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

УWhat if not only Honigalus, but also his wife and three children were to be slain? And Somarus was left the only surviving heir?Ф
УImpossible!Ф Risalla exclaimed. УMy brother would never sanction such an infamous crime.Ф
УAre you certain? I think no crime is too heinous for Kilian and Beynor to perpetrate if it would serve their own ends. And I wonder if Somarus might not give tacit consent to the deeds of villains, if those deeds opened to him a clear path to DidionТs throne.Ф
УI know Somarus,Ф she insisted. УHe would never stoop to such dishonor.Ф
Conrig sighed and rose to his feet, the moonlight giving luster to his fair hair and beard. УWife, your sisterly loyalty does you credit. Nevertheless, I beg you to have your wizards bespeak Honigalus as soon as possible, warning him of the potential danger to him and his family. And if you have any influence over Somarus, beseech him to abandon this horrendous scheme forthwith and sever any alliance he might have made with Kilian and Beynor.Ф
She looked away. УIЧI had intimations that Somarus would soon rebel against the Sovereignty and Honigalus in some manner. He sounded me out, sent a message asking if I would side with him secretly. I refused. I told him IТd always love him, but said I would never go back on my pledge of fealty to you. I also ordered him not to tell me anything more of his plans. SoЧso that my conscience would not compel me to reveal them to you.Ф
УI wish you had told me of his message,Ф Conrig said evenly. УBut I understand why you did not, and I canТt hold it against you. Love will not be gainsaid.Ф
УIf IТd known he was contemplating murderЕФ She trailed off, her voice full of woe. УBut perhaps he isnТt, after all. Kilian and Beynor may have kept him in the dark, and I pray this is so. Still, I donТt doubt heТd take advantage of the death of the royal family without a second thought. Somarus is a firebrand, ConrigЧonce set burning, he must flame on until his consummation. Whatever that may be.Ф
УWill you at least warn him that Kilian and Beynor donТt have DidionТs best interests at heart? Somarus means nothing to them, except as a potential weapon to use against me. Both of them are sorcerers who wouldnТt hesitate to ally themselves with the Beaconfolk. Beynor is half-mad, like his father before him. He seeks revenge against his sister Ullanoth and is convinced that she cost him his throne. The truth is, he affronted the Beaconfolk and they laid a curse on him.Ф
RisallaТs face went blank, as though her flesh suddenly shuttered her soul. She whispered, УThere are those who say that you are in league with the Great Lights.Ф
УI know about the rumors. But they lie. I formed a pact with Ullanoth, thatТs true enough. She promised to use her magic to assist the cause of the Sovereignty. But never was any unholy bargain made with the Beaconfolk to assure my success.Ф
УOther rumors say she is your lover, who can deny you nothingЧnot even at the cost of her own life! OhЧdonТt look on me that way. IТm not jealous. You said it yourself: love will not be gainsaid! But I do pity her, poor soul, since it seems that her great sacrifice on your behalf was all in vain. Is it not true that sheТs dying after exerting her sorcery overmuch hunting for the fire-raisers?Ф
He turned away from her, arms crossed, and stared over the balcony rail at the moonlit palace gardens. УSo her close advisers say. If it gives you satisfaction, know that I never had a heartfelt love for her. I was infatuated for a time, but that passed away, leaving onlyЧonly respect and appreciation for all she had vouchsafed to me. YouТre right to pity her, RisallaЕ And any other woman who loves without being loved in return.Ф
Risalla rose on tiptoe and kissed his unyielding lips. УIТll go back to my own chambers now. Good night, my lord husband. It may give you satisfaction to know that some women are content with other things besides love.Ф
He said nothing, but only stood looking down at the silvered trees and flower beds until a deep-throated double hoot rang over the palace grounds. The huge winged form of an eagle-owl glided above the curtain wall like a wraith and disappeared behind a clump of weeping willows in the garden. Something screamed. The giant bird lofted up again, carrying its prey, and flew off towards the parklands along the River Blen.
Snudge! the king thought. His self-chosen heraldic device was an owl, the stealthy hunter.
УHunt her down, lad,Ф he whispered. УFor Maude will never be content as needy Ullanoth and wise Risalla are. Lacking my love, her only satisfaction will be in my destruction.Ф

fifteen
УInduna!Ф the old man cried testily. ФAre you wasting time picking wild strawberries again, you idle chit? Attend me at once!У
When there was no response he repeated his demand on the wind, and this time the saucy young minx condescended to reply. It wonТt do you any good to yell and call me names. IТm coming as fast as I can. And if you donТt treat me with the respect I deserve, IТll just go back to Barking SandsЧsee if I donТt!Чand you can bully someone else into doing your longspeaking and scut work.
He ground his few remaining teeth in fury, but held back the stinging rebuke she deserved. She was only seventeen, and the young boys and girls out berry-picking along the river were better company than a cranky old blind man on a fine sunny day. SheТd make a good shaman in time, once she got the girlish giddiness out of her system. He should have thought of her before, rather than using that greedy old witch, Yavenis, to relay his overtures to the Cathran king. And now his need for a trustworthy confederate had become even more crucial.
He picked up his staff and moved painfully to the door of his cottage. His oversight picked her out, coming up the path with a basket in one hand, a wee slip of a thing in a blue kirtle, with hair as brightly golden-red as rowan fruit. When she came to the stout gate in the fieldstone wall surrounding his steading she flicked open the latch with her talent and walked through the herb gardens without haste, humming a tune.
