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

uneasy guard. "Are you sure?"
The guard's face tightened. "I made no mistake, Lord Krelis."
Krelis waved his hand, an oblique apology for insulting the man's skill. His
voice thickened with frustration. "What in the name of Hell is she doing?"
The guard shrugged. "There's a Coach station less than a mile from that
inn-but there's a better inn right next to the station if she'd intended to
buy passage and go on to the Tamanara Mountains."
Which is precisely what the bitch should have done.
"The innkeeper was sure it was the Gray Lady?"
"An old Queen dressed in gray with twelve slaves. I found that button in the
guest servants' quarters because the slave quarters weren't 'comfortable'
enough for her new toys. Maybe she's trying to tame the Queen killer with
sugar instead of the lash."
Krelis felt his blood chill. "What Queen killer?"
"The Shalador pleasure slave who showed his temper a couple of weeks ago. He
would have gone to the salt mines of Pruul, but she fancied him."
Krelis let his breath out slowly. Fool! He'd already seen the list of
slaves, and the Sadist wasn't on it. Besides, the High Priestess only sold
Daemon Sadi's services. She'd never sell him outright-and she'd never let a
dangerous enemy have any kind of control over a male that deadly. The name
on the list had meant nothing to him, but he'd heard about that Shalador
Warlord's butchery. Would that work in his favor? A dark-Jeweled male turned
vicious wouldn't be tamed again easily. He might even hate the next witch
holding the leash enough to strike a crippling blow with no provocation.
Doubtful he'd survive if he tangled with the Gray-no loss if he didn't-but
if he weakened her, it would make it that much easier to finish the kill
once they found the Gray Lady.
"There's a Coach station in easy reach that would get her out of a Territory
that stands in Hayll's shadow. Instead of going there, she buys an old
pedlar's wagon, a team of horses, two saddle horses, and supplies." Krelis's
voice rose. "To do what? What's the bitch's game?"
The guard shrugged again. "She set out on the road heading northeast, or so
the innkeeper said. Lots of small roads branch off it, traveling west and
northwest. She could have changed direction. Been lots of rain around there.
She can't be traveling fast, and she's not traveling light. She packed that
wagon with supplies."
Krelis's hand closed around the button. "Which still doesn't explain what
she's doing!"
The guard shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Maybe that attack
in the spring was more successful than anybody thought. She's an old woman."
Krelis let the idea take root. "It was a vicious attack." The Gray Lady had
escaped last spring, but the violent unleashing of power might have left her
mentally unstable. Could she be wandering aimlessly, all the time thinking
she was heading for the Tamanara Mountains and safety? Krelis slipped the
brass button into his pocket. At least he had something to report. "Let the
marauder bands know where she was last seen. They'll know the land around
there better than we do."
After dismissing the guard, Krelis slumped in his chair. So far his plan was
working. If his pet hadn't left the spelled button, though, he would have
had no idea where to start looking for her. That Shalador Warlord troubled