"Knaak, Richard A - Dragonrealm 04 - Shadow Steed" - читать интересную книгу автора (Knaak Richard A)

Drayfitt glanced up. He did not turn to his ruler, but rather
studied the design in the floor. "I am ready to begin, your
majesty."

The voice of Quorin, the king's counselor, abruptly cut
through the sorcerer's thoughts like a well-honed knife. Mal
Quorin was the closest thing Talak had to a prime minister
since the demise of old Hazar Aran, the last man to hold the
position, two years ago. The king had never replaced him,
though Quorin did nearly everything the prime -minister was
supposed to do. Drayfitt hated the counselor; it was the short,
catlike man who had first reported to Melicard that there a
spellcaster in the cityЧand one sworn to the king. If there was
any justice, any demon he succeeded in summoning up would
demand the counselor as a sacrificeЧif a demon could stomach
such a foul morsel.

"One was beginning to wonder, Drayfitt, if your heart was
in this. Your loyalty has been. . .cool."

"If you would like to take my place. Counselor Quorin, I
will be happy to let you. I certainly would not want to stand in
the way of someone obviously more well-versed in sorcery than
myself."

Quorin would have replied, always seeking the last word, but
Melicard cut him off. "Leave Drayfitt to his task. Successful
results are all that matter."

The king supported DrayfittЧfor now. The old man wondered
how long that support would last if he failed to produce the

SHADOW STEED

creature his liege desired. He would be lucky to keep his head
much less his quiet, simple position as Master of Appoint-
ments. Now, the latter was probably lost to Drayfitt, success or
not; why waste a man of his power on a minor political post
even if it was all Drayfitt had ever wanted?

Enough dreaming of things lost! he reprimanded himself.
The time had come to summon the demon, if only to tweak the
well-groomed mustache of Quorin.

Neither the king nor his counselor understood how simple
the summoning itself actually was. There had been times when
he had been tempted to tell them, to see the disbelief on their
faces, but his brother had at least taught him that the secrets of
sorcery were the most precious things a mage owned. To