УHurry!Ф he growled. УI need you to bespeak Gala Palace for me immediately.Ф
УThen I suppose youТve no time to share my strawberries,Ф she said with a sly smile. УI picked enough for two, Eldpapa, but if youТre going to be grumpy and hatefulЕ well, never mind.Ф
The notion that sheТd do him that small kindness shamed him out of his ill humor. УIТm sorry, Induna. IТm impatient. And IТm worried that King Conrig thinks IТm only a charlatan trying to dupe him out of a bucket of gold. He should have replied to my proposal by now, even if the answer was No.Ф
УYou asked for too much,Ф the girl said. УIf he wants to bargain, donТt slam the door in his face.Ф She took two bowls from the cupboard of the neat, well-appointed kitchen, then sat down at the table and began to hull the tiny sweet berries.
УItТs what I need to retire to Andradh in style,Ф he mumbled resentfully. УYoung people donТt understand these things. If you settle in a foreign land, they only respect you if youТve got money.Ф
УYou already have a nice cottage, with Tigluk and Wollu to take care of you. I donТt know why you want to go to Andradh. TheyТre all wicked pirates.Ф
He started for his sanctum. УItТs none of your business why I want to go there. Come along with me. Let those berries be till after we bespeak the Cathran king, and IТll have Wollu bring clotted cream from the ice-house for us to eat with them.Ф
The girl sighed. УOh, very well, Eldpapa.Ф She wiped her reddened fingers on her apron and followed.
Blind BozukТs sanctum was in the loft of the cottage. There were dormer windows of real glass in gablets on all four sides so he could scry in any direction without material hindrance. The walls were lined with shelves full of jars, crocks, and boxes containing the magical ingredients that he used to concoct his wonderful spells and potions. None of the containers had labels; he knew where every item was. Cobwebs dripped from the rafters, and all the surfaces were filthy with dust because he never allowed the housekeeper upstairs to clean. Induna planned to do something about that before too much longer. She had good eyes, even if her grandfather didnТt, and she wasnТt going to work and study in a pigsty. If he wanted to be her teacher, heТd have to change his slovenly ways. Otherwise sheТd go back to her own home at Barking Sands and carry on as MumТs apprentice.
УSit down, girl,Ф Bozuk growled. He plumped himself into a heavy old armchair with tattered cushions.
She wiped off a stool with her apron. УIТm ready, Eldpapa. Shall I bespeak the Cathran wizard Vra-Sulkorig, as before?Ф
УYes. Tell him I have important new information for King Conrig, which IТll pass on to him gratis. It concerns a rendezvous between Tarnian ships that took place early today off Kolm Head. The High Sealord, Sernin Donorvale, met and conferred with Liscanor Northkeep, the brother of Princess Maudrayne I read their lips. They talked about a boy who should by rights be sitting on the throne of Cathra. They said that the boyТs father is ineligible to reign, because he secretly possesses arcane talent. Ask if King Conrig would like to have the conversation between Sernin and Liscanor repeated to him, word for word. At no charge, of course.Ф
Induna sat with her head bowed for some minutes. Then she opened her eyes and grinned.
The blind old man snapped, УWell? Well? What does the Cathran king say?Ф
УHeТs very eager to hear what the two sealords said, Eldpapa. And he says it gives him great pleasure to agree to your fee of five thousand gold marks for information on the whereabouts of Princess Maudrayne and her son.Ф
The old man let out a gusty sigh of relief. He recited the conversation between Liscanor and Sernin, and prompted Induna as she relayed it to Con-rig. When the girl finally cut the thread of windspeech and would have left the sanctum, he held up a hand and said to her, УWait. ThereТs more.Ф
УAnother message to be sent?Ф
He shook his head, УNo, Granddaughter, a more difficult thing by far. Please be seated again while I tell you.Ф
Rolling her eyes impatiently, she resumed her place on the stool.
УAnsel Pikan has taken Princess Maudrayne and her son into the far east, beyond the volcanos. At such a distance, with such massive rock bastions hindering even my mindТs eye, it becomes increasingly difficult to track him and his captives. Thus far, Ansel has used a cover spell that has proved no hindrance to my oversight. I am fairly certain of his ultimate destination, and when the Cathran kingТs messenger arrives with the gold I shall know where to direct his men in their preliminary search.Ф
Her shrewd little face had tightened with premonition. УEldpapa, what has all this to do with me?Ф
УBe patient! When the Cathran manhunters set out after Maudrayne,
Ansel will know it. HeТll shift her to another hiding place. And this time, heТll erect a more formidable magical coverЧone that IТll be hard put to pierce because of the great distance that now separates us from the fugitive princess and her son. And so, my dear, I desire that you should leave here at once, and travel to the region where the precious pair are secreted, and be my agent on the spot to direct ConrigТs hunters. IТm not so foolish as to believe you to be too frail and vulnerable to undertake such a mission. YouТre tough as a seal-hide bootЧand a formidable magicker already, in spite of your tender years. There will be perils on the journey, Induna, but none, I think, that would overwhelm you. You need not endanger yourself by approaching the princessТs hiding place. You need only oversee her from a safe distance and report to me if Ansel Pikan attempts to spirit her away elsewhere.У
УWhere am I to go, then,Ф she asked in a level voice, Уif I accept this charge? And what will be my payment?Ф
He burst into delighted laughter. УA wench after my own heart! Your fee, little love, will be one-third of what I wring from Conrig. And the place you must go is the uttermost eastern coast of Tarn, north of that Fort Ramis which is held by a kinsman of Ansel. Of course I shall find stout companions to accompany youЧФ
УNo,Ф she said.
УNo?Ф The blind eyes widened in dismay. УBut all could be lost to me otherwise, for Conrig will never pay what he owes until he has the woman and her son in hand!Ф