"1 poison" - читать интересную книгу автора (Snyder Maria V)

УDonТt pay any attention to her,Ф Dilana said to me. УMargg, donТt you have work to do? Get going or IТll sneak into your room and shorten all your skirts.Ф Dilana shooed us good-naturedly out the door.
Margg took me to the servantsТ dining room and served me small portions of soup and bread. The soup tasted divine. After devouring the food, I asked for more.
УNo. Too much will make you sick,Ф was all she said. With reluctance I left my bowl on the table to follow Margg to my room.
УAt sunrise be ready to work.Ф
Once again I watched her retreating back.
My small room contained a narrow bed with a single stained mattress on a stark metal frame, a plain wooden desk and chair, a chamber pot, an armoire, a lantern, a tiny woodstove and one window shuttered tight. The gray stone walls were unadorned. I tested the mattress; it barely yielded. A vast improvement over my dungeon cell, yet I found myself somewhat dissatisfied.
Nothing in the room suggested softness. With my mind and eyes filled with ValekТs metal face and MarggТs censure, and the harsh cut and colors of the uniforms, I longed for a pillow or blanket. I felt like a lost child looking for something to clutch, something supple that wouldnТt end up hurting me.
After hanging my extra uniforms in the armoire, I crossed to the window. There was a sill wide enough for me to sit on. The shutters were locked, but the latches were on the inside. Hands shaking, I unlocked and pushed the shutters wide, blinking in the sudden light. Shielding my eyes, I squinted beneath my hand, and stared at the scene in front of my window in disbelief. I was on the first floor of the castle! Five feet below was the ground.
Between my room and the stables were the CommanderТs kennels and the exercise yard for the horses. The stable boys and dog trainers wouldnТt care if I escaped. I could drop down without any effort and be gone. Tempting, except for the fact that I would be dead in two days. Maybe another time, when two days of freedom might be worth the price.
I could hope.
Chapter Three
R eyadТs whip cut into my skin, slashing my flesh with a burning pain. УMove,Ф he ordered.
I dodged ineffectively, hampered by the rope tied to my wrist, which anchored me to a post in the center of the room.
УMove faster, keep moving!Ф Reyad shouted.
The whip snapped again and again. My tattered shirt gave no protection from the stinging leather. A cool, soothing voice entered my skull. УGo away,Ф it whispered. УSend your mind to a distant place, a warm loving place. Let your body go.Ф
The silken voice didnТt belong to Reyad or Brazell. A savior, perhaps? An easy way to escape the torment, tempting but I held out for another opportunity. Determined, I stayed, focusing on avoiding the lash. When exhaustion claimed me, my body began to vibrate of its own accord. Like an out-of-control hummingbird, I darted around the room, avoiding the whip.

I woke in darkness soaked with sweat, my crumpled uniform twisted tight around my body. The vibration in my dream replaced by a pounding. Before falling asleep, I had wedged a chair under the doorknob to prevent anyone from barging in. The chair rattled with each thud.
УIТm up,Ф I shouted. The racket stopped. When I opened the door, Margg stood frowning with a lantern. I hastened to change my uniform and joined her in the hallway. УI thought you said sunrise.Ф
Her disapproving stare seared my lips shut. УIt is sunrise.Ф
I followed Margg through the labyrinth of the castleТs hidden hallways as the day began to brighten. My room faced west, shielding me from the morning sun. Margg extinguished the lantern just as the scent of sweet cakes filled the air.
Inhaling, I asked her, УBreakfast?Ф A hopeful, almost pleading, note crept into my voice, galling me.
УNo. Valek will feed you.Ф
The image of breakfast laced with poison did wonders for suppressing my appetite. My stomach tightened as the unwanted memory of ValekТs ButterflyТs Dust came to mind. By the time we had reached his office, I had convinced myself that I was about to collapse, soon to be vanquished by the poison if I didnТt receive the antidote.
When I entered the room, Valek was in the process of arranging plates of steaming food. He had cleared off a section of the table. The displaced papers balanced in messy piles. He gestured to a chair; I sat, searching the table for the small vial of antidote.
УI hope youТreЕФ Valek studied my face. I stared back, trying not to flinch under his scrutiny.
УItТs amazing what a difference a bath and a uniform can make,Ф Valek said, absently chewing on a slice of bacon. УIТll have to remember that. It might be useful in the future.Ф Placing two plates of an egg-and-ham mixture before me, he said, УLetТs get started.Ф
Feeling dizzy and flushed, I blurted out, УIТd rather start with the antidote.Ф Another long pause from Valek caused me to fidget in my seat.
УYou shouldnТt be feeling any symptoms. They wonТt arrive until later this afternoon.Ф He shrugged and went to his cabinet. He used a pipette to extract a measure of the white liquid from a large bottle, and then locked the antidote back inside the cabinet. My interest in the location of the key must have been obvious because Valek used some type of sleight of hand to make the key disappear. Handing me the pipette, he sat down on the opposite side of the table.
УDrink up so we can start todayТs lessons,Ф he said.
I squeezed the contents into my mouth, cringing at the bitter taste. Valek took the pipette from my hands and exchanged it for a blue jar. УTake a sniff.Ф
The jar contained a white powder, resembling sugar but smelling like rosewood. Gesturing to the two plates cooling in front of me, Valek asked me to pick the one sprinkled with the poison. I sniffed at the food like a scent hound nosing for prey. A faint odor of rosewood emanated from the left plate.
