"Boreal Moon - 02 - Ironcrown Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)

If you only knew! Kilian thought. But he only inclined his head.
Waringlow continued. УYou should know that our Brother, Vitubio Bent-land, perished in the Gala disaster. Felmar and Scarth are suspected of starting the fire. Interestingly enough, they are reported to have stolen certain items belonging to the Royal Alchymist, but no description of the things has been circulated. As yet, the authorities seem to have no notion as to the whereabouts of the fugitives. They are presumed to have discarded their own golden gammadions early on.Ф
After Waringlow opened the other three cells, Kilian roused his associates with sharp commands, then stood by while their iron pendants were also removed. He ordered them to sink the things in the deepest part of Elk Lake when they embarked the next day.
УVra-Garon will be blamed for engineering your escape,Ф Waringlow observed. УIf I were you, I wouldnТt trust that young fellow overmuch in a tight situation. Loyalty is hardly his strongest virtue.Ф
Kilian nodded. УI know the strengths and weaknesses of all my men well enough.Ф
УItТs time to go. Link arms and come up behind me very closely, two by two.Ф
They did as he bade them. The abbas lifted his hand and pronounced an incantation, and the former prisoners vanished from sight.
УNow follow me as silently as you can, and youТll soon be free. The nightТs a rather nasty one, I fear, with both wind and heavy rain.Ф
УGood,Ф said one of the invisible men.
The new Father Abbas lifted his lantern and headed for the flight of stairs, chuckling.

eight
Ullanoth, conjure-Queen of Moss, slept for nearly thirty-six hours, paying her enormous pain-debt during slumber, as it had to be paid. When she could endure it no more she broke away and awoke on the morning of the day after Solstice. It was only with difficulty that she forced herself to leave her bed. The latest act of Sending had left her with almost no physical energy.
I should have told Conrig to wait, she thought. There was no good reason why he needed to know the truth about Queen RisallaТs unborn babe immediately. He was driven only by impatience and his desire to remain in control of every situation that concerned his Sovereignty.
But he had begged so urgently for her helpЕ
She summoned servants to help her dress. An attendant held a mirror up after her pale hair had been combed, and she sighed as she saw her face. She was only twenty-three years of age, but the reflection now seemed to be that of a woman almost ten years older, gaunt and ravaged, with circles like bruises about her abnormally sunken eyes and deep lines furrowing her brow.
She had still been beautiful when she last Sent herself to Conrig; she was beautiful no longer.
The Lights had not done this to her. She had done it to herself, freely, in exchange for the sorcery of her Great StonesЧSender and Weathermaker and above all Subtle Loophole. A lesser proportion of her debt had accumulated through helping her own people: she had used Weathermaker to generate storms to beat back the clumsy incursions of the Salka, and studied her evil younger brother through Loophole to make certain that Beynor remained securely exiled during the uneasy first years of her reign. But by far the greater component of her devastation was due to her inability to deny Conrig Win-cantor when he sought her assistance.
IТm a fool, she told herself, gesturing for the mirror to be taken away. How often has he given himself to me or my Sending since assuming his throne? Less than two dozen times in four years! And each time we bedded, my desire for him strengthened, while he remained the sameЧprofessing love, taking me with a fierce passion, yet never opening his soul to warmth, never cherishing my self but only the hurtful magical power that comes through me.
And my people: do they love me? Moon Mother have mercy, but I think notЕ
Servants had been bustling about the royal apartment while she was being dressed, but when she dismissed the tirewomen and forced herself to leave her bedchamber she found no food set out for her in the adjacent sitting room, as was usual.
A little old man wearing a green-satin tabard emblazoned with the golden swan of the royal arms bowed and smiled.
УMajesty, your breakfast table is laid on the balcony, since the rain has gone away and the day is gloriously clear and mild. But if this is not to your pleasureЧФ
His name was Wix, and he had been her personal slave from the time of her girlhood. When she became queen she freed him and created him her Lord of Chamber. He was elderly but strong of body, and he had dedicated his life to her service. No woman had ever been UllanothТs confidante, but she trusted Wix without reservation, and on occasion shared with him her innermost thoughts.
УIТd enjoy eating outdoors,Ф she said, returning his smile. УThank you for thinking of it. And please have a second chair brought to the table, for I wish to speak with you.Ф
The other servitors saw them seated, and poured mead before withdrawing and closing the balcony doors.
Ullanoth was silent for some time, sipping her drink, gazing over the broad estuary of the Darkling River, and thinking on the notable achievements of her reign. Wix sat comfortably and nibbled on a bread roll. Across the river, the expansive flats of the Little Fen were brilliantly green with summer growth, their ponds sparkling like mirrors amidst silvery skeins of the narrow waterways. The peat-brown Darkling itself was alive with boats heading to and from the settlements surrounding Moss Lake, west of Fen-guard. The docks below the castle bristled with the masts of merchant ships and fishing vessels.
