"Sara Douglass - Redemption 3 - Crusader" - читать интересную книгу автора (Douglass Sara)

"Lord of ashes only," Qeteb said, and took another step forward, "and Mage-King of nothing but a
pack of huddled prisoners." His voice harshened. "What do you here?"
"I have come to deliver you the Sanctuary and all its fodder," Isfrael said. He relaxed slightly. This
was going to be easier than he thought.
"Ah," Qeteb said, "a traitor."
"And how," said Sheol, "can we possibly trust a traitor?" She had sidled forward until she stood just
at Qeteb's left shoulder.
"I can see that a new world beckons," Isfrael said, "and I merely want to carve out my own niche
within it."
Qeteb laughed, but it was Barzula, Demon of Tempest, who spoke. "And now we have hit the heart
of it, eh? You want something from us, and to obtain it you are prepared to sell us Sanctuary."
"I am prepared to sell you victory," Isfrael said softly.
"We do not need your help!" Qeteb said, but all the Demons shared the one thought.
Had DragonStar grown stronger than when they'd last spotted him? Sheol's news of
what Dare Wing's bravado had done had been more than unsettling, and his disinclination to use any of
the Enemy's Songs was ... almost frightening.
He had made no mistakes, and the Demons did not like that at all.
"You need all the help you can get," Isfrael said. "Only fools refuse aid. I am prepared to sell you the
assurance of victory."
 "We do not need your —"
"You are a fool!" Isfrael shouted, and strode through the circle of stumps until he stood directly
before Qeteb. "You've been trapped before, why can't it happen again? Why can't it go one step
further?" He stabbed a finger into the centre of Qeteb's chest plate. "What if this land is to prove
your grave, Qeteb, rather than your playground?"
Qeteb hissed. "I have learned and grown the stronger for my captivity!"
"And what if the Enemy has, too?" Isfrael countered, his voice quiet, his eyes steady.
"What if the Enemy has, too?"
The Demons were silent, although Barzula, Raspu and Mot had crept forward until they'd
joined Sheol just at or behind Qeteb's shoulders. What if the Enemy had, too?
"What do you want," said Qeteb.
"The Sacred Groves," Isfrael said, "and peace within them."
"The Sacred Groves?" Sheol said. "What are they?"
"The Sacred Groves are the most holy glades and forests of the Avar people —"
"We did not destroy them?" Qeteb said, his voice combining both anger and puzzlement.
Isfrael dared a slight sneer. "You know none of the secrets of this land, Qeteb, and there are many
spaces still hidden you have not even dreamed of yet."
Behind his visor Qeteb smiled. He could play this idiot like a lute. So, there were other spaces still to
be explored and hunted for fodder, were there? And you, with your foolish bravado, he thought, are
going to lead us to them all, like it or not.
But he kept the angered puzzlement in his voice, and twitched his fists, to make it all the more
convincing.
"Spaces?" he roared.
You metalled oaf, Isfrael thought, the dullness of your armour has spread to your brain. "I want
the Sacred Groves," he said. "I want them in peace. You can have everything else."
"The Groves must be very special to you," Sheol said, and she made her voice wistful.
"They contain all that is holy and precious to the Avar peoples," Isfrael said. "The Horned
Ones, the Mother —"
Sheol raised her eyebrows questioningly, and Isfrael was foolish and dull-brained enough himself to
fall into the trap.
"The Mother is the personification of all nature," Isfrael said, and the Demons instantly hungered,