"Robert Jordan - Conan The Indomitable" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jordan Robert)

Blue iron met pike wood and sheared it, continuing on to carve bloody canyons through leather armor.
Conan's mighty arms drove the weapon he bore, gutting one man, removing another's head, driving all
before the Cimmerian whirlwind. Before they could gather their wits, four of the five pikemen were
down, one by Elashi's stone, the others by courtesy of Conan's blade.

The fifth pikeman deemed it wise to change occupations at that moment, to that of a fleet-footed
messenger; he ran, dropping his pike to attain yet more speed. For an instant Conan considered
retrieving one of the fallen pikes to use as a spear against the fleeing man, but decided that dealing with
the leader was more important. As he turned, however, the rider managed to recapture the horse.
Flinging itself onto the saddle, the leader of the bandits spurred the animal, which bolted straight at
Conan.

The Cimmerian dodged, swiping at the rider, but the figure leaned away from the sword's arc and Conan
cut nothing more than air. The force of the slash spun the young Cimmerian off balance. In a heartbeat,
horse and rider were past, moving too swiftly for Conan to recover in time to give chase.

Conan watched the retreating figures of pike-man and rider. Came the rider's call: "I'll have your sword
yet, barbarian!"

Conan, shook his head. Why would anyone be willing to risk death for a sword of uncertain worth? In
fact, while the blued-iron weapon was of good quality and quite serviceable, it had no intrinsic value. The
handle was plain and leather-wrapped, not bejeweled or carved ivory, and the guard was merely a single
bar of thick brass. The strange bandit leader must be mad.

Elashi approached, brushing dirt from her cloak.

"Are you injured?" Conan asked.

"Nay." She finished her cloak dusting and looked at Conan askance. "You let two of them escape."

He could not suppress a surprised grunt. "You never mentioned that you desert dwellers drank blood."

"Little point in leaving a job half accomplished," she said. "I suppose there's nothing to be done for it. Let
us examine the corpses."

"Examine them? Why?"

She regarded him as she might a simpleminded child. "And you intend to become a thief? For valuables,
of course."

Conan nodded at this. For once she had a point. But even as he rifled the sparse purses of the fallen
bandits, the question of why they had attacked continued to plague him. And the man-woman's retreating
threat to have his sword—what was that all about?

Well, he would pay it no more mind. It was finished and done with, and like as not, he had seen the last
of that odd personage.


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