"Wen Spencer - Wolf Who Rules" - читать интересную книгу автора (Spencer Wen)

- Prologue

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 - Prologue




Prologue: Cup Of Tears
Elves may live forever, but their memories did not. Every elfin child is taught that any special memory
has to be polished bright and carefully stored away at the end of a day, else it will slip away and soon be
forgotten.
Wolf Who Rules Wind, Viceroy of the Westernlands and the human city of Pittsburgh, thought about
this as he settled before the altar of Nheoya, god of longevity. It was one more thing he would have to
teach his new domi, Tinker. While clever beyond measure, she had spent her childhood as a human. He
had only transformed her genetically into an elf; she lacked the hundred years of experience that all
other adult elves lived through.
Wolf lit the candle of memory, clapped to call the god's attention to him and bestowed his gift of silver
on the altar. Normally he would wait to reach perfect calmness before starting the ceremony, but he
didn't have time. He'd spent most of the last two days rescuing his domi, fighting her oni captors and
discovering how and why they had kidnapped her away. In truth, he should be focusing on his many
responsibilities, but the fact that his domi had been restored to him on the eve of Memory made him feel
as it was important to observe the ritual.
He picked up the cup of tears. As a child, he couldn't understand why anyone would want to cling to bad
memories. It had taken the royal court, with all its petty betrayals, to teach him the importance of
bitterness; you needed to remember your mistakes to learn from them. For the first time, however, he did
not dwell on those affairs of the heart. They all seemed minor now. His assistant, Sparrow Lifted by
Wind, had taught him the true meaning of treachery.
He replayed now all her betrayals, slowly drinking down the warm salt water. He did not know when
she started working with the oni, perhaps as early as the first day the human's orbital hyperphase gate
shifted Pittsburgh to Elfhome. He knew for sure that she'd spent the last few weeks subtly detouring him
away from the oni compound. She arranged for his blade brother Little Horse to be alone, so the oni
could kidnap him and use him as a whipping boy. So many lies and deceptions! Wolf remembered the
blank look on her face as she talked on her cell phone on that last day. He knew now the call was from
the oni noble, Lord Tomtom, alerting her that Tinker and Little Horse had escaped. What excuse had she
used to slip away in order to intercept them? Oh yes, a member of the clan needed someone to mediate
between them and the Pittsburgh Police. He had thanked her for sparing him from such small
responsibilities so he could focus on finding the two people most important to him. Too bad Little Horse
gave her such a clean death.
Dawn was breaking, and the cup of tears was drained, so he set aside his bitter memories. As light
spilled into the temple, he lifted the cup of joys.
Normally he would dwell hours on his happy childhood in his parents household, and then, with a few
exceptions, skip over all the lonely years he spent at court, and start again as he built his own household
and settled the Westernlands. He did not have time today. In celebration of their safety, he thought only