"Anne Bishop - Black Jewels 00 - The Invisible Ring" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bishop Anne)

was just trying to be helpful. He noticed how Polli was moving and thought
she shouldn't be lifting the mattress to tuck in the sheet. After he
explained that to the Lady, looking so scared I thought he was going to
faint, she fixed a brew to settle down Polli. Then she looked straight at
Thera, and said, 'Courtesy should be rewarded, not punished.' And then she
looked at Blaed, and said, 'Remember that not all scars are visible.'
"After she left, we all ate and took baths. None of the males wanted to get
near Polli, in case she had another fit. Didn't want to get too close to
Thera, either. So all the females and you and me stayed on one side of the
room and the rest of the males stayed on the other side." Tomas looked at
Jared and shook his head. "And you slept through the whole thing. Matter of
fact, you slept through all of yesterday, too. Come on, they left some food
for you."
Disturbed, Jared silently followed Tomas back into the main room. Had the
Gray Lady been talking about the lash wounds when she'd wondered about
permanent damage? Or had she sensed the hollowness inside him? Now that he
was no longer in pain or exhausted, he keenly felt the loss of whatever it
was the wild stranger had taken with it. He knew, with absolute certainty,
that he had no chance of getting free of the Invisible Ring without it.
"You still feeling bad?" Tomas asked. Jared shook his head and sat down at
the table that had one covered plate, a plate of toast, a cup, and a small
pot of coffee. Who had put a warming spell on the covered plate and pot of
coffee? Polli, who sounded like she'd had her spirit as well as her inner
web broken? The sharp-tempered Thera? Either of them would still have enough
strength to do something as basic as this. But when he touched the plate, he
knew it had been neither one of them. Running his finger around the plate's
rim, he found the spot where her finger had touched it, felt the ghost of
the spark of power she'd used for the warming spell. That she had done it at
all spoke of concern and caring. It made no sense.
"You'd best eat," Tomas said, pouring the coffee. "We'll be leaving here
soon."
Jared picked up the fork and began to eat, reminding himself with each bite
to eat slowly. He couldn't afford to have his stomach reject the meal in
front of him just because he'd gulped it down, especially when he didn't
know when he might get the next one. While he ate, Tomas told him about the
other slaves. Besides Thera, Polli, and little Cathryn, there were nine
males, including Tomas and himself: Blaed, the pleasure slave; Thayne; Brock
and Randolf, two former guards; a mind-broken male named Garth; and Eryk and
Corry, two boys about Tomas's age. Half-listening to Tomas's chatter, Jared
reached for another slice of thick, buttered toast. What had the Gray Lady
been thinking of to buy these particular slaves? He could understand buying
the four healthy adult males, but what use could she have for a mind-broken
male? Or broken witches who had probably been put on the block because
they'd become emotionally unstable or were now barren and had no ability to
produce an offspring? Or four children? Or a Warlord who had killed the last
Queen who had owned him?
"You ain't listening," Tomas said accusingly. Remembering his younger
brothers, Jared knew better than to bluff. So he waved his fork over the
plate and changed the subject altogether. He hoped. "What is this?"
Tomas sulked for a moment, then shrugged. "Potatoes and eggs and pieces of