"Sean Russell - The Swan's War 2 - Isle of Battle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Sean)


One of Hafydd's revenant honor guard hurried by along the bank, a torch held high,
forcing back the night and illuminating the wraiths of mist that swirled around them.
Prince Michael prayed that they would find Elise aliveтАФand prayed that they would not.
Such a courageous act should not end with being dragged from the river, drenched in
failure. She deserved better than that. It was selfishness alone that made him hope she
would be found, still among the living.

The party that had come with the Wills family were desperately searching, running this
way and that, even the men-at-arms choking back tears. They had known Elise all her
short, sweet life, he reminded himself. They wouldn't feel this numbness that penetrated
his heart.

Torches wavered above him suddenly, and he realized he'd come back to the bridge. A
small knot of dark-robed men gathered on the bank, their whispers barely
distinguishable from the river's voice. They glanced up as the Prince appeared, but then
ignored him, as they did habitually. Hafydd was there, at the center, tall and proud. He
moved down to the river's edge and crouchedтАФthe motion giving the lie to his years. He
glanced at Michael, then away. A gray man, Michael thought, dressed in black, grim and
hard as stone.

For a moment he didn't move, his men arrayed about him, silent and intimidated. But
then he stood, drawing out his sword. Prince Michael felt himself step back, though he
hadn't willed his limbs to do so. Hafydd slid down the small bank into the water. He
plunged the blade into the smooth back of the river and held it still, his eyes closed.
None of his minions dared speak.

"She's gone, " Hafydd said, but then his arm jerked as if the river had shuddered. His
eyes opened.тАЭ Sianon" he whispered. He seemed about to collapse, crumpling over the
blade he still held in the river. Two of his guards stepped forward to support him but the
knight shook them off and drew himself up.
Hafydd turned and strode up the bank, disappearing into the fog, his minions following
after like so many shadows.
"Lady Elise... ?" Baore said, but could not finish the sentence. The look of fear and
concern on his face said more than Elise needed to hear. He kept glancing at the bank,
looking for a place to landтАФsomewhere up the Westbrook, Elise thought, far from the
bridge where she had given herself to the river.
"It is all right, Baore, " she managed. But it was a lie. She could not even sit up. Her
head seemed to be in a whirl, her thoughts a crazed jumble. Memories came flooding in.
War she saw, endless years of war and battle and blood. And with these visions came a
terrible sense of excitement and anticipation that sent a wave of dread through her,
drying her mouth and causing her limbs to tremble. What had she done? What kind of a
monster had she made her bargain with?
The boat slid to a halt in soft mud, and Baore leapt nimbly over the side to haul the craft
high up the bank. He tried to help her out but in the end reached in and lifted her in his
arms, setting her down by the coals of a smoldering fire. He disappeared a moment and
returned with a blanket wrapped around a bundle of clothes. This he held out to her
awkwardly.
"They're my cousin Fynnol's,тАЭ he said, "but I think they'll fit.тАЭ
Elise glanced up from where she crouched by the fire. Baore was a shadow presence in