"Holly Lisle - Secret Texts 2 - Vengeance Of Dragons" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lisle Holly)

years earlier, had somehow comeback. He’d found himself a body, an incredible body
subtlyshaped by magic, hardened by magic the way fire hardened steel— a body worthy of
immortality. He was not yet born, but heand that wondrous body were waiting for them, already
watchful,already planning to oppose them again, standing as ever on the sideof dirt and disorder
and chaos. They would have to deal quicklywith Solander. And Luercas . . .

Luercas had been Dafril’s closest and most powerful ally athousand years earlier. He’d been a
friend and a companion; hehad shared Dafril’s dreams of their shining white city and
ofimmortality spent amid beauty, luxury, and art; he had struggledwith Dafril to save their fellow
dreamers when everything went badat the end. But when the Mirror of Souls finally woke the
hundredsit held within its Soulwell and set them free within the Veil,Luercas had vanished. And
Dafril was left wondering what hisabsence meant — whether the cold and twisted things
thatpreyed between the worlds had devoured his soul, or whether someunsuspected bitterness or
treachery had turned it against the StarCouncil. He could not believe that Luercas, ever the most
carefuland patient of souls, would carelessly allow himself to bedevoured. Which left . . .
betrayal.

Sartrig’s spirit-light darkened as the senior councillorbrought himself to the fore. I have a
problem. I have chosen amarvelous avatar — a young Wolf named Ry Sabir — apowerful, well-
bred man with training in magic and a body shaped bymagic. But he has some knowledge of
blocking and shielding, and hefights my direct influence at every turn. As long as he believes
meto be the spirit of his dead brother, he at least considers mycouncil. But he is most intractable
and strong. When the momentcomes, I don’t know that I will be able to penetrate his magicto . . .
lead him.

Dafril felt the fear behind Sartrig’s remark and its echoesshivered through his own soul. Men and
women in this new time andnew place were not all purely human — an interesting result offallout
from the last weapons in the final exchange between hispeople and the Falcons. He and his
companions had just barelymissed seeing the first fruits of that fallout, he suspected. Athousand
years had honed the changed people — the people theCalimekkans called the Scarred — into a
host of lovelyspecies; some of the specimens in this new time offered options hehad never
imagined a thousand years earlier. His preferredavatar was a young woman named Kait
Galweigh, a strong, beautifulgirl of high birth with an interesting twist. She was askinshifter,
thereby possessing a talent he found irresistible. Shewas well thought of, had the necessary
connections toCalimekka’s ruling factions, and had for some time beenwilling — even eager —
to listen to his advice, believingthat she heard a long-deceased ancestor when he spoke to her.

But she had become increasingly suspicious in the last weeks,after falling in with unfortunate
companions who had introduced herto magical training which allowed her to block out
hispresence.

He had therefore chosen a backup for his preferred avatar.Exquisite little beast though Kait was,
he had accepted the factthat she might be out of his reach when the great moment arrived.So his
second choice was another of those marvelous skinshifters— a powerful wizard who had friends
in useful places, and whowas as beautiful as Kait. To his detriment, he was not as young.
Hewasn’t female, either, and Dafril had been fascinated by theidea of femaleness. He was also
cruel, and known for perversions ofa sort that Dafril found disgusting. And he had enemies. But
Dafrilhad decided that he could cope with Crispin Sabir’s drawbacksif Kait failed to work out.

Another fact made Crispin interesting to Dafril, though itwasn’t something he yet knew how to