"Boreal Moon - 02 - Ironcrown Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)
She pulled herself away in a sharp motion and stepped back, eyes flashing. УHow gratifying for both of you! Meanwhile, Dyfrig and I must languish in a wilderness, deprived of human companionship and all the things that make living worthwhile.Ф
УThis place where IТm taking you is far more agreeable than DobneluТs steading.Ф The shaman almost seemed to be pleading with her. УYou wonТt be so closely guarded. You can ride and hunt and fish, and even take short voyages on a small sailboat. YouТll have more congenial people around youЧeven young playmates for Dyfrig. IТve provided an extensive library for your pleasure. There are musical instruments and art supplies for your use and for the education of your son. If you have need of anything, your custodians will do their utmost to supply it.Ф
УReally?Ф Almost as quickly as it had flared, the fire went out of her and she seemed diminished and subdued. The high color faded from her face and even her vivid auburn hair seemed to dull. The sunlight was waning as the overcast thickened. To the west, the tall volcanos on the horizon were turning to opaque grey shadows.
He drew a silver tube from inside his tunic and held it out to her. УIt was to be a gift for young DyfrigЧthe Сsomething interestingТ I promised to show him. Spy through it at the summit of the tallest hill, and youТll see where weТre bound: Skullbone Peel, the fortified summer residence of Ontel Pikan, my cousin, and his family.Ф
With reluctance, she lifted the cylinder to her eye. It was far from being a conventional spyglass, and she saw the distant structure enormously magnified, a small but massive square keep, built of shining white stone and topped by battlements. A gable-roofed wing extended from its south side, at the end of which rose a narrow round turret topped with an odd construct that looked like a windmill.
She lowered the glass. УIt looks impregnable.Ф
УNo one will harm you while you dwell there. The view from the water-tower is said to be stupendous. On a clear day you can see for sixty leagues in all directions. There are broad steps hewn from the living rock descending the seaward side, and at their base is a sheltered cove where whalers and other boats that ply the Desolation Coast may put in during storms. Skullbone Peel is an outpost of Fort Ramis, which lies forty leagues to the south. The fort is also held by my cousin Ontel, who is a skilled shaman famed for accurate predictions of the weather. He is much respected by the seamen of the area.Ф
УA weather-wizard.Ф She sighed. УI hope heТs better company than the crabby old sea-hag.Ф
УWeТd better be moving on,Ф Ansel said. УItТll be two more hours before we reach the hill. Please take your ease while I check the team. ThereТs food and drink in a basket inside the wagon. Dyfrig will wake if you touch his forehead.Ф He went to examine the poniesТ harness.
Silently, Maudrayne handed the spyglass to Rusgann, who peered eagerly at their new home. УI see someone on the battlements. A woman!Ф
УMy cousinТs wife, Tallu,Ф Ansel said. УSheТs a remarkable person, Maudie. You may get on well with her.Ф
УAnother magicker?Ф the princess asked, turning away with conspicuous disinterest.
УOh, no,Ф said the shaman. УTallu is a noted sea-warrior of the Desolation Coast. SheТll take very good care of all of you.Ф
==========
The conferring of honors and the great feast were finally over. Duke Berkus Mallthorpe was resting his gouty foot and listening to a string quartet. Duchess Kenna had taken Queen Bryse to her private quarters for quiet conversation, and nursemaids were putting the royal children to bed in the guest chambers. Left to his own devicesЧa rare enough thing on the closely orchestrated royal progressЧKing Honigalus strolled the parapet atop the wall of Mallthorpe Castle with Galbus Peel, Fleet Captain of the Realm, who was also his closest friend and most trusted adviser.
The King of Didion was a stocky man whose thoughtful features were almost homely, and not even the most sumptuous attire was capable of making him an imposing figure. Once he had joked to Peel that the royal regalia made him look like an honest packhorse tricked out in the gaudy caparison of a tournament destrier. He was happiest at sea, and before the death of his father Achardus, he had commanded the Fleet with reasonable efficiency, acknowledging his continuing debt to the naval prowess of Galbus Peel, Fleet Captain of the Realm.
