whipped across the
city roofs leaving nothing but a sparkle of magic in their wake.
"Sofia! Lay out the spider-silk gown, then help me ..."
A great, fat woman big enough to batter down a castle gate came sweeping through into the palace
tower. She froze midspeech, spied the open window, then turned shocked eyes toward the empty dressing
table.
"Sofia! My emeralds! My emeralds!"
"Madam?" A scrawny maid scuttled through the door like a half-drowned spider washed out of a
knothole. "Perhaps they are still at the cleaners?"
"The cleaners?" Swelling herself dangerously with out-raged pride, the massive noblewoman surged out
onto the balcony. "You idiot girlтАФwe've been robbed!"
A single orange feather had been left as the villain's calling card. The noblewoman snatched it up inside
one great fist, then flowed forward like a juggernaut toward the quailing maid.
"Call the guard! Call the prince! Have the entire thieves' guild dragged out and flogged!"
A mighty mass of double chins surged like a tidal wave as a final shriek of outrage blasted up into the
skies.
"My emeralds! Bring me back my emeralds!"
The woman shook her fists across a wilderness of empty roofs; mortar started from the tower walls as
she slammed a punch against the brickwork, and soldiers scattered in panic from the courtyard far below.
High overhead, unseen against the stars, a giddy feath-ered figure pranced beneath the flawless moon,
dancing a dance above his fabulous new home.
*****
When the snows cleared from the winter passes, and summer sun gleamed down upon the Hills of
Apion, it was the custom of the Blade Kingdoms to devote them-selves to war.
The six kingdomsтАФneat, tiny little city-states sur-rounded by their vineyards, villages and olive
grovesтАФstill showed the proud vigor of newcomers. Their gleam-ing new city walls had been built atop
Chessentian ruins a dozen centuries old; in the valleys, there ran the aque-ducts and moldering villas left