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

A long, feathered shaft embedded in the railing before her. The barbed head sank through the decorative
gingerbread of the rail-ing, stopping only inches from Skyreach's abdomen. More arrows from the pirate
ship suddenly thudded into Chalice of the Crowns. A jagged lightning bolt seared through the dark sky.
The illu-mination temporarily washed away the shadows clinging to the pirate ship. Humans were there, but
among their ranks Skyreach also noted dwarves and kobolds. She did not doubt that the crew knew exactly
what they were after. Faimcir Glitterwing's legacy would draw many hunters.
"Signal the archers," Skyreach ordered Verys.
The man flagged rapidly.
Skyreach moved along the railing as her men regrouped them-selves. The archers drew their bows and
strung them with diffi-culty.
A number of grappling hooks had found the side of the elven ship. Axemen from among Skyreach's
warriors brought their weapons thudding down against the ropes. But they were left open to counter-attack.
Arrows from the pirate ship cut down the number of axemen, as well as the other elven warriors.
The sea floor dropped away unexpectedly. Skyreach grabbed for the railing, maintaining her precarious
balance. Water rushed in over and through the railing, drenching her. Salt stung her eyes and she blinked
them clear.
The pirates gathered along the railing. Knots of men hauled on the grappling ropes, securing them
around spars. Sections of the railing splintered and pulled free, but others held. The pirate ship created a
staggering amount of drag on Chalice of the Crowns, but the other ship suffered as well. Much as it tried,
it couldn't hold against the elven cargo vessel's heavier weight. Skyreach had seen to it that the holds were
a full as they could be.
Chalice of the Crowns jerked like a fish at the end of a line as it fought with the water and tugged at
the grappling lines. Chunks of railing floated on the sea, riding out rolling waves. Those loose timbers
became dangerous weapons as well when the ocean shoved them back aboard the ship.
The elven warriors struggled to hold their formation, but the combined elements of the storm, sea, and
pirates kept them off balance. At home in the woods around Cormanthyr, their foes would never have stood
a chance.
"Signal the archers," Skyreach ordered, "to fire at will."
Verys complied.
Even over the rolling thunder of the storm and the protests of the lines and masts aboard Chalice of the
Crowns Skyreach heard the thrum of the elven longbows. The shafts pierced the flesh of their enemies at
once, breaking the spine of the first attack as men fell back and cursed their shield mates to stand forward.
Skyreach couldn't count the dozens of foes spread across the other ship's railing, but their sheer numbers
told her that she had been betrayed. Someone within her great-grandfather's courts had told the raiders
what the prize aboard Chalice of the Crowns was. Or someone had paid dearly for the ship's capture.
She didn't try to fathom who the traitor might have been. There were many in Faimcir Glitterwing's
House who felt she should not have received custodial responsibility for the wealth he had amassed. She
had even agreed. But it had been her great--grandfather's bequest, announced by the law-reader after his
death.
The problem was, there was no one she trusted more then her-self.
The archers fired freely, and the shafts vied with the falling rain to fill the air. Human, dwarf, and kobold
fell backward or over the side of the pitching railing as the arrows took them. But more men stepped
forward. In the next few heartbeats, more and more of the elven arrows shattered against the leather and
iron shields held up in defense.
Chalice of the Crowns squirmed at the end of the lines binding her to the pirate ship. Then the pirates
began to take up slack, hauling irresolutely on the ropes, gaining speed and strength in their endeavors with
each handhold of success.
"They're going to close with us, milady," Verys announced. His flags dripped water, but their bold colors
stood out in the storm's lightning bursts.
Skyreach knew it was true. She swung her long sword and hacked at another grappling line. "Signal the