"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Darkness Comes Together" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

remained cloistered as well, since they could also torture the collected talents from one another. Josafah's
ability had alerted him to traps, guards, creatures, and attacks in the past. He was not particularly strong,
small, or as dexterous as many thieves. Without his talent, he would not have such a solid edge over
others in his field.

Josafah shook his head, knocking down his hood and spilling his sandy hair to the wind. He could
scarcely believe the mansion had thwarted him so swiftly. He had expected the rumors about the moat to
prove untrue or exaggerated, as such things often did. Instead, his inquiry had failed him, suggesting the
width of the water, the distance between the walls, was narrower than he now found it. Sighing, he turned
to withdraw, devise new strategy, and return another day.

The movement brought Josafah face-to-face with another man. Startled, he jerked backward. His rear
foot slid off the wall's edge, and he felt himself begin to fall. A wild scrabble for balance and a steadying
hand rescued him from Lord Karthorian's moat.

Flushed, heart pounding, Josafah studied the other man. Darkness enwrapped the imposing figure. Eyes
like blackened steel peered out from beneath a deep blue hood that faded into the night, along with the
cloak. A short but unkempt beard added a wild edge to a face crisscrossed with scars. The figure
appeared lithe, the age indeterminate, the expression unreadable. The hand on Josafah's arm was gloved,
and it disappeared as soon as his equilibrium became steady. A chill dried sweat to icy prickles.

"Nightfall," Josafah guessed.

"Josafah Rayta's son," Nightfall returned, his voice gravelly and dark.

Uncertain whether to feel surprised or pleased by the recognition, Josafah smiled nervously. "It would
seem we have the sameтАж target."

"It would appear so."

Josafah's grin widened, revealing the wide spaces between his small, brown teeth. "Neither of our hires
needs to know. We can work together and both collect."

Nightfall nodded absently, attention fixed on the wall on the other side of the moat.

Josafah's green gaze followed Nightfall's, and he lapsed back into hopeful silence. Surely the most
notorious assassin of every country and peninsula would find the solution he had missed. Nightfall never
had to know the gap had thwarted his new companion.

Several moments passed in a quiet hush broken only by the shrill of insects and an occasional splash from
the fish below them. Josafah never saw Nightfall move, but his glove suddenly cradled a small throwing
knife and a string composed of braided thread. With a few deft twists, he secured the string to the knife,
just above the hilt. As swiftly as it had materialized, the blade vanished back into the folds of his cloak.
Nightfall shinnied back down the outer wall in a blink and faded into the gloom.

Uncertain, Josafah hunkered down on the top of the wall. The night wind ached in his ears and funneled
down his back, its touch crisp and chillingly uncomfortable. He flicked his hood back into place, the cloth
cold and soft against his skin. He did not know whether Nightfall would return, but it seemed worth the
wait. Without the other assassin, Josafah could not proceed.