"Raymond E. Feist - Serpentwar 1 - Shadow of a Dark Queen2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

an instant Jarwa imagined he could see his son vanish
from sight - though he knew it was wishful thinking. The
distance was too vast to make out such detail.
Then Jarwa returned his attention to the mystic barrier
that now shone white-hot where demons brought their
own arts to bear. He knew the fliers were more a nuisance
than a danger: their speed made them deadly for
lone riders or the weak or wounded, but a strong warrior
could dispatch one without difficulty. It would be those
that followed the fliers who would end his life.
Rents in the energy appeared along the face of the
barrier, and as they did, Jarwa could glimpse dark figures
approaching from beyond it. Large demons who could
not fly, save by magic, hurried over the ground, running
at the best speed of a Saaur horse and rider, their evil
howls adding to the sounds of battle. The snake priest put
forth his hand and flames erupted where a demon
attempted to pass through a rent in the barrier, and
Jarwa could see the snake priest stagger with the effort.
Knowing the end was but moments away, Jarwa
said, 'Tell me one thing, snake: why do you choose to die
here with us? We had no choice, and you were free to
leave with my children. Does death at the hands of those'
- he motioned toward the approaching demons - 'hold
no terror for you?'
With a laugh the Ruler of the Empire of Grass could
only think of as mocking, the snake priest said, 'No, my
lord. Death is freedom, and you shall quickly learn that.
We who serve in the palace of the Emerald Queen know
this.'
Jarwa's eyes narrowed. So the ancient legends were
true, This creature was one of those whom the Mother
Goddess had birthed. With a flash of anger, Jarwa knew
that his race was betrayed and that this creature was as
bitter an enemy as those who raced to eat his soul. With a
cry of frustration, the Sha-shahan struck out with his
son's sword and severed the head from the shoulders of
the Pantathian.
Then the demons were loose among the rear guard and
Jarwa could spare but a moment to think of his son and
his companions' children, upon a distant world under an
alien sun. As the Lord of the Nine Oceans turned to face
his foe, he made a silent prayer to his ancestors, to the
Riders of the Heavenly Horde, to watch over the children
of the Saaur.
One form loomed above the rest, and as if sensing his
approach, the lesser demons parted. A figure twice the
height of the tallest Saaur, more than twenty-five feet
tall, strode purposefully toward Jarwa. Powerful of form,
his body looked much like that of a Saaur - broad