"Huff, Tanya - Wizard 1 - Child Of The Grove 1.1 Txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

Rutgar's face hung above him and Rutgar's hands were on his shoulders and nothing was coming at him out of the darkness.
Rutgar's mouth twisted in sympathy. "I told you, it wears off, " he said gently.
"I was dreaming... "
The armsman nodded. "I know. I had nightmares for months after the Tantac raids. " He sat back on his heels. "Still do occasionally. "
Rael released his grip on his blankets and lightly touched the back of Rutgar's hand. Warm. Living. "Thank you for waking me. "
Rutgar smiled, a warmer expression than his usual one-sided grin. "I'm here to guard your back, Commander. It's just a part of the service. "
His commander managed a weak smile in return.

46 Tanya Huff
"It won't always be this awful, " Rutgar reassured him, returning to his own pallet. "Too bad in a way. If the horror of wars stayed with us, maybe we'd stop having them. "
"Maybe, " Rael agreed. And lay for a long time listening to the quiet breathing from across the tent.
So ended the Ardhan army's first day in the valley.
He had flung himself off his horse when his Half went down, not knowing he was already too late to help, and now he was trapped. The Elite were the best and he had no doubt that one man at a time he could cut his way back to the Ardhan lines. But the enemy didn't face him one man at a time, or even two or three, there were a dozen at least. And he was surrounded. Through the bars of his visor he saw the last of his comrades break free of the battle and ride up the slope of the valley. He raised his sword in a fast salute and prepared to die.
"Commander! Nicoli is... "
"I see him. " The muscles in Rael's legs trembled as he forced them away from his horse's sides, forced them away from giving the order that would send the Elite charging down to rescue their fallen comrade.
"Commander, we can... "
"No. " And although he didn't have to explain, he continued. "We couldn't reach him in time. And I will not risk more lives to save a corpse. They'd know where we're heading and be waiting for us. " A murmur ran down the line as his words were passed and a mutter ran back. Rael felt their eyes on him, but he sat straight in his saddle, clenched his jaw, and kept his gaze on Nicoli as he fell.
That night, after the day's slaughter had ended, Rael sat in the dark on his pallet seeing again the two broken suits of armor that had been retrieved from the battlefield with the other bodies. Nicoli's lips had been drawn back in a snarl. His Half had merely looked surprised.
He froze when Rutgar entered the tent and protested

CHILD OF THE GROVE 47
weakly when the armsman lit the lantern hanging from the center pole.
Rutgar made no mention of the tear tracks that marked the prince's face or of what had happened that afternoon. He merely folded long legs, sat down beside his commander, and wordlessly held out the wineskin he carried.
Rael looked at it for a moment, as if unsure of what it was or what he was to do with it, then he took it, tilted back his head and filled his mouth.
His tongue curled up, his throat spasmed, and he barely prevented himself from spraying the mouthful of wine across the tent.
"What is this stuff?" he demanded, coughing and choking.
Rutgar rescued the wineskin and took a long pull. "It's what the men drink. A little rough for the royal palate perhaps, but... " He offered it again.
Rael took it, shrugged, and drank; this time managing to relax his throat enough to swallow. He drank again, then returned it. "You may end up protecting my back from my own men, " he said at last, staring into the flickering lamplight and rubbing his palms across his checks.
"They're soldiers. Any one of them would've made the same decision. "
The wineskin made another pass.
"But they didn't make it. I did. "
"You're the commander. It was your decision to make. "
Rael reached for the wineskin. "Yes. "
"They understand that. "
"But they would've preferred a rescue. "
"Yes. "
Rael drank again. "Mother-creator, but this stuff is awful. "
"It is, " Rutgar agreed. "But it does what it has to. "
And they drank in silence until it was gone.

48 Tanya Huff
So ended the Ardhan army's second day in the valley.
"Commander, over there!"
"I see them. "
The Elite had gained the valley's edge but had left a Pair behind in the battle. As one man, they turned their gaze on Rael. The day before, a Pair had died.
This day Rael looked and smiled. "One squad, " he called to the First beside him, pulled his stallion's head around and charged back down the path he'd just cut. This Pair was close enough and one was still mounted; this Pair, he could save. At the edge of his vision he saw the armored head of Rutgar's bay and close behind he heard the thunder of a dozen heavy horses.
The Melacian position, barely recovered from the last pass, crumbled before them.
Rael rammed the point of his lance through an enemy visor, rode it free and reached the lost Pair. The downed man, Payter, was pinned beneath his horse. There was only one way to get him out. Rael kicked his feet clear of the stirrups and dropped to the ground.
Rutgar and Payter's Half stayed close while the squad began to circle their position, forming a living barricade against the Melacians.
The pike that had killed Payter's horse still stuck from its chest. It had reared and come down on the point, driving it deep into its own heart, then it had dropped like a stone, giving its rider no time to get free. His legs were trapped beneath the double weight of horse and armor.