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

Patriarch would learn the truth. Never. But now he realized
that he had underestimated the man. The Patriarch was a
natural sorcerer, even though he refused to acknowledge
the fact. It stood to reason that the fae, altering the laws of
probability in response to his will, should cause him to
meet up with a source of information. Damien should have
seen it coming. He should have prepared . . .

"You saved his life," the Patriarch repeated. Utter
condemnation, spiced with a more personal venom. "In his
name you betrayed your vows, your people. And God
Himself, who sits judgment on all of us! Every evil which
the Hunter commits, from now until the moment of his
demise, will be because of you. Every wound the Church
must suffer because of his influence, it will suffer because
you freed him. Because you encouraged him to endure."

He stepped forward, an openly aggressive move.
Startled, Damien stepped back. The thick white wool of his
ritual robe tangled about his ankles, an unfamiliar obstacle.
About his neck the heavy gold collar of his Order pricked
his skin with etched flame-points, sharp metal edges hot
against the chill of his skin. Why had he worn these things?
Had he thought that the regalia of his Order might shield
him from the Patriarch's anger? If so, they had failed
utterly.

"In the name of the One God," the Patriarch pronounced,
"I have been given authority over this region - and you." He
paused, giving the fact of his absolute authority a moment
to sink in. "And in the name of God I now exercise it. In
the name of those thousands who gave their lives to redeem
this world, choosing death before corruption. In the name
of the martyrs of our faith, who served the Church in its
darkest hours - and never wavered in their service, though
they faced more terrible trials than you or I can imagine. In
their name, Reverend Sir Damien Vryce, in their most holy
memory do I now divorce you from our service-"

Fear took hold of him as he recognized the ritual. "Holy
Father, no-"

"In their name I now declare you cast out from the
society of priests, and from the Orders that initiated you-"

"Don't-"
 The Patriarch reached forward too quickly for Damien
to respond, and his hand closed tightly about the golden
collar. "Damien Kilcannon Vryce, I hereby dismiss you
from our Church and from all its Orders, now and forever."