"Kate Novak - Finders Stone 1 - Azure Bonds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Novak Kate)

Random images of lizard men, shadowy swordsmen, and magic-users blurred in her
memory. She shrugged. It couldn't have been too important. I wouldn't get
drunk
if there was trouble, she assured herself.
She reached for her tunic and suddenly realized that this was important, that
she was in trouble. Serious trouble.
Along the inside of her sword arm, from wrist to elbow, writhed an elaborate
tattoo unlike any she had ever seen before. A pattern coiled about five large,
distinct symbols was set deep into her flesh, all done in shades of blue.
She held up her arm in the light of the dying sun. The symbols caught the rays
and glowed as if they were stained glass lit from behind. She flexed her arm
and
twisted it back and forth. It wasn't really a tattoo at all, she realized,
noting how her skin rippled across the surface of the massive inscriptions, as
though they were buried beneath the surface of her flesh.
Engrossed by the symbols, Alias unconsciously sat on the edge of the bed in
the
fading light. Afraid the symbols might have some hypnotic quality, she studied
them with her fingernails pressed into her palms so the pain would distract
her
from whatever power they might try to exert over her.
The first symbol, at the bend of her arm, was a dagger surrounded by blue
fire.
The tip of the dagger rested on the second symbol, a trio of interlocking
circles. Beneath this was a dot and a squiggle which reminded Alias of an
insect's leg. The leg danced above the fourth symbolтАФan azure hand with a
fanged
mouth in the center of its palm. The last symbol consisted of three concentric
circles, each a more intense blue, so that the centermost circle was the
white-blue of a lightning strike and almost unbearable to look at. At the base
of her wrist the pattern wound about an empty space, as if a sixth symbol was
yet to be added.
Alias cursed, rattling off the names of as many gods as she could immediately
think of. When neither Tymora nor Waukeen nor any of the others manifested
themselves, she sighed and reached for her gear. She considered bolting out of
the room, sword in hand, prepared to smite anyone she could hold responsible.
She also considered dropping to her knees and praying for a divine revelation
of
what she had done to deserve this. Neither action was likely to do her any
good,
so she settled for getting dressed.
Alias tugged her tunic over her head and stepped into her leather leggings.
She
frowned at the clothing. Why are these so stiff? I bought them over a year
ago.
They should be broken in by now. Unless they're replacements, she mused. There
was no mistaking the newness of this set of clothing-it even smelled new.
But I don't remember buying any new clothes recently. Is this a spare set I
shoved into the bottom of my pack and forgot? she wondered. She looked around
for her pack, but it wasn't among her belongings. It might have been stolen,