"Andre Norton & Lackey, Mercedes - Elvenbane 3 - Elvenborn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

ELVENBORN

Book Three

of the

Halfblood Chronicles

by

Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

TOR
fantasy

ATOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES BOOK NEW YORK
 PROLOGUE


V'kel Lyon Lord Kyndreth stood up, and loomed over the
Council table and the Councilors seated there. Most of his
fellow Elvenlords would not meet his eyes; those that did so
shared a congratulatory glance with him. The Council Chamber
was not a comfortable place today, and he had ensured--with a
few orders to the slaves who had prepared it-- that it would
remain so. Cold. Dim. The cushions on the seats pounded flat.
And even the refreshments were ill-served--at a uniform
temperature that could only be described as "tepid." All to keep
everyone here wishing he was elsewhere, and less than
pleased with the one--not Lord Kyndreth--who was nominally
in charge.
Lord Kyndreth's star was in the ascendant once again, and this
time he would see to it that it did not fall a second time.
"How is it," he asked, to empty air, "that a rebellious pack of
children and former slaves have managed to hold off our
allegedly well-trained, well-led and well-supplied armies? And
have done so for long enough that people are beginning to call
this--temper tantrum--the Young Lords' Rebellion?"
"Lord Kyndreth--" ventured V'kel Anster Lord Rechan,
scrambling mightily for the upper hand he had--if he had only
known it--just lost, "this is, exactly as you say, no more than a
temper tantrum. Inconsequential. No more than a handful of
estates have been lost, our supplies continue to move without
more than the occasional ambush, there is no more than a
trickle of slaves escaping, and our lives continue as they always
have. In balance, the threat--"
"A trickle here, a loss there, the complete inability of our so-
called 'invincible' army to bring our own offspring to heel, and
you say it's inconsequential?" Lord Kyndreth roared, and had
the satisfaction of seeing his chief opponent wince. "By the