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

The slaves sprinted for the door, only too happy to obey, Alara with them.
And as she slipped into the corridor, she heard a rumble, followed by a
tremendous crash. It sounded like a great block of stone being ripped up
from the floor, and flung across the room.

She did not stay to investigate.

But for the moment, she also could not leave. There were limits to her
powers and abilities, and she was reaching them. The perimeter of the estate
was still sealed off, and there were guards on all of the entrances to the
manor itself. While she would have no trouble passing the perimeter, there
was still the matter of getting outside to do so. She didn't particularly want to
shift into something the size of, say, a house cat. She was already pushing
her resources to stay human-sized. She planned to leave on the wing, but in
the form of a Great Kite, a bird with a wingspan rivaled only by the ice-
eagles, and massing about the same as a human male. And a bird that was
particularly ill omened. That should set Rathekrel on his pointed ears, and
confirm in most minds that Rathekrel was losing his luck, and quickly.

So while she waited for an opportunity to reach the roof, she decided to
create another episode in a long-running ploy most of the Kin had played
with at one time or another--

The Prophecy of the Savior of Humanity, the Elvenbane.

She found a pile of bags in the corner of the kitchen, filled one with the rest,
and headed down into the cellar.

She had discovered some time ago, that if she acted as if she had business in
a place and was under orders, humans tended to leave her alone. She had
only to avoid elven overseers, who questioned everyone and everything out
of the ordinary. This time was no exception; she carried the overstuffed
burlap bag right past the cook and the kitchen overseer--who was,
fortunately, human--and opened the cellar door without ever being
challenged.

Since there was quite a bit of traffic up and down the cellar stairs, the
staircase was well lit, as were most of the areas where common things were
stored. Cool, damp air, fragrant with onions, garlic, sausage, and the earthy
smell of vegetables, struck her in the face as she hurried down the steps.

She waited a few moments to ensure that she was alone, then she shifted
form again, this time into that of an old, seemingly blind human woman. She
could see perfectly well through what looked to be milky cataracts, but no
one looking at her would know that. Clothing herself roughly in the burlap
sacks, and hiding her white-and-silver tunic, she seated herself just under the
light at the bottom of the cellar staircase, and waited for the next servant to
be sent after something.