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

mind, she widened her range to "hear" and "see" more.

At the sports arena, "Vortius" could only be Vortius the Gambler, a man who livedтАФrichlyтАФon the
edges of both respectability and the law, profiting from the losses of others.

A man Astra loathed.

Yes, there he wasтАФnear one of the gladiators' entrances to the arena. He wore the clothes of an
aristocrat, but had the demeanor of a street criminal. The man shouting at him was the one Astra had
Read coaching Clavius. With the bearing of a fighter, he seemed about to pounce on VortiusтАж if the
gambler weren't flanked by two large and ugly bodyguards.

"I can understand why you're upset, ' Vortius was saying with the obviously false sympathy guaranteed to
infuriate the person it was turned on. "Clavius was your best fighter. A tragic loss for you, Zanos."

Zanos? Of course! Zanos the Gladiator, she realized. Even the Readers cloistered in their Academies
knew of this magnificent champion. Two years ago he had retired undefeated, hailed as the greatest
gladiator of the century. Now he had his own stable of gladiators and, judging by the wagering on the
games, had been prospering.

Until today.

"тАж losing so much gold must be doubly tragic," Vortius was saying as he hefted a heavy sack of coins.
"It could have been avoided if you had accepted my offer. "

"To become partners with you?" Zanos sneered. "Hah! I don't know what you did to Clavius to make
him lose that match and his life, butтАФ"

"I did nothing to him, Zanos," Vortius said, trying unsuccessfully to sound righteously indignant. "I didn't
have to. Clavius did it to himself. Against your training rules, he sneaked off to a bordello last night."

Zanos' eyes widened. "You're lying!"

"Haifa dozen people saw him at Morella's!" Vortius threw back at him. "You're a fool, Zanos, if you think
you can impose your impotence on your men. It's a wonder Clavius could stand up today, let alone
fightтАФ with Morella's hellcats, I doubt he got much sleep!"

"And when you found out about it, you decided to help me not by warning me, but by betting against
Clavius?"

Vortius shrugged. "I'm a businessman, Zanos, first and always." He shifted the sack of coins from one
hand to the other. "If you and I had been partners yesterday, I could have seen that Clavius didn't violate
your rules. My men would've kept him in his quarters."

Zanos let out a sound of disgust and walked away from Vortius, through Loser's Gate and down the
tunnel. Vortius shouted after him, "He wasn't the only one of your men disobeying you, Zanos! You need
my help to keep them in line, or you'll lose a lot more!"

"Aren't you finished picking over his bones yet, Reader?"