On the throne he had been less of a success. He came to the kingship bearing the onus of defeat. But even if he had not surrendered to Conrig, he was perhaps too civilized to reign over a land barely lifted from barbarism. He utterly lacked the fighting panache and animal vitality that had made his hulking father respected even by the marcher lords who regularly rebelled against him. Honigalus Mallburn had accomplished near miracles restoring his vanquished, starving nation to prosperity, but many of the great merchants and lords seemed unwilling to grant him credit for his efforts, while the common people had never forgiven his capitulation to the Sovereignty.
Honigalus knew all this, and accepted it stolidly. What happiness he gleaned from life came from Queen BryseТs unconditional devotion, the gratification of having sired three handsome, intelligent children who loved him with all their hearts, and the support of a handful of staunch friends such as Galbus Peel, who were not afraid to speak to him as though he were a man, rather than a monarch.
УLook at that moon,Ф the Fleet Captain murmured. УRed as blood! They say forest fires are burning in the Elderwold. The smoke in the air no doubt causes the baleful color.Ф
УIt may be a portent as well, Galbus,Ф the king said quietly. He rested his elbows on the hewn stone of the battlement and stared at the carmine orb rising downriver.
Peel shot him a look of concern. УOf what, sireЧif I may ask?Ф
УBefore we sat down to feast, my wizard was bespoken by a high-ranking Brother who is a senior servant to King Conrig. It seems that the Cathrans have uncovered a far-ranging conspiracy. The conflagration at Gala Palace was a sort of opening salvo in a series of other inauspicious events designed to undermine our SovereignТs rule. The good Brother was careful not to go into specificsЧwhich leads me to suspect that the happenstances must be very dire indeed. Conrig warns me that there might also be dirty work afoot in Didion.Ф
УWhat kind of dirty work?Ф
УConrigТs people have heard rumors that Somarus may be plotting against my life.Ф
УNot much. My sister Risa had a message from Somarus, asking if sheТd support him if he challenged the Sovereignty. She refused, God love her.Ф
УPrince SomarТs been trumpeting insurrection for years, sire, and doing precious little else but spouting hot air. What reason have we for taking him seriously now?Ф
УThe tip about an assassination scheme came from an unusual source,Ф the king said. УOld King Olmigon had a Royal Alchymist who exerted an unhealthy influence in the Cathran Privy Council. The manТs name is Kilian, and he and Conrig were at daggers drawn from the time the Prince Heritor earned his belt and began to take an active role in affairs of state. Kilian was convicted of high treason and imprisoned. He recently escaped, and seems to have instigated the big fire in Gala PalaceЧamong other high crimes. One of KilianТs cronies turned his coat and exposed details of a grand conspiracy the alchymist had hatched. Part of it involves killing me and all my family so that Somarus can assume the throne.Ф
УGreat Starry Dragon! IТve heard of this Kilian, sire. He was supposed to be working with Beynor of Moss at one point.Ф
Honigalus nodded. УAnd may still be, according to ConrigТs windspeaker. Kilian has lost a lot of his magical power, but heТs still a force to reckon with. WhatТs more, heТs apparently making his way into DidionЧpresumably to link up with Somar in the Elderwold.Ф
Galbus Peel blew out a relieved breath. УWell, then! If the bastard is nowhere near here, we need have no immediate fears for your safety. We can obtain a sketch and a description of him and spread the alarum throughout the kingdom. Archwizard Fring can cope with sorcerous threats.Ф
УFring!Ф The kingТs fingers drummed on the stone and he frowned. УHe still hasnТt joined the progress. LetТs make certain he does so before we leave Boarsden. HeТs the best windsearcher we have. We can put him to work ferreting out this traitorous Cathran magicker.Ф
УSire, you may have to look closer into your brotherТs activities as well. I know youТve been loath to take him seriously, but that may have been unwise. He needs to be put under constant wind surveillance, if our bumbling wizards can manage it. And we should try again to insert normal-minded secret agents into his mob of followersЧnaval types rather than adepts beholden to Fring. IТm not sure how trustworthy the Archwizard is.Ф
The king sighed. УHow I wish we could stay here in Mallthorpe another day! Duke Berkus is a kindly old stick without a conspiratorial bone in his body, and my wife adores the duchess. Things are likely to be much less pleasant at Boarsden Castle tomorrow. My late stepmotherТs people are obliged to extend their hospitality, but IТll likely have to turn a blind eye to all manner of petty affronts.Ф
УIf thatТs all that disquiets your visit, sire, you may count yourself lucky. I wouldnТt put it past Prince Somarus to pop in on his uncle and auntie just to pay his respects.Ф
УHe wouldnТt dare!Ф Honigalus exclaimed. УHeТs banished from court.Ф
УDuke Ranwing is a quirky sod. It might just tickle his fancy to encourage a surprise encounter between you and Somarus.Ф
УIТll have RanТs guts for garters if he does,Ф the king growled. But both of them knew the sad truth: Lord Boarsden was too important a peer to antagonise. If Somarus turned up, Honigalus would have to grin and bear it.
