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

Shortly, Nightfall glided back to the rampart. Starlight revealed a hint of blue in eyes otherwise as stark
as midnight. The knife in his hand still held its tie, the plaited threads trailing off behind him. Apparently,
he had secured the other end.

Josafah loosed a pent-up breath and watched Nightfall study the inner wall. His talent continued to show
him nothing. Nightfall never tensed, never revealed the potential energy that preceded any movement. His
every motion appeared unplanned, as fluid as liquid, yet as strong and committed as a squall.

The throwing knife flew suddenly from Nightfall's hand, spearing over the moat. It struck the wall with a
barely audible clink. The thread rope followed in a perfect arc, bridging the gap.

Josafah rubbed his chin with a thumb knuckle, skin grating through stubble. Nightfall's strategy remained
uncJear. Even if a few dozen pieces of braided thread could bear their bulk, the knife could never have
wedged into any crack tightly enough to hold its place while they crossed. Eyes widening in slow
increments, he turned a questioning gaze to his unexpected companion.

Ignoring Josafah, Nightfall tugged gently on the string. Apparently satisfied by a maneuver that barely
tested a songbird's weight, he pulled a vial and bolt of linen from his pocket. With swift strokes, he
massaged the contents of the vial into the cloth. It grew stiffer as he worked, wrapping it in concentric
loops over the string, each new section driving the previous part farther across the moat.

Josafah continued to watch, fascinated. "What is that stuff?"

Nightfall made a gesture for quiet, then continued working.

Although he also felt safer in silence, Josafah suffered a hot stab of annoyance. Won't share? The
contents became an instant obsession, though the details of the plan to cross the moat still eluded him.
We'll see about that.

At length, the hardened linen spanned the walls. Nightfall stepped back, motioning for Josafah to precede
him.

Josafah did come forward, only long enough to place a foot inconspicuously over the nearly empty
container. He peered along the cloth rope, then shook his head. It seemed miracle enough that the knife
had remained wedged this long. Josafah believed the makeshift rope would sag into the water beneath his
mass, the blade would surely twist free. "You first."

To Josafah's surprise, Nightfall did not protest. His tightlipped mouth revealed no emotion, but his eyes
seemed to dance with a pale blue fire.

Josafah shivered, a stanza from the "Legend of Nightfall" oozing into his mind, unbidden: Eyes darker
than the midnight shade. Teeth sharper than the headsman's blade. When he smiles, a cold wind
blowsтАФDarkness comes where Nightfall goes. Josafah consorted with the vilest men the country of
Shisen offered, yet Nightfall seemed the very definition of evil. He felt himself trembling as the nightstalker
seized the rope he had created. Without hesitation, he swung upside down from it, gloved hands catching
easy holds, toes hooked over the cloth. It barely shifted .above him, its slight, uneven sway seeming more
consistent with puffs of wind than any motion of the man. It's as if he weighs nothing at all. The hand
that had steadied him moments earlier belied the thought. If so, that touch would have proved Nightfall's
downfall. They both would have plunged into the moat, a feast for its hungry fish.