УGood. Should you pick up that aroma from any of the CommanderТs food, reject it. The poison is called Tigtus and a single grain of the powder will kill within the hour.Ф Valek removed the tainted food. УEat your breakfast.Ф He indicated the other plate. УYouТll need your strength.Ф
I spent the remainder of the day smelling poisons until my head ached and spun. The multitude of names and aromas began to confuse me, so I asked Valek for some paper, quill and ink. He stilled.
УI donТt know why you continue to surprise me. I should have remembered that General Brazell educates his orphans.Ф Valek flung a book of papers, a quill and ink down in front of me. УTake them back to your room. WeТve done enough for today.Ф
I silently cursed myself for reminding Valek why I had been the next person to be executed as I gathered the book and writing implements. ValekТs hard, unforgiving expression revealed his thoughts. Taken off the streets, fed and educated by Brazell, I had repaid BrazellТs kindness by murdering his only child. I knew Valek would never believe the truth about Brazell and Reyad.
General BrazellТs orphanage was a topic of ridicule from the other Generals. They thought he had gone УsoftФ after the takeover of Ixia fifteen years ago. This impression suited Brazell. Seen as a kindly old benefactor, Brazell could continue unchallenged in his administration of Military District 5.
I hesitated at the entrance of ValekТs office, noticing for the first time the three complex locks on the thick wooden door. Absently fingering the locking mechanisms, I lingered in the doorway until Valek asked, УNow what?Ф
УIТm not sure where my room is.Ф
Valek spoke as if talking to a slow-witted child. УAsk the first housekeeper or kitchen maid you find, theyТre always scurrying about this time of day. Tell her youТre in the west servant wing, ground floor. SheТll show you.Ф
The kitchen maid I snared into helping me was more talkative than Margg and I took full advantage of her good nature. She guided me to the laundry room to obtain some linens for my bed. Then I had her show me the way to the baths and the seamstressТs work area. DilanaТs piles of uniforms might come in handy someday.
In my room, I opened the shutters to let in the fading light from the setting sun. Sitting down at my desk, I wrote exhaustive notes on what I had learned that day, including a rough map of the servantsТ corridors. I considered more exploration of the castle, but Valek had been right, I needed my strength. I hoped I would have time to explore later.
During the next two weeks, the training proceeded in a manner so similar to the first day that I lapsed into a routine, arriving at ValekТs every morning to train. After fourteen days of sniffing poisons, I found that my sense of smell had heightened. But then Valek announced I was strong enough to begin tasting poisons.
УIТll start with the deadliest one,Ф he said. УIf you donТt die from it, the other poisons wouldnТt kill you either. I donТt want to waste all my time training you only to see you die in the end.Ф He placed a slender red bottle on his desk. УItТs nasty. Affects the body immediately.Ф ValekТs eyes lit up as he admired the poison. УItТs called Have a Drink, My Love, or My Love for short because the poison has a history of being used by disheartened wives.Ф He squeezed two drops of the poison into a steaming cup. УA larger dose would definitely kill you. With a smaller dose, there is a chance youТll survive, but youТll become delusional, paranoid and completely disoriented for the next few days.Ф
УValek, why do I have to taste My Love if it has immediate results? IsnТt that what a food taster is for? I taste the CommanderТs food. I keel over, dead. End of the tale.Ф I tried pacing around the room but kept tripping over stacks of books. Frustrated, I kicked two piles into their neighbors, scattering books into a messy heap on the floor. ValekТs gaze pierced me, draining the odd feeling of satisfaction I had gotten from kicking the books.
УA food tasterТs job is much more complex than that,Ф Valek explained, pulling his hair back from his face. УBeing able to identify which poison taints the CommanderТs food can lead me to the poisoner.Ф Valek handed me the cup. УEven if you only have a split second to shout out My Love before passing out, it would narrow down the list of suspects. There are a number of assassins who are partial to My Love. The poison is grown in Sitia, the southern lands. It was easy to obtain before the takeover. With the closure of the southern border, only a handful of people have enough money to purchase it illegally.Ф
Valek went over to the mess on the floor and started restacking the books. His movements were so graceful that I wondered if he had been a dancer, but his words betrayed to me that his fluid gestures were those of a trained killer.
УYelena, your job is very important. ThatТs why I spend so much time training you. A shrewd assassin can watch a taster for several days to discover a pattern.Ф Valek continued his lecture from the floor. УFor example, the taster might always cut a piece of meat from the left side, or never stir the drink. Some poisons sink to the bottom of the cup. If the taster only sips off the top, then the assassin knows exactly where to place the poison to kill his intended victim.Ф He finished picking up the books. The new piles were neater than the rest of the stacks on the floor. It seemed an invitation to Valek to continue straightening the books. He cleared a bigger path through his office.
УOnce you drink the poison, Margg will help you to your room and take care of you. IТll give her your daily dose of ButterflyТs Dust antidote.Ф
I stared at the steam drifting from the tea. I picked up the cup, the heat warming my icy hands. When Margg entered the room, it felt as if the executioner had just mounted the dais, reaching for the lever. Should I sit down or lie down? I looked around the room, seeing nothing. My arms started to tingle as I realized I had been holding my breath.