"Mel Odom - Forgotten Realms - Lost Empires 01 - The Lost Library of Cormanthyr" - читать интересную книгу автора (Odom Mel)

this rain will loosen the strings in short order, then they'll be worthless. We'll have need of them later."
Scaif nodded. "As you wish."
Abruptly, the pirate vessel dropped back as Chalice of the Crowns jerked forward with renewed
speed. A ragged cheer started up among the ship's crew. Skyreach's men took up the cry, banging the flats
of their swords against the railing. The elven warrior didn't give in to the emotion of the moment. Even if
they managed to escape the pirates, the storm remained to threaten them.
She glanced forward, seeing Chalice of the Crowns's own spin-naker suddenly exploding forward as it
continued the seize the wind. The cloth hollowed and filled, becoming an alabaster full moon against the
dark sky.
Rinnah squalled orders to his men amid curses at them and promises to his god. In that moment, seeing
the man at the wheel, Skyreach knew he was right about her. She had led them to their doom.
She hardened her heart and her thinking. There had been no other choice, no other way. And the cargo
the ship carried was much too precious to let fall into the hands of humans. So much of Faimcir
Glitterwing's life's work was wrapped up in that cargo. Yet so little of it had they been able to carry. The
other journeys that would be required to claim the rest of her great-grandfather's legacy would require even
more cunning to complete. Only cer-tain knowledge that his legacy would be well guarded until her return
had given her the strength to leave it.
The humans deserved whatever hells they wrought for themselves. And if there was a way, Skyreach
would send Coronal Eltargrim there among them.
"Verys," she called.
"Aye, milady."
"Signal the warriors to assemble properly. I want them in dia-mond formation if we have to close with
the other ship." Skyreach scanned the other ship through the darkness, her eyes burning with the effort and
the blowing brine picked up in the gale.
Verys gave his signal.
Chalice of the Crowns bucked through the waves again, twisting before it came down into the water
again. The ship tilted sicken-ingly hard to port, and Skyreach was suddenly facing a wall of writhing water
that seemed about to suck her into it. Then the ship straightened itself again, cresting another wave.
A ragged cheer started along the ship's crew and Skyreach's own men. It was quickly extinguished
when they spotted the pirate vessel cutting through the brine less than ten paces off the starboard. lined up
along the port side of Chalice of the Crowns, Skyreach's men were out of place to defend the ship.
"Order them to the other side," Skyreach snapped.
Verys hurriedly did as she bade, his flags snapping code in short arcs.
Skyreach released her hold on the rigging and plunged across the deck. The wooden deck raged across
the wallows of the cruel sea, making footing treacherous. The slick scum left by the lap-ping brine
contributed to the danger.
Even as trained as they were, Skyreach saw a handful of her men go down in twisting heaps as they lost
their footing across the deck. The careful formations they'd arranged themselves into were suddenly
confused and broken.
The elven warrior stumbled across more than ran across the deck. She fell, caught herself on her hands,
and forced herself back to her feet. A curling wave caught her, rising almost to her knees, and the spitting
spume splashed across her, drenching her even more. She felt clothed in liquid, only the harsh bite of the
leather breaking that illusion. Verys struggled at her side. She reached out and helped the man to his feet.
"Thank you, milady."
Reaching the other side of the deck, Skyreach saw the grap-pling hooks launched from the pirate vessel
claw for Chalice of the Crowns.
"Cut the ropes!" she yelled. Lifting the long sword, she brought the keen edge down against a grappling
hook's trailing rope. The hemp was tightly wound, and it took two more blows to com-pletely sever it. The
grappling hook, a trident of curved metal, dropped at Skyreach's feet. She kicked it away, then it vanished in
a new coil of waves that slapped across the deck.