"Jean Lorrah - Empire 01 - Savage Empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lorrah Jean)

eyes that drifted, unfocused. A yelp and a clangтАФTorio disarmed him,
then pinned him against the wall. "Don't watch meтАФRead me! By the
gods, Decius, you waste your talent! Magister, will you lend me your
kerchief?"

"No!" cried Decius.

"You are a Reader," Torio told him. "You have as much talent as I, but
you lean on your five senses. Block out the most important of them, and
you will have to Read." He tied the fine linen kerchief over Decius' eyes.
"There. Now, let us fight as equals."

Lenardo could Read Decius' tight throat and sweaty palms. Now the boy
had to Read Torio, their surroundings, and himself, all at once. He
fumbled, could not even parry at first, backed against the bench and
almost fell. Then, by degrees, he found his way. Within half an hour he had
made more progress than Lenardo had got from him in a month.

Torio allowed Decius a touch, saying, "Now you're doing it, Decius.
Good work. By the time you've reached your full stature, you'll be a better
swordsman than I am."

Blushing at such praise from an acknowledged sword-master, Decius
pulled off the blindfold, blinking in the bright sunlight. Torio smiled and
answered his half-formed thought, "Yes, it is as bright for me." //I am still
Reading, Decius. I cannot not Read, or the darkness enfolds me.//

"Will you work with me again tomorrow, Torio? Oh! Pardon, Magister
LenardoтАФI didn't meanтАФ"

Lenardo smiled at the boy's confusion. "For this particular skill, Torio is
the better teacher. I shall assign you to him."
 "OhтАФthank you, Magister!" Decius had stopped Reading againтАФa pity,
Lenardo thought, for he missed the warm anticipation from Torio.
"Tomorrow! I'll be readyтАФ I promise!"

As Decius hurried off, he also missed the cold apprehension that went
through Lenardo at his words. The teacher cut it off, lest Torio Read him.
He knew, Read, that tomorrow Torio would not teach Decius. That was all,
except for an attending bleak sorrow.

But the blind boy was too enthralled to notice that Lenardo had stopped
Reading. "My own student! My very first!"

"Yes, Torio," Lenardo agreed. "You are certainly qualified to teach
swordsmanship, even if your methods areтАж unorthodox."

Torio laughed. "But they should not be. Boys come here at eight or nine,
completely reliant on their five wits. I' came at seven, and within a year I
was a proficient Reader тАФsimply because I could not rely on my eyes. New