"Mercedes Lackey - Bards Tale - 04 - Castle of Deception" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

"Bless you, child, how old do you think I am? That
was a good thirty years ago! I was a chick myself back
then, much younger than you." She paused thought-
fully. "But I do remember all the celebrating. My, yes!
Everyone couldn't stop chattering about how it had
been a Bard, your Bard, who'd used his magical songs
o> stop that witch ofa would-be usurper."

"Princess Cariotta."

"Oh. she might have been a princess, the nasty tittle
creature, but she was a sorceress, all right, dark-
hearted as they come! She turned our good king into
stone - stone, can you imagine that! And if it hadn't
been for Master Aidan, stone. King Amber would have
remained. Bah! Good riddance to her, I say - and all
praise to Master Aidan for stopping her."

Kevin sighed. "That must have been a wonderful
time.... **

"Wonderful! Those were the most dangerous days
nobody ever wanted! And 1 don't blame your Master
for coming here after it was all over. If anyone ever
earned some peace and quiet, it was he!"

That wasn't what Kevin wanted to hear. At first every
day with his Master had seemed wild with excitement
After all, with a hero Bard to teach him, why shouldn't
he, too, do great deeds someday! But it hadn't taken
long to learn that his Master had, somewhere over the
years, forgotten all about heroism.

CASTLE OF DECEPTION

"Ada, you've lived here in Bracklin all your life,
haven't you?"

"You know it. Never left this town. Never saw any
need toF

"But don't you ever want to meet new people?"

"I do! Enough travellers come into the inn for that.**

"That's not what I mean. Don't you ever get bored?
Want to see new places, do new things?"

Ada looked at him as though he'd gone mad. "Why