No longer was Moss the poorest nation of High Blenholme, as it had been in her fatherТs day and during the abortive reign of Beynor the Patricide, as she had officially styled her deposed brother. She had made her country prosperous, using ConrigТs generous annual guerdon to finance the revival of the amber mines and the seal-fur industry, rebuild neglected by-roads, and promote commerce on the great river and along the seacoast. Through cajolery and magical coercion, she had compelled MossТs self-centered conjure-lords to stop squandering lives and treasure on ancient feuds and let their peasantry live in peace, growing crops and livestock to the advantage of the entire realm. She had founded a brand-new industry by encouraging the marshfolk to gather herbs and simples that were prized by physicians and cooks of the south. She brought in military consultants from Cathra to create a small standing army that now patrolled the Rainy Highroad, MossТs only land link to the other island nations, and put down the gangs of human bandits that had long infested it and rendered it useless to traders and travelers. From Didion she acquired six fighting frigates and contracted for ten more, so that in future Moss need never again suffer the depredations of the Dawntide Salka. The monsters dwelling in the Great Fen were still unremittingly hostile; but that part of the country had few human inhabitants and little in the way of resources.
УItТs hard to believe that only four years have passed,Ф she said to Wix at last, Уso greatly has our kingdom been transformed. IТve worked without stint to improve the lot of our people. And yet I fear that their hearts are not fully with me. Do you agree?Ф
He nodded slowly but refrained from speech. The sad acknowledgment was sufficient.
She said, УSo many of our leaders and learned ones continue to mistrust my motives. It saddens me that they still believe me to be a tool of Conrig Win-cantor rather than a loving monarch who puts the needs of her own folk above all other considerations. The people loved my ancestor Rothbannon, for all his sternness, but I sense that they do not love me. Why is this, my friend? You must speak honestly, even if the truth be hard for me to accept.Ф
Wix said, УIТll tell you, Majesty, if you promise to eat. Your body will not recover its strength without food, and if the body is weak, the spirit lacks that resolve necessary to bring about change.Ф
She sighed, but lifted the silver dish covers and took portions of coddled duck eggs, poached cod, and rush-pollen fritters.
УFirst,Ф Wix said, after a hearty pull of mead, УletТs compare the first years of your reign with those of Rothbannon. He was a hard man but highly revered, as you say, even though the foundation of his kingdom came through Coldlight sorcery. He obtained his Seven Stones a century ago by outwitting the Salka of the Dawntide Isles, and in time managed to turn the monstersТ own ancient magic against them, to the benefit of his people. He was able to do this because he took the time to study the sigils, and because he only used the Great Stones rarely and for the furtherance of his new realm. Indeed, he never used the Unknown Potency at all, believing it would undermine the magic of the other sigils.Ф
УI know this.Ф She spoke petulantly, through a mouthful of fish. УItТs always been my intention to study RothbannonТs writings about the stones when I have sufficient time.Ф
УBut you havenТt found the time,Ф Wix pointed out. УNeither have you used your stones as the first Conjure-King didЧwith careful circumspection and only for the good of your nation.Ф
She did not look up from her plate. УYouТre right. Far too often, I used the magic of the sigils for Conrig, whom I love.Ф
УAnd who is hated by our proud people, for daring to make Moss his vassal.Ф
УMost of our progress in the past four years came about because of Con-rigТs gold! DonТt the people understand that? Would they rather live independently and be destitute?Ф
УThey would rather you had not helped Conrig to establish his Sovereignty in the first place. They would rather you had not spent your physical strength so profligately through use of Sender and LoopholeЧonly because this foreign overlord asked it of you, and you were too spineless to refuse him. Majesty, they believe that you love Conrig more than you love them.Ф
She started up from her seat, letting her napkin slide to the balcony floor.
УTheyТre wrong! They donТt understand modern politics. Being a part of the Sovereignty has made Moss stronger and saferЧand God knows weТre richer than weТve ever been before.Ф
УYou have done your queenly duty well, Majesty. The people know that and are thankful. But you asked me for the truthЧwhy they donТt love you. And the only answer to that is your determination to love anotherЧto serve anotherЧahead of them. And this person is clearly unworthy of your devotion. Conrig Wincantor is ruthlessly ambitious and arrogant. True, heТs been generous to MossЧbut his treatment of Tarn and Didion has been very harsh. Furthermore, he cast aside his first wife for expediencyТs sake and entered into a loveless match with the Princess of Didion. He has no true devotion to you, either, my lady, and in your heart I think you know it.Ф
She slid slowly back into her seat, her face drawn with anguish. УI once thought to use him as a stepping-stone to domination of this island. But IТve ended up being used by him. I never intended to love him, either! Yet I canТt help it, even though I know what manner of man he is. He may not love meЕ but he needs me.Ф
УWe need you more.Ф
They sat together quietly. He finished his cup of mead and his bread and sat with folded hands, waiting to be dismissed. It was plain that he had no more to say.
УThank you for your candor, Wix,Ф she said finally. УIТll think about all of this. You may go now. Please tell Grand Master Ridcanndal that IТll attend todayТs meeting of the Glaumerie Guild. I require the guildТs advice on a thaumaturgical matter.Ф
УVery good, Majesty.Ф He bowed and withdrew from the balcony.
She could not stomach the greasy fritters, but she forced herself to eat most of the eggs, some fish, and a single roll with butter, thinking furiously all the while.
There was one sure way to escape ConrigТs thrall. It had come to her as the good old man spoke: a solution both drastic and permanent, but one that could only come about if she no longer owned that which the Sovereign neededЕ