"Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts - empire 3 mistress of the empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

a great distance. 'My son is dead,' she said faintly. 'By the
mercy of all the gods, it should have been me.'

Rent to the heart by compassion, Hokanu stroked back
a fallen wisp of her hair. 'If the gods were kind, the attack
should never have happened.' Then, as he saw that his Lady
had slipped back into her stupor, he faced her officer.

The eyes of both men met, anguished. They had seen
Mara enraged, hurt, even in terror of her life. She had
always responded with spirit and innovation. This apathy

was not like her, and all who loved her feared that a
portion of her spirit might have perished along with
her son.

22 Mistress of the Empire

Hokanu endeavored to shoulder as much of the burden
as possible. 'Tell me what your men have found, Lujan.'

Had Mara's Force Commander been a more traditionbound
man, he would have refused; while Hokanu was a
noble, he was not master of the Acoma. But the Shinzawai
faction of the household was sworn to alliance with
the Acoma, and Mara was in no condition to make
critical decisions. Lujan released an almost imperceptible
sigh of relief. The strengths of the Shinzawai heir were
considerable, and the news Lujan brought was not cheering.
'My Lord, our warriors searched the corpse to no avail. Our
best trackers joined the search and, in a hollow where the
assassin had apparently been sleeping, found this.'

He offered "a round shell token, painted scarlet and
yellow, and incised with the triangular sigil of House
Anasati. Hokanu took the object with a touch that bespoke
disgust. The token was the sort a Ruling Lord might give
a messenger as proof that an important errand had been
carried out. Such a badge was inappropriate for an enemy
to entrust to an assassin; but then, the Lord of the Anasati
made no secret of his hatred for Mara. Jiro was powerful,
and openly allied with houses who wished to abolish the
Emperor's new policies. He was a scholar rather than a
man of war, and though he was too clever to indulge in
crude gestures, Mara had once slighted his manhood: she
had chosen his younger brother for her first husband, and
since that day, Jiro had shown open animosity.

Still, the shell counter was blatantly unsubtle, for a
working of the Great Game. And the Hamoi Tong was