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

"And, yes," the bridge added softly, "my sister still lives. The disaster is not yet complete, Axis
SunSoar."
Axis shifted uncomfortably. This bridge was far more adept at reading unspoken thoughts than her
sister. "And when the disaster is complete? What then?"
"What then? Victory, my friend. Utter victory."
Axis straightened, biting down his anger. "Disaster is utter victory? How can that be?"
An aura of absolute disinterest emanated from the bridge. "I am not the one who can show you that
answer, Axis."
"Then who? Who?"
There was no answer, save for a flash of blinding light and a sudden rattle of hooves.
Axis swore softly and raised a hand to shield his eyes against the rectangle of burning light that had
appeared at the other end of the bridge. A large shape shifted within the light, blurred, then shifted again,
resolving itself into a horse and rider.
The light flared, then faded.
The bridge screamed ...
... and then convulsed.
Axis fell to his feet, sliding towards the centre of the bridge as he did so. He lay for an instant, badly
winded by the impact.
He was given no time for recovery. The bridge lurched and then buckled, heaving under him, and
Axis repeatedly fell over in his scrambling attempts to get to his feet.
The bridge screamed again, and Axis was raked with the emotions of death.
The bridge was dying.
Axis grabbed at one of the handrail supports, but it melted under his fingers leaving them coated with
a sticky residue.
One of his legs fell through a large hole that abruptly appeared in the bridge ... she was
dissolving!
With a desperate heave Axis lunged towards the safety of the roadway, but the bridge was literally
falling apart, still screaming, and her death throes tilted Axis further towards her centre, further
away from the safety of the ground.
Another section of bridge fell away, and Axis stared down into the chasm, and certain death.
The bridge whimpered, and vanished.
Axis fell...
... and was jerked to a halt by a hand in the collar of his tunic.
The odour of a horse hot with sweat enveloped him, and Axis felt himself bump against the shoulder
of the plunging animal.
He grabbed automatically, finding the Sanctuary of a horse's mane with his left hand, and the wiry
strength of a man's forearm with his right.
"Keep still!" a man's voice barked. Axis turned his eyes up, and looked into the face of his hated
son, Drago.

Except this man was not Drago. Axis instinctively felt it the instant he lay eyes on his face, and
he knew it for sure once the man had deposited him on the road to Sanctuary.
 This was a man who had once been Drago.
Axis bent over, resting his hands on his knees, and drew in great breaths, trying to recover his
equilibrium at the twin shock of the bridge's death and the appearance of ... of ...
Axis looked up, although he did not straighten. "What happened?" he said, not asking what he truly
wanted to know.
The man slid off the horse, and Axis spared the animal a brief glance.
Gods! That was Belaguez!
Utterly shocked, Axis finally stood up straight, staring at the horse.