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

She nodded. “Yes. That is curious. It is no secret that you and His Majesty detest each other, which is
an absurd situation when you are spir-itually bound to defend him to the death. How did this quarrel
originate?”

“The Dark Chamber must know. If it matters, why weren’t you briefed on it?”

She studied him again, licking her fingers.“I thought we had agreed to cooperate?”

He thought subordinates were expected to be respectful to their su-periors, but no doubt inquisitors kept
prying from habit, just as Blades had to stay physically active. And the King’s motives might turn out to
be very significant.

“It’s a stupid story.” But it had begun in Ironhall, with no witnesses except Blades, so the Dark Chamber
might have failed to dig out the facts. “You won’t remember King Ambrose. He came to harvest Blades
for the Guard only twice in my time at Ironhall—a sick, fat old man, barely able to walk. After that he let
ripe seniors pile up like hay before assigning batches of them to courtiers and ministers.”

18



THE J A GU AR KNIGHTS

P
 Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html




That royal error was later to turn the Thencaster Conspiracy into a Blade tragedy and give the King’s
Killer his title.

“We all hoped he would die soon, which he did, and one blustery spring day his daughter came riding
over the moor with the Royal Guard at her back. It had been many years since a woman had per-formed
the binding ritual, and we juniors noisily laid bets on how many seniors she would kill before she learned
how to handle a sword. For-tunately Prime was Hereward, a lad of much more beef than imagina-tion.
Amid the chanting and flickering firelight he sat bare-chested on the anvil in the center of the octogram
and barely flinched when she rammed his saber through his heart. After that the other bindings were
routine.

“Malinda was a staunch woman. I think her husband had taught her fencing. He had certainly tutored
their son.We were all puzzled to know why she took only six seniors when there were so many waiting in
line. The answer appeared a week later in the form of Crown Prince Athel-gar, aged eighteen and as
red-haired a Bael in those days as ever earned a dying curse. He insisted on fencing with some of the
candidates. I was chosen and made him look foolish.That’s all.”

Hogwood frowned. “How foolish?”

“Very foolish.”