"C. S. Friedman - Coldfire 2 - When True Night Falls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friedman C. S)

It is with a mixture of joy and trepidation
that I write I you on this fifth day of March,
from the port city of Sattin. Joy, because I am
able to report at last that our mission in the
rakhlands was a success. The sorcerous tyrant
who was draining that region of life and
power has been sent to her final judgment,
and the hordes who served her have likewise
been dispatched. (Praise God, who makes
such triumphs possible!) Trepidation,
because I have come to believe that
something far more deadly has finally turned
its eye upon the human lands. And I fear that
our recent victory, so hard won, may prove to
be no more than a prelude to a far more
bloody battle. But let me record these things
in their proper order: We left from Jaggonath
on October 5th of 1246, a party of three:
myself, the Loremaster Ciani of Faraday, and
Ciani's close friend and professional assistant
Senzei Reese. You will recall that the lady
had been attacked at her place of business by
a trio of demonlike creatures, whose
malevolent Workings had robbed her of her
memories and her most precious powers. We
had determined that these creatures came
from the rakhlands and would be returning to
that place. It was our intention to follow them
to that secret land and destroy them, thereby
freeing the lady from their dire influence, and
the human lands from further threat by their
power.

You know that we set out for Kale,
intending to hire passage to the rakhlands
from that port. Such a journey meant five
days of hard traveling, but nights could be
spent in the relative safety of the daes. Since
our quarry appeared to be night-bound, we
anticipated little risk during this period. I
served in my capacity as priest and Healer
more than once along this road. And once,
following a young boy's tragic death, I made
the acquaintance of a man who shared our
road, a traveler named Gerald Tarrant.

How shall I describe this man who later
played such a part in our undertaking?
Elegant. Forbidding. Seductive. Malevolent.
Utterly ruthless. I enclose a drawing of his