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

But much had changed; mage-created hot springs required an enormous expenditure of magical energy,
and that was now a luxury no one could afford.
The war tried to eat up everything in its path. For Amberdrake and those who supported the
warriors, it was the war they fought, not the army, spells, and makaar. This was the way many of the
warriors saw it, too—saw war as a natural enemy, to be dealt with firmly and then put behind you. But
war's devouring power was why Urtho had tried to avoid it for so long—why he had successfully
avoided it until it came to his very doorstep. Folk from northern climes referred to the people of the
South as "civilized"; it had little to do with their technologies and powers, but far more with their
philosophy—and they were as pragmatic as they might be idealistic. When Ma'ar's army threatened at
the border, opposition was there to meet it.
That was why Amberdrake's services, which in peacetime would have been divided between the
wealthiest of outsiders and the needs of his own people, had been volunteered to be the reward for
heroes....
And as the very expensive indulgence for those whose egos demanded the best.
That thought brought him uncomfortably right back to that merc mage, a man whose cold soul he
had been unable to warm. Most of the mages in Urtho's forces were there because they felt Urtho's
cause was right, or because they honored Urtho as one of the greatest Adepts ever born and hoped to
be able to learn from him as they helped to defend his land. Or simply because they hated Ma'ar, or their
own lands or overlords had been destroyed by the rapacious conqueror. Few fought in this army simply
for the money.
This man, Conn Levas, was one who seemed to care only about the money. He had few friends and
few interests outside his own skill and power. He was, in fact, one of the most monofocused people
Amberdrake had ever seen: a narcissist to a high degree. Everything for him was centered around how he
could increase his personal wealth and prestige. To him, the war was a convenient way to do that. Urtho
was the master to serve because Urtho gave his mages much more autonomy and better rewards than
Ma'ar.
Still, it was that kind of focus that made the hunting beasts of the world so successful, so perhaps he
shouldn't be faulted for it. But how a Kaled'a'in woman had ever become his lover, Amberdrake could
not guess.
Levas had at least admitted that his own coldness was a part of why this Winterhart was
disenchanted with him. Amberdrake had the feeling that such an admission that anything was due to
personal fault was a major concession.
Disenchanted... now there was a thought. Could this mage have worked a beglamorment on the
woman? He couldn't have used a stronger spell, since other mages would have noticed, but a
beglamorment, at the right time, would have made him what she most wanted to see. She could have
found her way into his bed long before she realized he wasn't what she had thought. To have a Kaled'a'in
lover was considered a coup by some mercs in Urtho's forces; to have a Healer as a lover even more so.
She might represent just another symbol of success to be acquired. And—
Why was he worrying about her! He didn't even know her, only that her name sounded Kaled'a'in.
She might not be Kaled'a'in at all; there were others who took on colorful names or were given them at
birth. For that matter, why was he worrying about Conn Levas? The man had gotten good and ample
service for his money. He was unlikely to return, given his uneasiness with Amberdrake's probing
questions; Amberdrake knew the merc had been disturbed by how much he had revealed. Well. The
service he'd rendered was easy enough, even by kestra'chern standards. Still....
If you worry about every man and woman in the army, you'll tie yourself up in knots for no
good reason, he told himself. You're making things up out of nothing, then worrying about them.
You've never even seen this Healer Winterhart. Why work yourself into a headache?
Oh, he knew why he was worrying about them; it was to keep from worrying about Skan.
As if he didn't have enough to worry about already.