"Sterling E. Lanier - Hieros 01 - Hiero's Journey" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lanier Sterling E)

shuddered from the strain, his rider was out of the saddle and on the ground
in a second. As the writhing tangle of bear and man rolled over, the priest
saw an opportunity, and his long poniard flashed from his belt and was drawn
once over the white throat, even as S'nerg tired to rise. A fountain of dark
blood obscured the contorted features, and then the cloaked shape iay still.
Hurry, came from the bear's mind. Made (too) much (volume) noise. Go nowтАФquick
(run/gallop).
Wait, Hiero said to the other's mind. He was busy searching the adept's body.
There was a peculiar and heavy, bluish metal rod, over a foot long, a
dark-handled knife with what looked like bloodstains on it, and a roll of
parchment. Under the cioak, the dead man had worn a soft, woven suit, all one
piece of grayish, neutral-colored cloth, with an odd feel to it, almost
slippery. In a small belt pouch was a round metal thing which at first glance
looked like a small compass. This was all. Hiero tossed the rod, knife,
parchment, and compass-thing into a saddlebag and mounted in one easy motion.
Go now, he said. All done here.
The bear set off instantly at a rocking canter, in the same direction in which
they had gone before. In long strides the morse moved in his wake, easily
maintaining the distance between them.
Looking back, Hiero could no longer see the still form of his enemy in the
gloom. At least, he thought, he didn't seem to dissolve like the others had.
Maybe they weren't men at all.
For several miles the three moved at high speed, despite the fall of night.
Many bright stars provided some diffused light, and a pale crescent moxm
promised more later. Also, to Hiero's relief, the terrible mental oppression
was gone; the dull feeling
22
HIERO'S JOURNEY
of stifling which had choked him for the last few hours had been lifted. It
must, he decided, have emanated from the monster they had overcome. He did not
forget to say a soldier's brief prayer of thanks. He was under no illusions as
to how close he had come to death and perhaps worse. He had been about to
submit to the terrible mind of the thing who called himself S'nerg. Whether he
would have been slain on the spot or taken elsewhere to some foul den for
torture and questioning, he did not know. But save for the young bear, they
all would have been destroyed, he was sure of that. It must have taken great
courage, as well as high intelligence, to hide, wait, and attack as Gorm had
done, and Hiero felt a powerful sense of respect for his new ally.
Eventually, the bear began to slow down, his faint puffs of breath indicating
that he had run about as far as he could. Klootz slowed his own pace, and they
now moved at about the speed of a man trotting. The dark was full of sounds,
but they were the normal sounds of the Taig, a grunting bellow in the
distance, which was the mating call of a monster hog, the Grokon, the faint
squall of some cat or other, the chitter-chatter of the night squirrels high
in the trees, and the mournful tremolo of small owls. There was nothing about
such noises to alarm. Once a large form, pale as a ghost, rose from the earth
and flitted away before them in great, silent bounds which soon carried it out
of sight. The solitary giant hares were a prey to everything and never left
their carefully concealed forms until full dark.
At Hiero's estimation, they had come about five miles, moving steadily south