"Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon - Mage Wars 01 - The Black Gryphon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

you?" he asked, just to set the record straight. If all the man wanted was exhausting exercise, let him go
elsewhere for it.
Amberdrake was massaging the man's feet, using pressure and heat to ease twinges all through the
body, without resorting to any actual Healing powers. Amberdrake had detractors who thought he
worked less because of his power to Heal flesh and soothe nerves. His predecessors had used purely
physical, learned skills—like this massage—for generations, driven by sharp senses and a clear mind. In
his role as kestra'chern, he used his Healing gifts only when more "conventional" skills were ineffective.
Still, one did complement the other, and he would use the whole of his abilities if a client warranted it. So
far, though, this merc hadn't warranted it; he hadn't even warranted the kind of services he would get
from a perchi. This was still at the level of banter-and-pose.
"Well... urrgh... I'd heard that—" He said it as if he hadn't quite believed it.
"If you aren't satisfied with that, I can suggest the name of a perchi or two, accustomed to those of
rank," Amberdrake ventured. There was no point in having the man angry; he was paying for expensive
treatment, and if he felt he hadn't gotten his money's worth, he might attempt to make trouble.
"What you do... ah... isn't important now, is it?" the mage replied shrewdly. "It's what Winterhart
thought you did. You are required to keep this confidential, that much I know, so I'll let her use her
imagination. It'll probably be more colorful anyway."
Amberdrake was tempted at that point to send the man away. He was right; what he was planning
was also very cruel to his lover.
Assuming she didn't deserve it; she might. He could have no way of knowing.
Amberdrake sighed. There was still his professional pride. He decided to give the man his money's
worth—and to make certain that, as it progressed, as little of it as possible was what the client had
anticipated.




Three
"I hope that's all for tonight, Gesten," Amberdrake said, as the curtain dropped behind him. He
rubbed the side of his nose with his knuckle and sighed. "I'm exhausted. That last client wanted a
soft-hammer-massage and an argument. Roster indicated a gentle counseling session."
"That's all you've got for the night," Gesten replied, a bit smugly. "The last two made up for all the
clients you canceled this morning, since they were straight-pay and not reward-chits. I'd have warned
you if I'd known about the last. He didn't say anything about the hammers; I'd have had them warmed
and ready for you if I'd known. He was pretty closemouthed."
"I'm not complaining. You'd probably have sent him elsewhere if he had said anything; I'm certain he
would have made it into an insult somehow." Amberdrake didn't elaborate. The last two clients had been,
to be charitable, annoying. And since Gesten always discreetly monitored the workroom, he was
probably well aware of that. The hertasi simply laid out a clean sleeping robe, simple and unadorned
(unlike the robes Amberdrake wore for his clients), and uncovered a plate of army-bread and cheese.
Few delicacies appeared in the hands of Urtho's folk these days, even for those who could afford them;
the ones Amberdrake got his hands on he reserved for his clients who often responded well to gustatory
pampering. Rumor had it that Urtho himself had given up his favorite treats. One thing there was no
shortage of, at least, was water. There was a hot bath waiting in the corner, steam rising invitingly from
the frame-and-skin tub.
"Thank you, Gesten," he said with genuine appreciation.
Amberdrake stripped off his sweat-dampened silks and slipped into the bath, wincing a little at the
heat. He was going to look as if he'd been boiled in a few minutes, but it would be worth it to relax his
muscles. He recalled, as from a distant past, that before they had packed up their families and herds and
moved here, the Kaled'a'in had created hot springs where they settled, if there were none there already.