"Douglas Niles - Forgotten Realms - Moonshae 02 - Black Wizard" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

Hugh.
But one of those daggers clashed into his blade, nearly knocking it from his
hand. Only by stumbling backward did the prince prevent the weapons from
driving into his bowels. As it was, a dagger cut a burning streak across his
abdomen.
Even more frightening than the nearly fatal blow was the deep, rumbling growl
that emerged from behind the silken mask. Although the other attackers had
seemed human, the one before him was stockier and smellier than a man. The
creature attacked with savage intensity, forcing Tristan back against the
fireplace with a dazzling series of blows. Each slash and thrust was
accompanied by a bestial snarl. The prince found himself desperately wanting a
look behind the black mask, to assure himself that this creature was indeed
flesh and blood and not some demon conjured from a drunken nightmare.
Grimacing, Tristan drove his sword against the foe, struggling to gain room to
maneuver. Once again the intruder forced him off balance with lightning-fast
cuts and lunges.
The prince whirled away from the hearth, catching his breath as he saw his
father driving the boar spear into the chest of the other attacker. The king
fell on top of the enemy, and the pair lay motionless on the floor.
Tristan's attacker surprised him by suddenly dropping to
BLACK WIZARDS
the floor. In a flash the prince remembered the men at the door, and in the
same instant he fell prone, sensing the whirring passage of deadly missiles
over his head.
Then Tristan scrambled to his feet and sprang toward the foe. At the same
time, he heard a scream of pain from the doorway. Apparently the growling
attacker was equally startled, for his masked face turned to the door in
surprise. The prince almost caught the creature with the point of his sword,
but he looked back at the last minute and sprang to his feet with catlike
speed. Even so, the tip of Tristan's blade struck a glancing blow against the
thing's head, tearing the silken mask away in the process.
The prince stared for a second1 at the snarling face. The creature looked like
a cross between a man and a beastтАФhis body and features were humanlike, but
his widespread maw was studded with fangs, and his close-set eyes looked
hellishly intense and bloodshot.
Another cry of pain shrieked from the doorway, accompanied now by growls. The
prince saw one of the attackers there stagger into the room, a huge hound
biting his neck in a deadly vice. He caught a glimpse of a flashing scimitar,
driving a third bowman against the the wall. Daryth!
The loyal houndmaster, skilled at combat and stealth, must have heard the
disturbance. With his blade helping, Tristan thought, the fighting odds looked
more favorable.
Daryth leaped into the room, past the great dog that was just raising his head
from the gored body. Abruptly, Daryth froze, his darkly handsome features
gaping in shock.
"Razfallow!" he finally said, his voice tight.
Tristan's foe had also paused at the sight of the houndmaster. "So, Calishite,
this is where you have run to," he snarled. You did not expect to hide from me
forever, did you?"
"I don't need to hide anymore," muttered Daryth, advancing slowly in a crouch.