"Andre Norton & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenbane 1 -The Elvenbane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

Alara/Yssandra's. His aquiline nose and long jaw gave him a haughty air, and
his thin lips did not auger for generosity.

But when had elves ever been generous?

She wore emeralds, priceless--and useless. He wore beryls, the elf-stones,
set in his silver headband, in the torque around his neck, in the rings on four
of his fingers. Common stones, common enough to be set into every slave-
collar--and unlike their sparkling cousins, capable of enhancing an elven
mage's power, or holding the spells he set into them. The more beryls a mage
wore, the more power he controlled.

He was dressed formally: high-collared, open-necked shirt of sherris-silk,
stiff with silver embroidery at the cuffs and neck-band; white velvet, square-
necked tunic banded with silver bullion at hem and neck, skintight sherris-
silk leggings and equally tight silver-encrusted boots to display his fine legs
to best advantage.

The overall impression was of an elegant, frost-fair hunter, deadly,
unpredictable, and quite fascinating. And Alara had no doubt that he was
enhancing his real charms with set-spell glamories. He wanted this child, and
he was taking no chances.

If she were a real elven maid, she doubted she could resist him at that point.
It was a good thing glamories didn't work on the Kin.
She rose from her curtsy and approached the table. As she neared, the empty
silver chair moved silently away from the table for her. As soon as she had
seated herself, it moved back, smoothly.

This was yet another display of power no human slaves to perform these
tasks. She suspected then that he would probably materialize the dishes of
the dinner by magic, and whisk them away by the same means.

He did. She played the attentive and admiring maiden--V'Heven Myen Lord
Lainner, from whose household she had supposedly come, was not a
powerful mage; his strength and influence came from astute trading, and
from rich deposits of copper and silver on his lands. The kind of child she
was impersonating would not have seen this kind of profligate use of magic
more than once or twice in her lifetime.

The meal progressed as she had expected; the courses whisking in from
nowhere, serving themselves, and whisking out again. The delicate food was,
of course, exquisite; cold dishes frosty, hot dishes at a perfect temperature,
and no exotic viands to startle an inexperienced girl. The Lord exerted
himself to be charming, telling her that she needed his "artistic support" in all
things, and extolling her (marginal) talent.

So the bait is taken, she thought.

This was really no great surprise to Alara, as she had chosen her victim with