"Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb - Lost Gods 3 - Tymora's Luck" - читать интересную книгу автора (Novak Kate)

Doljust began to dismount.
 Beshaba reached down and touched the surface of the pool.
At that instant, Doljust's boot caught in his stirrup, and when he managed to free himself
with his hands, he fell backward on his back. Doljust swore a common oath, not one that mentioned
any god's name.
One of the alu-fiends giggled; the other merely smiled. Beshaba was not yet amused.
Doljust rose and brushed himself off. He followed his dogs to a cave entrance. At one side
of the entrance lay the corpses of two children, mere toddlers. Doljust tossed his cloak over the
bodies. Then he started a fire at the cave's entrance, drew his sword, and waited.
The dogs paced behind their master. Soon, forced from its lair by the smoke, a were-bat
came hurtling toward Doljust with an awful shriek. The creature was in its hybrid form, with the
wings and head of a bat but the torso of a man. It raked at Doljust with the claws at the ends of its
wings. The man raised his sword and swung.
Beshaba touched the pool again.
Goaded by the goddess's magic, one of Doljust's hounds forgot its training and leapt toward
the were-bat's throat just as its master's sword came swinging downward. The blade sliced across
the hound's ribs.
The dog gave a horrible howl, which echoed about the audience.
The were-bat flew clear of Doljust and landed on the mare's saddle. With a cackling laugh, it
kicked the horse in the ribs. Doljust hollered, but the mare was frenzied with fear and galloped off
into the darkness.
There were tears in Doljust's eyes as he examined his injured and apparently dying hound.
Beshaba touched the pool again.
The other hound whimpered behind him. Doljust whirled about, slicing his sword into a
small were-bat as it flew from the cave.
The bat crashed to the ground, dealt a mortal wound.
Then, before Doljust's eyes, it transformed to a small child, a little boy with curly golden
hair.
"Grandpa," the boy gasped with his last breath.
Doljust's screams rang out through the sensorium.
Beshaba laughed a horrible, maniacal laugh.
The darkness dispersed.
Ayryn's crystal ball fell to the floor with a clunk and rolled toward the audience.
There was a stunned silence in the room.
Bors came forward quickly and put a hand on Ayryn's shoulder.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes," Ayryn replied. "I ... I was shocked, that's all." There were tears in her eyes.
Montgomery came forward, holding out the crystal ball.
"We don't have to continue," she said softly.
Ayryn took her scrying tool and shook her head. "It would be a shame to end on such a sour
note. Let me try again."
Montgomery smiled and nodded. She returned to her seat.
Bors stepped back and examined the audience. Many of them looked as shocked as Ayryn,
but most hid behind impassive masks. One guest, though, was smiling.
Bors felt his body stiffen. The guest was a woman, small of stature and slender, with long
black hair. She was attractive and appeared quite young, but Bors knew her youth was a lie. The
woman's name was Walinda. Once she'd been a priestess of the evil, now-deceased god Bane, j
While the Sensates welcomed anyone who earnestly desired to be a member, Bors found himself
thinking Montgomery must have temporarily taken leave of her senses when she invited Walinda
into their midst, especially for so sensitive a performance. Walinda was, in Bors's opinion, a viper