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

48 WEIS AND HICKMAN
glancing sideways into the eyes of Kiber, leader of the gowns.
Much was being said in that exchange of glances, though
probably nothing that was not of the most innocent nature.
The Captain shivered in the noonday sun.
"I am," he said grimly, "a superstitious peasant." Pulling himself up into the
saddle, he wheeled his horse
and galloped off to order the city gates be opened to Auda ibn
Jad.
Chapter 2
The Sultan wasтАФas the Captain had foreseenтАФcharmed with Auda ibn Jad. Nothing
would do but that the Sultan and his current favorites among his wives and
concubines must leave the palace and traipse outside the city walls to pay
homage to the dead. The women cooed and sighed over the handsome young Prince.
The Sultan and the nobles shook their heads over the wasted beauty of the
women. Auda ibn Jad told his story well, bringing tears to many eyes in the
royal court as he related in heartfelt tones the final words of the red-haired
wife as she fell dead across her husband's body.
Following this, there was a sumptuous dinner that lasted long into the night.
The wine flowed freely, much of it into the Captain's mouth. Ordinarily, the
Captain did not take to strong drink, but he felt he had to warm himself.
There was something about Auda ibn Jad that chilled his blood; but what it
was, the Captain couldn't say.
Deep into his sixth cup of the unwatered vintage that came from the grapes
grown in the hills above Idrith, the Captain stared at the man, seated
cross-legged on silken cushions opposite him. He couldn't take his eyes off
ibn Jad, feeling himself caught by the same terrible fascination a cobra is
said to exert over its victims.
It is Auda ibn Jad's face, the Captain decided,muzzily. The man's lace is too
smooth. There are no lines on it, no traces of any emotion, no traces of any
human feeling or passionтАФeither good or evil. The corners of the mouth turn
49
50
WEIS AND HICKMAN
THE PALADIN OF THE NIGHT
51
neither up nor down. The cold, hooded eyes narrow in neither laughter nor
anger. Ibn Jad ate and drank without enjoyment. He watched the sinuous
twistings of the dancing girls without lust. A face of stone, the Captain
decided and drank another cup of wine, only to feel it sit in his stomach like
a lump of cold clay.
At last the Sultan rose from his cushions to go to the bed of his chosen. Much
pleased with his guest, he gave Auda ibn Jad a ring from his own hand. Nothing
priceless, the Captain noted, staring at it with bleary eyesтАФa semiprecious
gem whose glitter was greater than its worth. Auda ibn Jad apparently knew
something of jewels himself, for he accepted it with a flicker of sardonic
amusement in the cold eyes.
In answer to the Sultan's invitation to return to the palace tomorrow, ibn Jad
replied regretfully that he must not tarry in his sad journey. His long had,
as of yet, no knowledge of the death of his son and Auda ibn Jad feared lest