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

his ruin. Noweach of them looked at him with some variation on the same theme— curiosity
mixed with a tinge of avarice and a hint ofexcitement . . . and a pinch of fear. He
especiallynoticed Crispin Sabir’s eyes — eager, fascinated,watchful. The eyes of a man ready to
grasp any advantage and makeit work for him.

Best play to the excitement first.

“About our opportunity . . . well, no one hasdiscovered a new city of the Ancients in any of our
lifetimes.Until now. A member of the Calimekkan branch of the Galweigh Familychartered a
ship with money she stole from the Goft treasury, andacting on information that she stole from
archives in the GoftHouse, sailed east. She was successful in locating the city shesought.” He
leaned forward, resting his palms on thetable.

One young Sabir woman looked stunned that he would admit to thediscovery of such a treasure
by his own Family, even if by Familyacting without official sanction. Had he kept secret the fact
thatKait had gone off on her own, the Galweighs would have hadunquestioned claim. A few
members of Shaid’s own delegationappeared surprised and uneasy that he was being so
forthright.After all, with those few words he’d abolished the Galweighrights to the claim, leaving
it solely Kait’s if she lived andthrowing it into the hands of the strongest taker if she died.

He had also, however, shown himself willing to be brutallyhonest. He thought an appearance of
absolute honesty made for thebest negotiating, and had long ago learned that giving an enemy
aconcession up front so often shocked him that he thereafter wasless cautious in his dealings.

“We have . . . spies . . . who havebeen watching this young woman’s movements closely.
She’sfound an artifact of enormous importance. We suspect, though wecannot be absolutely
certain, that it is the Mirror ofSouls.”

He heard a gratifying number of gasps. Not from either Crispinor Grasmir Sabir. Of course not.
Their Wolves would keep them aswell informed of the situation as Shaid’s Wolves kept him.

“From what we can determine in our archives, the Mirror ofSouls would be an excellent tool in
the hands of friends, but adevastating weapon in the hands of enemies. Kait Galweigh, thefinder
of this artifact, has made herself the enemy of Goft House.Because she stole both money and
information from us to acquire theMirror, we can make a strong claim to it, and to the ruins in
whichshe found it. We want that Mirror. For your assistance in theMirror’s recovery and for an
uncontested claim to it, we offeryou half the ruins. Further, we offer our expertise and
assistancein getting the one thing the Sabir Family most desires.”

Crispin Sabir laughed softly and asked, “What exactly dothe Goft Galweighs imagine the
Calimekkan Sabirs want most in theworld?”
Shaid stood up straight and met the question with a calm smile.“Galweigh House. Controlling it
would give the Sabir Familythe entire city of Calimekka. The Goft Galweighs will give
youuncontested claim to the House and its contents. Of course,we’ll expect you to . . . ah, clear
your claim byeliminating any members of the Calimekkan Galweighs who survivedyour last
attempt to win the House.”

For one long moment, the silence in the room weighed enough tocrack the stone walls of the
great hall. Then all around the table,Sabirs exploded with questions.