"Elizabeth Moon - Gird 02 - Liar's Oath" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)
LiarтАЩs Oath - The Legacy of Gird 02, Elizabeth Moon
┬л^┬╗
Arranha had a favorite walled court, on the west side of the palace complex, edged with stone benches and centered with
a little bed of fragrant herbs. Against one wall a peach tree had been trained flat: something Luap remembered from the
lordтАЩs house in which he had grown up. Most mornings, Arranha read there, or posed questions for a circle of students.
Luap led Lady Dorhaniya by the shorter, inside, way, ignoring her running commentary about who had lived in which
room, and what they had done and said. When he reached Arranha, the priest responded with his usual cheerfulness to the
meeting.
тАЬLady Dorhaniya! YesтАж werenтАЩt youтАФ?тАЭ
She had flushed again, whether with anger or pleasure Luap was not sure. тАЬDuke DehlagrathinтАЩs daughter, and RuhaelтАЩs
wife, yes. And youтАФbut IтАЩm sorry, sir, to so forget myself with a priest of Esea.тАЭ
тАЬNonsense.тАЭ Arranha smiled at Luap. тАЬThis lady knew me in my wild youth, Luap, and like her friends gave me good
warnings I was too foolish to hear.тАЭ
She softened a trifle. тАЬI blame my sister as much as anyone, she and your father both. If he had not tried to force a match,
or she had accepted itтАФтАЭ
тАЬI would be a very dead magelord, having fallen honorably on the turf at Greenfields with my king,тАЭ said Arranha. тАЬIf,
that is, your sister had not knifed me long before, for driving her frenzied with my questions. She threatened it often
enough, even in courtship.тАЭ
тАЬWellтАж thatтАЩs over.тАЭ With a visible effort, the old lady dragged herself from memory to the present. тАЬAnd my business
with you, Arranha, is about the Sunlord, not about the past.тАЭ At once, he put on dignity. тАЬYes, lady?тАЭ
She sat on the stone ledge beside him, and recited the whole tale again. Arranha, Luap noted, actually seemed to listen
with attention to each detailтАФbut of course it was his god whose rituals mattered here. But when she started to pull the
cloth from her bag and unfold it, Arranha put out his hand.
тАЬBut I wanted to show youтАФтАЭ
тАЬLady, I trust your piety and your grandmotherтАЩs instruction, but you have now told meтАФEseaтАЩs priestтАФabout them.
From here, the ritual is his, not yours or mine. Give me the bag.тАЭ
She handed it over, eyes wide, and Arranha held it on outstretched hands. A pale glow, hardly visible in the sunlight,
began to gather around it. Luap realized that the sun seemed brighter, the shadows of vineleaves on the wall darkerтАж
stiller. No air moved. The glow around the bag intensified, became too bright for eyes to watch. Luap felt a weight
pressing down on him, yet it was no weight he knew, nothing like a stone. Light. But very heavy light. Abruptly it was
gone, not faded but simply gone; he blinked at the confusing afterimages of light and shadow. A cool breeze whirled in
and out of the courtyard. And the bag on ArranhaтАЩs outstretched hands lay white as fresh-washed wool, only less white
than the light itself. The old lady sat silent, mouth open, eyes wide; her companionтАЩs face had paled, and even Arranha
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Elizabeth%20Moon%20-%20Gird%2002%20-%20Liar's%20Oath.html (12 of 310) [10/15/2004 12:40:04 AM]
LiarтАЩs Oath - The Legacy of Gird 02, Elizabeth Moon
had a sheen of sweat on his forehead, тАЬLady, your gifts are acceptable, and we can now, with your help, restore EseaтАЩs
altar to its proper array.тАЭ
тАЬWhat was that?тАЭ Luap asked. Arranha merely smiled at him and shook his head; a fair answer. He offered his arm to the
old lady, who roused suddenly from her daze and stood, more steadily than Luap would have expected.
тАЬYou should come too,тАЭ Arranha said, as he guided the women toward the High LordтАЩs Hall. Luap knew better than to
ask why; he suspected the answer had to do with his ancestry, and only hoped Arranha wouldnтАЩt think it necessary to tell
the old lady about that. He tried to think of a duty he must perform, right now, somewhere else, and couldnтАЩtтАФand in
ArranhaтАЩs presence, he could not make one up.
Fortunately for his composure, the walk through the maze of passages and little walled yards that had grown around the
old kingтАЩs palace kept the old lady breathless enough that she had no questions to ask. When they finally came to the
great court before the High LordтАЩs Hall, Arranha led the way straight across it to the main entrance. Whatever the
| © 2025 Библиотека RealLib.org (support [a t] reallib.org) |