"Dave Duncan - Tales of King's Blades 5 - The Jaguar Knights" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

Unable to think of a reason to refuse,Wolf fished out the scroll and handed it over. Junior unrolled it,
rolled it up again, and returned it.

“I thought you wanted to read it.”

Fishy stare again. “I did read it. Very curious, isn’t it?”

That was typical snoop talk, but he sounded even younger than he looked and Wolf clung tight to the
remaining shreds of his temper.“Cu-rious in what way, boy?” He put his horse into a saddle-high canyon
cut through the drifts to the postern gate.

“In whom it names and whom it does not.The Privy Council is ap-prised of massacre, either armed
insurrection or foreign invasion, and it reacts by sending a twenty-four-year-old swordsman of meager
educa-tion and repellent reputation.”

“It was a birthweek present for me.”

“Prudence would suggest dispatching several senior Privy Council-lors with an entourage of clerks and
attorneys.”

Wolf could sneer too. “In this weather, sonny? The poor dears

11



Dave Duncan

P

wouldn’t last a league.” Babyface had made a valid point, though. Wolf would be replaced the moment
the roads were passable again.

“Looking to the Royal Guard for brains is still a questionable inno-vation.”

“But I am spiritually bound to absolute loyalty.You are not.Who is not mentioned in the writ who should
be?”

By then they were heading for the northern gatehouse, plodding along an avenue flanked by giant
beeches, half a century old and barely adolescent.

“Lord Roland, of course. He sent the news. He has gone to Quon-dam to take charge. As Grand
Master of the Blades, he holds one of the senior offices in the realm. He must have been sworn in as a
member of the Privy Council before you were born, so why not just send a courier with a warrant to
confirm his authority? Of course,” young Smartypants added, “Lord Roland is no longer bound and
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html