The king and his friend stood side by side for a few minutes more, watching the moonrise, then decided to go to bed early. The royal party was scheduled to embark before dawn because the voyage between Mallthorpe and Boarsden was a long one. The rapids in that section of the river and the eddy off Boar Creek would test the mettle of the oarsmen and the nerves of the bargeТs more timid passengers.
УItТll be a lively ride tomorrow,Ф the king observed. УGorgeous scenery, and the thrill of breasting the Whitewater. Queen Bryse and the older children always enjoy the excitement. And knowing what I might have to face later on in Boarsden, IТm looking forward to a little fun myself.Ф
sixteen
Royal Fenguard castle was thrown into an uproar when Ullanoth vanished from her bed of pain, for her counselors knew she was too weak to walk, and no servant would admit to having assisted her in leaving her private apartment.
Wix, the queenТs elderly Lord of Chamber, the only one she had entrusted with keys to every room in her tower, was the one who finally found her. Reluctantly, he dared to enter her inner sanctum, where she had been accustomed to perform her most delicate magical operations. He burst into tears when he saw her, cold and unbreathing and without a heartbeat, lying on the peculiar tilting couch that she sometimes used while Sending. Still weeping, he summoned Grand Master Ridcanndal, the High Thaumaturge Zimroth, and Akossanor the Royal Physician. They were the ones whose official duty it was to confirm that the Conjure-Queen was dead.
The doctor studied her ruined young face, all bony angles and transparent, tight-stretched skin. He lifted one of her eyelids. The pupil was wide and black, indicative of lifelessness. A mirror held to her nostrils remained unclouded. She had no pulse, and her lips were tinged with blue. Rigor seemed to have passed already from her body, but it was cold as ice and nearly as unyielding to the touch.
УOur poor queen is gone from this world,Ф Akossanor announced in a somber voice. УSummon her tirewomen. Let her corpse be washed and dressed in full royal regalia, so that she may sit upon her throne according to our custom and receive the homage of the people one final time.Ф
УWait,Ф Lady Zimroth said. УStand aside, physician.Ф The elderly Thaumaturge, dressed all in grey samite, lifted UllanothТs right hand, which had been partially covered by her gown. The moonstone ring on the queenТs index finger glowed faintly green. УLook there. That stone is alive!Ф Cautiously, Zimroth pulled up two thin chains that hung about the queenТs neck and drew from the bosom of her night-shift two more Great Stones. Subtle Loophole and Sender also retained their inner luminosity. УHer lesser sigils! Fetch the container, Wix!Ф
The loyal old manТs grief had vanished in an instant. Eagerly, he took a key from the ring at his belt and unlocked the cabinet where the sigils were kept when not in use. He removed a small platinum casket and lifted its lid. УTheyТre glowing!Ф he cried. УBeastbidder, Concealer, and Interpenetrator are alive!Ф
УAnd therefore Queen Ullanoth also lives,Ф Zimroth declared, Уbut not, I think, within this poor physical shell.Ф
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