"Michael A. Stackpole - Dragon Crown Saga 3 - When Dragons Rage" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stackpole Michael A)

тАФ it helped very little that Resolute seemed to hold everyone in contempt. Crow, who had
been kindly and gentle, now languished in prison, leaving Kerrigan very much alone.
Strains of a melody leaked up from below and Kerrigan recognized it, which rather
surprised him. Though he could wield great magicks, he couldnтАЩt carry a tune in a bucket.
One of his mentors had a weakness for common tavern songs, and performers had come to
Vilwan to entertain him тАФ all for KerriganтАЩs benefit, of course. Kerrigan remembered none
of the verses of this song, but the refrain came back strongly as the audience below joined
in.


Now Squab is dead,
TheyтАЩve cut off his head,
 And plied torch to his heart.
Garlic in his mouth,
Head buried facing south,
His body torn apart.
тАШTis the way,
To treat cowards, they say.
тАШSpecially those who think theyтАЩre so smart.


The song would continue with some Squab misadventure or other, showing him a fool.
Kerrigan did not doubt that Crow had been Hawkins. When the Oriosan authorities came to
arrest him, Crow had warned Kerrigan to keep the secret the Draconis Baron had entrusted
to him. CrowтАЩs cryptic and secretive behavior at that point had told Kerrigan that he was
guilty as charged. But as for CrowтАЩs being Squab , that had surprised Kerrigan тАФ primarily
because Squab had always been a simpleton and Crow had been anything but.
The secret heтАЩd been entrusted was now all he had. Reaching inside his layers of tunics,
he fished out a leather sack heavy and bulging as if it housed an apple made of metal. As
he opened it he did catch the glint of gold, but one that flashed scarlet after a moment. He
poured the object into his right hand, then cupped his left beneath it, too.
Fortress Draconis had once housed three fragments of the DragonCrown Yrulph Kirun
had fashioned centuries before. After his defeat the Crown had been broken apart and the
pieces scattered. The Draconis Baron had asked Kerrigan to fashion a decoy for the ruby
fragment, then had given the true fragment to him, to let him carry it away during the
evacuation.
The ruby set in gold glowed with a rich red light that slowly pulsed. The young magicker
had once held another DragonCrown fragment, but it had remained lifeless and cold to his
touch. This one had warmed while in his possession and as he brushed fingertips over it,
the glow intensified where flesh touched stone.
Kerrigan had not noticed the light in the stone when he was at Fortress Draconis; he
would have told the Draconis Baron if he had. It had first appeared on retreat from the
fortress and had grown steadily since. He didnтАЩt know what it was, or why it was happening.
He probably should have been frightened, but he wasnтАЩt.
The rubyтАЩs glow suffused the tight, dark space beneath the blanket. Kerrigan studied it
and it slowly pulsed. He could feel some warmth in his fingers тАФ at least he thought he could
тАФ so he brought the gem closer to his face, to see if he could feel heat there.
He did, a little, but then the glow stopped pulsing and instead expanded into a scarlet
tunnel that drew him in. Quick panic rose in him, throbbing through his stomach. A tingle ran
over his body тАФ the same sensation that prickles the hair at the nape of the neck when