"Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman - Rose of the Prophet 02 - The Paladin of the Night" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weis Margaret)

the body, or even inside the armor itself. . . .
An eerie murmur, like the low whistle of a rising windstorm, caused the
Captain's hair to bristle. Involuntarily, his hand jerked back. Looking up
swiftly, he saw the sound had come from ibn Jad's goums. The men were backing
away, their horsesтАФaffected by the fear of their mastersтАФrolled their eyes and
danced nervously. The slaves huddled together in a group and began to wail
piteously. Auda ibn Jdd, with a scowl, rounded upon them and shouted at them
in his own language. From the motion of his hand, the Captain gathered he was
promising them all a sound thrashing. The wailing ceased, but the slaves, the
goums, the horses, and even, it seemed, the camelsтАФbeasts not noted for their
intelligenceтАФwatched the Captain with an eager, anticipatory thrill of horror
that was most unnerving.
Ibn Jad's face was tense and strained. Though he was endeavoring hard to
conceal his emotions, apparently he, too,
THE PALADIN OF THE NIGHT 47
was a superstitious peasant at heart. Abruptly, the Captain withdrew his hand.
"I will not disturb the honored dead. And you, Auda ibn Jad, and your men have
leave to enter Idrith. But these"тАФhe gestured at the rattan littersтАФ"must
remain outside the city walls. If they are indeed cursed, it would not do to
bring them into the sacred precincts of Quar." At least, the Captain thought
grimly, he had solved that dilemma! Perhaps Auda ibn Jad and his men will take
oflense at this and leave.
But the man in black was smiling and bowing graciously, his fingers going to
heart, lips, and forehead in the graceful salaam.
"I will order my men to guard the dead," the Captain offered, thoughтАФglancing
at his troopsтАФhe knew such an order would be unnecessary. Word of the curse
would spread like the plague through the city. The most devout follower of
Benario, God of Thieves, would not steal so much as a jeweled earring from the
corpses.
"My grateful thanks, Captain," said Auda, bowing again, hand pressed over his
heart.
The Captain bowed awkwardly in return. "And perhaps you would do me the very
great honor of accompanying me to the Sultan's palace this evening. Affairs of
state prevent His Magnificence from seeing the world, and he would be much
entertained by the stories you have related to me."
Auda ibn Jad protested that he was not worthy of such attention. The Captain
patiently assured'him that he was. Auda insisted that he wasn't and continued
to demur as long as was proper, then gave in with refined grace. Sighing, the
Captain turned away. Having no legitimate reason to keep this man and his
goums out of Idrith, he had done what he could. At least the corpses with
their unholy curse would not ; pollute the city. He would himself take
personal charge of Auda ibn Jad and order his men to keep a watchful eye upon
the goums. After all, they numbered no more than thirty. The Sultan's wives
alone outnumbered them two to one. Amid the thousands of people jammed into
Idrith, they would be as a single drop of rain felling into a deep well.
Telling himself that he had the situation under control, the Captain started
to remount his horse. But his uneasiness persisted. His foot in the stirrup,
he paused, hands on the saddle, and looked for one last time at the man in
black.
Beneath hooded lids, the eyes of Auda ibn Jad were