"Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon - Valdemar - Darians Tale 03 - Owlknight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

And Darian was not about to offer the confused ones any kind of explanation. Not
then. Not ever.

Two

As soon as the meeting was over, Darian was co-opted by Starfall and Ayshen. He?d
expected it; the burden of planning for this celebration would fall on Ayshen?s
shoulders, with Starfall handling the rest of the details. Ayshen had no more
notion of what would serve to ?honor? a Herald than a fish would know how to
honor a bird. Starfall had worked with Heralds, but had only a sketchy grasp of
what one would expect socially.

Darian was used to the appearance of the hertasi after all these years, but he
took a moment to consider what the Herald?s reaction might be. Ayshen was a
typical specimen of his race; he came to just about chest-high on a human; his
blunt, lizardlike head boasted a formidable set of teeth, a rounded cranium, and
eyes set so that he had binocular vision, like an owl or a human. His tough hide,
covered with pebble-scales, was a healthy blue-gray. His stubby hands and feet
had talons that he had used to good effect in the past. What would Herald Anda
make of all that - when the owner of these attributes was also the chief cook
for k?Valdemar?

Shandi will have warned him, he reminded himself. Besides, anybody who partners
with a talking horse shouldn?t look crosswise at a talking lizard - especially
if he wants second helpings.

So Darian allowed himself to be dragged off to Ayshen?s little ?den? - a quasi-office
space behind the main kitchens, from which he ruled over all things domestic in
k?Valdemar. He had maps and models of the entire Vale, with a complex of hertasi
tunnels marked out in pale blue - for, like a good general, Ayshen kept careful
track of the terrain. His offices had been built, along with the rest of the
kitchens, from rock dug from the cliffs. Those who live intimately with forests
are uniquely conscious of the devouring power of fire, and there was as little
that was flammable in the kitchens as was possible. Water, flour, and sand were
near at hand in the event they would be needed to smother any errant flame. The
chief piece of furniture was Ayshen?s desk; low, and suited to his size. Besides
Ayshen?s desk chair, there were three adjustable stools with hinged seat backs;
Starfall and Darian each took one, revolving it until it was comfortable for
them to use.

Not that it was any hardship to be ensconced in the hertasi den. Though the
aromas of the evening?s supper offerings mingled into a single mouthwatering
perfume that would have driven a hungry man mad, Starfall and Darian were not
left for a moment to suffer that particular torture. They hadn?t even sat down
before hertasi came out of the kitchen bearing platters of their particular
favorites, all the tastier for being fresh from the cookstove and oven.

It?s a good thing that Tayledras live in trees, Darian thought, as he juggled a
hot filled pastry from hand to hand until it cooled. Otherwise we?d all be as