"Jean Lorrah - Savage Empire 04 - Flight To the Savage Empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lorrah Jean)

Empire and now styled himself a lord among their enemies, the savages! Astra had heard that he had
learned the savage sorcery, and could perform their vile tricks himself.

The old man and the boy reached the cornerтАж and turned into the street Astra had been walking. This
she had not expected. But the narrow passage she had taken refuge in paralleled the street she had meant
to take. Time was flying, and the wind was less strong in here, so she turned and hurried along the alley,
pressing herself against the wall to get past a cart.

Obviously, Master Clement feared that the boy Decius would be branded a traitor if he defended Torio.
Torio had been a traitor, Astra knew, but she also understood adolescent loyalties. When she was ten or
twelve, she would have said or done anything to defend Helena, the only true friend she had ever had in
the Academy. Helena was nearly four years her senior, and a weak Reader, but their differences hadn't
prevented them from becoming close.

When Helena had failed to pass her test for the rank of Magister, Astra had taken it upon herself to plead
with Portia for Helena to be retested. But the Master of Masters had refused to listen, and Astra had
been separated at age twelve from Helena, who had been as dear to her as any sister. Furthermore,
Portia had punished Astra for trying to help Helena by forbidding her the Academy's musical
entertainments for two months.

Had she been a mere spectator, Astra could simply have Read the entertainments from her own room.
But she was a performer, skilled enough with her lute to be a professional musician were she not a
Reader. So she had practiced alone, and broodedтАФ and never again formed a close friendship, knowing
that most of the other students either envied her strong powers or shunned her because of her mother.

Morella's place was only two streets away now, and Astra speeded her steps. Up ahead, the
passageway was blocked by empty scaffolding, but Astra Read that she could walk beneath it. She
began to thread her way throughтАФ

The earth shook! Astra was flung to her knees, thrown against one of the support rods. Pain lanced
through her right shoulder, her scream drowned by the rumblings all around her. This was not another of
the frequent tremors of the past few weeksтАФit was a full-fledged earthquake!
Astra gripped two crisscrossing rods as the quake's ferocity increased. The structure groaned, and she
could feel the metal's strain as well as Read it. The whole thing could collapse on her!

Somehow she pulled herself to her feet, but it was all she could do to stay on them. The ground rippled
like ocean waves. As the scaffolding's groans became a death rattle, the Reader closed her eyes and
braced herself, ready to leave her body in the face of serious injury orтАФ

Powerful hands grabbed hers, pulling her free of the rods. A thick arm squeezed her diaphragm as she
was lifted off her feet and through the iron forest just as it was collapsing. She and her would-be rescuer
fell to the cobblestones, his body sheltering hers. Astra heard wood and metal crash thunderously near
their headsтАж but they weren't touched.

The tremors were subsiding, as was the dust that had been flung up all around them. Astra breathed a
prayer of thanks to all the gods as her savior slowly stood, tall and broad-shouldered. He reached down
and easily pulled her to her feet, but still she looked far up into clear blue eyes set in a granite-carved
faceтАФa pleasant face despite its scars. A rough-hewn face crowned by tousled red hair.

Zanos the Gladiator.