"Mel Odom - Forgotten Realms - Threat from the Sea Trilogy 03 - The Sea Devils" - читать интересную книгу автора (Odom Mel)

forced himself to his feet in the middle of the bed, yelling in rage and fear. He drew his scimitar back to
swing.

II
4 Flamerule, the Year of the Gauntlet
Jorn Frennick's scimitar cleaved the air sharply, and Jherek met the yelling pirate's steel with his
own. Sparks flared from the blades.
Despite the shadows and darkness filling the room, Jherek read the pirate's moves. Keeping track
of the woman on the bed was harder, but he managed.
"Kill him!" Talif croaked hoarsely as he jockeyed for position.
"No," Jherek ordered. "We need him alive."
Frennick shifted on the bed, kicking at the frightened woman and forcing her away from him. She
screamed in pain and covered her head with her hands.
Moving swiftly, Jherek raised a booted foot and slammed it into the center of the man's chest as
hard as he could, getting his weight behind the thrust.
Frennick flew backward off the bed and crashed against the wall. Plaster shattered as he burst the
inner wall and dust roiled up in a great cloud.
Jherek pursued the man, striding across the bed and barely avoiding the naked woman cowering in
the twisted bedding. He slipped through the mosquito netting.
Wheezing, his face a mask of rage, Frennick struggled desperately to push himself up from the
wreckage of the wall.
The young sailor feinted, drawing out Frennick's attack. Jherek stepped back just enough to let the
wickedly curved blade pass by him. He slammed his cutlass broadside against the pirate's scimitar,
trapping it against the left side of Frennick's body.
"I'm gonna kill you, whelp!" the pirate roared. "Gonna have your guts for garters, I am!"
The young sailor ducked his head forward, slamming the top of his skull into Frennick's face. The
pirate's nose broke with a snap. Blood gushed over his beard. Before Frennick could recover, Jherek
drew back his left hand, balled it into a fist, and slammed it against the man's jaw twice. Frennick
staggered. Still in motion, the young sailor grabbed a handful of Frennick's beard and slammed the man's
head up against the wall. He lifted his knee three times in quick succession, driving it into Frennick's
stomach.
Vomit streamed suddenly from Frennick's mouth, a gush of noxious liquid that spilled down his chest
and stomach. The stench of soured hops almost gagged Jherek, but the young sailor breathed shallowly
through his mouth.
The strength drained from Frennick in a rush as he struggled to regain his breath. Jherek kicked the
scimitar from the man's hand. He placed a foot on the back of Frennick's head to hold the pirate in place,
then turned back to the woman on the bed.
Talif leaned over her, holding a pillow over her face. The woman struggled, kicking her feet and
scratching with her fingernails. Talif cursed her in a quiet voice.
Jherek slipped the knife from his boot and threw it. The effort wasn't hidden by his body as Malorrie
and Glawinn had coached.
The knife spun and cut the air.
Cursing, Talif leaped to one side so it wouldn't spear his face. "Umberlee take you," he snarled.
The woman on the bed sucked in her breath in ragged gasps. She peered at the young sailor with
rolling, frightened eyes, not bothering to cover her nakedness at all. Tears tracked down her face, and
she shivered.
Still cursing him, Talif turned his attention to the small chest at the foot of the bed. "If she leaves the
room, she'll warn the tavern-maybe call his mates up here on us."
Jherek gazed at the woman. "Lady," he said softly enough only to be heard over the noise coming
from the tavern below, "I ask that you not leave this room."