"Eddings, David - Elenium 02 - The Ruby Knight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

more dangerous than any other city. bY night, it was a
jungle where the strong fed upon the weak and unwary.
Sparhawk, however, was neither of those. Beneath his
plain traveller's cloak he wore chain-mail, and a heavy
sword hung at his side. In addition, he carried a short,
broad-bladed battle-spear loosely in one hand. He was
trained, moreover, in levels of violence no footpad could
match, and a seething anger inflamed him at this point.
Bleakly, the broken-nosed man almost hoped that some
fool might try an attack. When provoked, Sparhawk was
not the most reasonable of men, and he had been
provoked of late.
He was also, however, aware of the urgency of what he
was about. Much as he might have taken some satisfaction
in the rush and cut and slash of a meeting with
unknown and unimportant assailants, he had responsibilities.
His pale young queen hovered near death, and
she silently demanded absolute fidelity from her
champion. He would not betray her, and to die in some
muddy gutter as a result of a meaningless encounter
would not serve the queen he was oath-bound to protect.
And so it was that he moved cautiously, his feet more
silent than those of any paid assassin.
Somewhere ahead he saw the bobbing of hazy-looking
torches and heard the measured tread of several men
marching in unison. He muttered an oath and ducked up
a smelly alley.
A half-dozen men marched by, their red tunics
bedewed by the fog and with long pikes leaning slantwise
over their shoulders. 'it's that place in Rose Street,'
their officer was saying arrogantly, 'where the Pandions
try to hide their ungodly subterfuge. They know we're
watching, of course, but our presence restricts their
movements and leaves His Grace, the Primate, free from
their interference.'
'We know the reasons, Lieutenant,' a bored-sounding
corporal said. 'We've been doing this for over a year
now.'
'Oh.' The self-important young lieutenant sounded a
bit crestfallen. "I just wanted to be sure that we all
understood, that's all.'
'Yes, sir,' the corporal said tonelessly.
'Wait here, men,' the lieutenant said, trying to make
his boyish voice sound gruff. 'I'll look on ahead.' He
marched on up the street, his heels smashing noisily on
the fog-wet cobblestones.
'What a jackass,' the corporal muttered to his
companions.
'Grow up, corporal,' an old, grey-haired veteran said
'We take the pay, so we 'obey their orders and keep our