"Saje Williams - Sword And Shadow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Saje)

stabbing into the gloom and dust, looking for a place to hide.
She darted into an alcove, wincing and biting back an involuntary
shriek as she felt heavy cobwebs stir her hair and settle around her
shoulders. She sank her teeth into her lower lip, hoping there werenтАЩt
any spiders lurking there.
She hated spiders.
She could still see the ladder, and watched in silence as a pair of
booted feet emerged from the trapdoor, followed by a pair of billowy blue
trousers framing a tight, rounded butt, a slim waist, a belt with a
sheathed rapier attached, and a dark gray, equally billowy shirt.
The figure turned and she stifled a gasp. A woman? She smiled to
herself and resolved to spend a few moments thumping her control about
the head and shoulders for sending her here in this getup. If that
creature can get away with wearing normal clothing, why the hell am I
crouching here in a goddamn dress?
The woman stepped into the middle of the room, brushing midnight
hair from around her heart-shaped face with a casual sweep of her
glittering hand. Jeez, lady, have enough rings? Val thought.
Another figure descended the ladderтАФturning at the bottom to reveal
a roughly handsome face and a wave of long dark hair cascading over
wide shoulders. His eyes seemed to glow with a strange orange light as
his gaze shot through the gloom and impaled her where she stood.
Oh, shit, Val thought.
тАЬWell, what have we here?тАЭ the man asked in a drawling voice
straight out of the heart of Texas. тАЬIt seems weтАЩve caught ourselves a
pretty little bird. What do you think we should do with it?тАЭ



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 Sword and Shadow




Chapter Two

Val didnтАЩt know who they were, or what they were doing there, but
she was willing to bet they werenтАЩt authorized agency personnel. She
didnтАЩt recognize them, but that didnтАЩt necessarily mean anything. Over
the past few years, the population of Starhaven had grown exponentially,
and only the shopkeepers and agency heads had any idea how many
people there were under contract between all of the agencies.
She knew they werenтАЩt TAU and seriously doubted they were Sash.
They didnтАЩt have the style. One thing you could say about Sash agentsтАФ
they could accessorize a black and crimson tiger-striped sash with nearly
any outfitтАжeven though most of them settled on basic black.
SheтАЩd tucked her own agency symbol, the ankh, into her bodice, and
thanked the fates sheтАЩd done so. Whoever they were, she was willing to
bet the symbol wouldnтАЩt carry much weight with them. In fact, if they