"McKillip,.Patricia.A.-.Qrmh.2.-.Heir.Of.Sea.And.Fire" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKillip Patricia A)

"I thought she might have been fond of Oen."

The pig-woman looked surprised. "After he built
the tower to trap her? You told me that. Besides, he
had a wife." She waved the words and her pipe
smoke away at once with her hand. "I'm not think-
ing"

"No king I ever heard of married Madir," Rae-
derle said wryly. "Yet somehow the blood got into
the king's line. Let's see: she lived nearly two hun-

Hdr of Sea and Fire

dred years, and there were seven kings. I believe
we can forget Fenel; he was too busy fighting al-
most to father a land-heir, let alone a bastard. I
don't even know if he kept pigs. It is possible," she
, added, struck, "that you are a descendant of a child
of Madir and one of the Kings."

The pig-woman gave a rare chuckle. "Oh, I
doubt it. Me with my bare feet. Madir liked pig-
herders as much as she liked kings."

*That's true." She finished with the grass blade
and pushed the stems close, frowning down at them
absently. "It is also possible that Oen might have
grown fond of Madir after he realized she wasn't
his enemy, but that seems a little scandalous, since
it was through him that Ylon's blood came into the
Kings' line. Oen was furious enough about that."
"Ylon."
"You know that tale."

The pig-woman shook her head. "I know the
name, but no one ever told me the tale."

"Well." She sat back against the tree trunk, the
sun Shimmering in and out of her eyes. Her own
shoes were off; her hair was loose; and there was a
small spider making a bewildered foray up one
strand. She brushed it off without noticing. "It's the
first riddle I ever learned. Oen*s land-heir was not
his own son, but the son of some strange sea-lord,
who came into Oen's bed disguised as the king. Nine
months afterward, Oen's wife bore Ylon, with skin
like foam and eyes like green seaweed. So Oen in his
anger built a tower by the sea for this sea-child, with