"Shirley Meier & S. M. Stirling - Fifth Millenium 05 - Shadow's Son" - читать интересную книгу автора (Meier Shirley)

which he was about to be dropped, a cavern of Hayel void even of air, in which sinners lived in the
instant in which holding oneтАЩs breath becomes unbearable, stretched out to eternity ... He felt a cold
sweat break out on his back and neck. тАЬYou had better not fail.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm holding you personally responsible for this,тАЭ the Mahid said, toeing one of the corpses.
Throat torn out by steel fingernails, Matthas thought helplessly, poor bastard ... she must have
climbed up him to do it. He looked up, nauseatedтАФfrom the sight at his feet or EforasтАЩs face? Both, he
decided. He said nothing; there was nothing to to say.
тАЬBut IтАЩll be merciful, fessas,тАЭ Eforas said loftily. тАЬYouтАЩve been a useful servant to the Imperator, and
perhaps will be unto death. You are hereby dismissed from your position here. But we will not abandon
your little plan. These ... women certainly acted with an alacrity suggestive of ill designs. You will act as
an operative, reporting to me alone. You will truth-drug them. You will find what information they have.
Since youтАЩve already wasted an extremely generous sum of Imperial resources on these four, three dead
and the other deserted, you will be provided with no more. It is all one to me how you do it, whether you
kill yourself, beggar yourself, have to swim all the way up the Brezhan after them clutching a vial of
truth-drug in your mouth, but you will do it yourself, or you will not return. Go!тАЭ


III
Megan had promised Nikolakiaj she wouldnтАЩt wear any more grooves in his tables with her claws.
She was drunk, and so was ShkaiтАЩra, beautiful to MeganтАЩs eyes, relaxed, candlelight softening the sharp
angles of her face, turning her copper hair a deep russet, sparking her nose-ring of thread gold wire. She
tossed bits of fish into the air for Fishhook to catch, velvet orange wings quivering and fluttering as the cat
bounced, making impossibly loud crunching and smacking noises for such a tiny mouth over bits of fish
with no bones.
The Knotted Worm was busy. Even the middle tables were full, though most people who drank here
preferred to keep their backs to walls. The pair had their usual seat against one of the tile stoves; Megan
leaned against the beehive shape and hitched her shoulders against the warm clay. тАЬPssst,тАЭ ShkaiтАЩra
whispered in her ear at the top of her lungs. тАЬLetтАЩs test the mattress, hey?тАЭ Probably it hadnтАЩt been such a
good idea for the Kommanza to get so drunk, but theyтАЩd traveled hard down river, and then tonightтАЩs
back-alley skirmish ...
Megan shook her head. тАЬAlways want to fuck after you fight. I wonder who those Arkans were,
anyway, and who sent them after us? They looked official. If you hadnтАЩt chopped up the last one, we
might have found out.тАЭ
тАЬI thought you were going to save your last one, not claw out his throat,тАЭ answered SakaiтАЩ ra, then
added a cheery, тАЬOh well.тАЭ
The tavern quieted; Nikolakiaj was on stage, holding up his hands, clearing his throat. It was Bard
Night: that either promised crooning or threatened caterwauling; which, remained to be seen. тАЬLetтАЩs have
a good finger-snapping for Merikin Mara, of Selina,тАЭ he announced, тАЬwho will regale us with song and
news both.тАЭ
The bard was Yeoli. There was the crystal, strung around his neck on a thong, and the curly
hairтАФsure signs. Beyond that, he was flashy even for a bard, with flame-red hair in ringlets falling down
long past his shoulders, a streak of white like MeganтАЩs on one side-lock, a streak of black on the other, a
tunic of embroidered satin. On the stage he arranged himself, tuning a long curving harp with inlaid
abalone in the soundbox, and grinning a big grin.
тАЬHello, gentleтАФand not-so-gentle-folk. NyeтАЩyingi.тАЭ Yeoli for hello. She spotted two Arkan warriors
sitting in a dark corner. Different from a few months ago; not swaggering. And wearing their swords
peace-bonded; the Benai could enforce that with them again, now. You dog-suckers will have lost a
whole war, she thought, if Yeola-eтАЩs made it to their border. She smiled. Many others in the bar
looked as if they were going to enjoy this, too.