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

kestra'chern were not early risers, given that they generally worked late into the night. No one seemed
overly tense or upset. They all greeted Amberdrake with varying degrees of respect and warmth, then
went back to their conversations. Amberdrake got himself another cup of bitteralm and a slice of bread
and a hard boiled egg, and took a seat near enough to all of them that he could listen in without being
obtrusive.
Two of the women had been having a particularly intense conversation; soon after Amberdrake
seated himself, it grew increasingly heated. He knew both of them, and neither was Kaled'a'in; one was a
robust redhead called, incongruously enough, Lily. The other, named Jaseen, was a thin, ethereal,
fragile-looking blonde who could probably have taken any man in the infantry and broken him in half
without working up a sweat.
It was Jaseen who was the angrier, it seemed, and all over a client who had been reassigned to Lily.
Amberdrake bent his head over his cup and listened, as her voice rose from a whisper to something a
great deal more public.
"I don't care where he's been assigned or who did it!" she hissed. "You don't have the background
to handle him, and I do."
"You don't have the skill!" Lily interrupted rudely. "And I do! That was why he was reassigned to
me."
"Oh, really?" Jaseen replied, her voice dripping with sweet acidity. "I suppose the ability to drive a
man into exhausted collapse is called a skill and counts more than experience!"
Lily sprang to her feet, both hands clenched into fists, and her face flushed. "Superior skill in anything
is nothing to be ashamed of!" she cried.
"Tell her, Lily," urged one of the bystanders, as another rose from his seat and moved to Jaseen's
side.
They're taking sides. It's time for me to stop this! Amberdrake got up quickly.
And just in time; Lily pulled her arm back to deliver a slap to Jaseen's cheek. Amberdrake moved
as quickly as a striking snake and grabbed her wrist before she could complete the blow.
"What are the two of you doing?" he not-quite-shouted, bringing the argument to a sudden halt. All
parties involved stared at him in shock; they had clearly forgotten that he was there.
He let go of Lily's wrist; her cheeks were scarlet with shame, and she hid both hands behind her
back. He looked from her to Jaseen and back again, making no secret of his disapproval.
"I know that the tension has gotten to everyone, but this is no way to handle it! You two are acting
precisely as our critics expect us to act!" he accused. "Don't you think that you're both being utterly
childish? Bad enough that the two of you started this—but in public, in a common mess tent! The
Healers use this tent, and what would one of them have thought if he had come in here to find you two
brawling over a client like a pair of—of—" He shook his head, unable to force himself to say the word.
Now it wasn't only Lily who was flushing; Jaseen and the two who had taken sides in the argument
had turned scarlet with humiliation as well.
Now that he had their attention, he would need to engage in a verbal dance as intricate as anything
woven by a priest or a seasoned diplomat. Somehow he must chide both of them without touching on the
tragedies that had made them kestra'chern in the first place.
"No one knows hurt and heartache like a kestra'chern," his teachers had said, "because no one
feels more pain than their own. Not so with us." There were tragic stories behind every pair of
doe-soft eyes and tears behind all the comely smiles in this camp, and no one knew that better than
Amberdrake.
"Neither of you has ever lacked for clients," he scolded. "It is not as if you are not well-sought-after!
And if you hear anyone rating you like athletes, I want to hear about it! You both have the same rank;
you differ only in your strongest characteristics. This client you argued about—he has specific needs.
Jaseen, what comes first—your own pride, or the client's well-being?"
At all costs he must never say the word "poison" around Jaseen—she had spent three years
imprisoned for poisoning her lover, only to be freed when his brother confessed that he had done it. By