"Will McDermott - Magic the Gathering - Odyssey Cycle 03 - Judgement" - читать интересную книгу автора (McDermott Will)

As Kamahl walked down the street, the rioters parted before him as waves part before the prow of a
ship. And like a ship cutting through the waves, Kamahl built up and make of people behind him, as the
citizens of Cabal City, who moments before had no purpose left in their lives but to finish destroying their
own city, found purpose once again in the object that had destroyed their lives.
Kamahl could hear the calls and murmurs coming from his wake.
"He has the orb."
"Challenge him for it."
"I challenge you, barbarian!"
"No, I do!"
The challenges multiplied as more people joined the wake, but Kamahl looked closely at each new
member of his entourage as he passed and felt safe. They were all shop workers, kids, and students. None
of them had the air of a jack, a pit fighter, and none seemed willing to attack.
Order patrols held back as well while the procession moved through the streets. Whether the two
privates Kamahl spared earlier had spread the word of his newfound power, or whether they merely didn't
like their odds against the growing band of angry citizens, Kamahl didn't know and didn't care. He would
much prefer to leave the city without having to wield his orb-empowered sword again.
That hope faded as Kamahl came to the hill leading up to the gate. At the top stood Bullock, a burly
dementia summoner Kamahl had seen in the pits but had never faced.
"Hail, Bullock," called Kamahl as he began up the hill.
"Stop where you are, barbarian," called Bullock. "The orb belongs to us. I challenge you in the name of
the Cabal for the orb."
"But the Cabal is no longer here," replied Kamahl, continuing his ascent up the hill.
"I am here," said Bullock. "That is all you need care about." With that, the cabalist clapped his
gauntleted fists together in front of his face and began murmuring his dementia summons.
Kamahl stopped halfway up the hill and reluctantly drew his sword. He had hoped to get closer to
Bullock before the summoning began, but that couldn't be helped now. Bullock was a devotee of Chainer's
style in the pit. He used his dementia monsters to soften up and distract an opponent, then moved into melee
for the win. But where Chainer manifested chains that he whipped around and flung with deadly accuracy,
Bullock used his fists, with the nasty addition of spikes that grew out of the gauntlets he wore.
Kamahl was more than a match for Bullock on any normal day, but he was exhausted from the fight
with Chainer and couldn't afford to let the large jack wrestle him to the ground. Better to stay at range for
now, thought Kamahl, setting his feet on the incline and holding the massive sword, glowing red-hot again, in
front of him.
Bullock spread his forearms apart in front of his face, creating a dark, roiling cloud of energy. From
that cloud sprung three large, black lions with long tentacles where their manes should be. The monstrous
felines advanced on Kamahl, spreading out to either side, their tentacles whipping back and forth.
Kamahl had seen this ploy before. The cats would encircle the jack and wrap their tentacles around
his limbs, immobilizing the fighter so Bullock could enter the fray unmolested. What Kamahl didn't know
was how long those tentacles were, a fact he learned as the first creature flung several tentacles toward
Kamahl's hands from nearly twenty feet away.
The barbarian slashed down in a circle, cutting the tentacles off at the tip. The strange feline howled,
sounding more like a wolf than a cat. The second black lion leaped high in the air, lashing its tentacles down
at Kamahl as it passed over his head. At the same time, the third creature bounded to Kamahl's left and
whipped its tentacles toward the barbarian's feet.
Kamahl reached up at the tentacles above him, letting the ropelike membranes encircle his wrist and
forearm. He pulled down hard and swung his body around, tossing the leaping cat at the creature to his left.
As the two beasts collided, Kamahl raised his sword in his other hand, sighted on the tumbling creatures and
let loose a jet of flame that engulfed both cats in a ball of fire.
The third cat landed its front paws on Kamahl's chest, slamming the barbarian onto his back and
pinning his sword arm against the ground. The barbarian could hear Bullock chuckling as he advanced on