"John Marco - Tyrants and Kings 3 - Saints of the Sword" - читать интересную книгу автора (Marco John)

nothing about the happenings in Aramoor. All he knew was what he heard
whispered in the castleтАФthat Leth was still trying to put down the Aramoorian
rebels. He was using ungodly tactics, but that was no surprise. And why it
should bother the emperor was a mystery. But there had been strange things
happening in Aramoor lately. Alazrian had been too concerned about his
mother to take much notice, but Leth was away from the castle often these
days, and messengers from King Tassis Gayle were frequent. Whatever was
happening, it had gotten his father in trouble, and Alazrian was glad for it. He
was glad that the Saints of the Sword were still hassling the "governor." Jahl
Rob might be a priest, but he had a general's craftiness, and his Aramoorian
rebels were proving a gigantic thorn in Leth's side.
Good, thought Alazrian as he retreated across the hall.
The sudden sound of a door opening pulled Alazrian back to reality. He
turned to see his grandfather, Tassis Gayle, backing out of his mother's
bedroom. The king was stooped with weariness and was whispering
something to the unseen woman in the room, something gentle and fatherly.
His cloak of wolf fur dragged along the floor, limp as the look on his face. He
was an old man now, ancient really, but he had the classic Gayle strength
about him, long of bone and wide of shoulder, and his short hair was hardly
thinning at all. Yet despite his recent resurrection from depression and old age,
the night's events had wearied him. He had travelled quickly from Talistan
when he'd heard the news of his daughter's decline, and had disappeared into
her bedchamber hours ago. Alazrian looked at his grandfather and felt
profoundly sad. Tassis Gayle was cruel, and the rumors of his mania were
well-founded. But he was good to his daughter and her son, a dichotomy that
puzzled Alazrian. Other than his mother, Tassis Gayle was the only person in
the world who showed him any kindness.
"I'll see you again," Alazrian heard the King of Talistan whisper before
closing the door. Tassis Gayle squared his shoulders, gathering himself.
Alazrian waited anxiously for him to speak. Elrad Leth stared out the window
with appalling disinterest.
"She's very weak," said the king at last. It was an effort for him to speak.
"Oh, my Calida. My little girl . . ." He beckoned Alazrian closer with a finger.
"Alazrian, come here."
Alazrian hurried over to his grandfather, taking his hand and finding it
trembling. Obviously the king hadn't expected to see his daughter so frail. For
a woman who was once so robust, she looked little more than a shadow now.
"Your mother is very ill," the king said. "You know that though, don't you?"
Alazrian nodded.
"Not much time, I think," his grandfather went on. He didn't bother
speaking to Leth. "You should go to her. She wants you with her now."
Leth's lips twisted in disdain. Not surprisingly, his wife wasn't calling for
him in her final moments. Alazrian ignored him and offered his grandfather a
smile.
"I'll be out soon," he said. "She should sleep now anyway."
The old man squeezed his hand. "Yes, go to her." Then his face hardened
and he added, "I have things to speak to your father about."
 Leth folded his arms over his chest. "About time," he muttered.
Alazrian had hoped his grandfather had come to Aramoor just to see his
daughter, but it seemed there was business on the agenda as well.