"Odyssey Cycle - 02 - Chainer's Torment" - читать интересную книгу автора (McGough Scott)

"Kamahl! Are you okay?"

The barbarian waved Chainer off and dropped
the rest of the way down to the ground, trying to evade
the pollen. With his face half-buried in mulch, Kamahl
coughed the pollen out and tried to suck clear forest
air in.

Chainer hesitated. He didn't want to leave
Kamahl in the dirt, and he didn't want to face the
grendelkin without support. The huge monster took a
step forward and casually snapped the top off another
tree. It used the tree as a crude club, and it shambled
for-ward, slamming into the ground and other trees
with each step. "Poison," Kamahl choked. His eyes
were wet, but he had stopped coughing and was
struggling back to his feet. "There aren't any poisonous
plants in this part of Krosan, Chainer. We're being set
up."


Scott McGough

PROLOGUE


Just outside the walls of Cabal City, far from the
crushing waves of people and the ringing shouts in the
marketplace, the young man pressed on. He called
himself Chainer, and for the first time in a long, busy
day he was unscheduled. He picked his way through
the dwindling foot traffic, moving against the flow of
people headed into the city. As he navigated around
the last pedestrians in his path, he relished the rare
gifts of free time and solitude. Without a training
exercise to complete, an incantation to memorize, or a
schedule to keep, Chainer was determined not to be
found. He was a member of the Cabal by choice, ritual,
and oath, and the Cabal demanded much from its
initiates. His superiors would pounce on an idle boy
proclaiming, "Nothing to do? I can fix that." Chainer
hated being rewarded for good work with more work.
Rather than waiting for that inevitable hammer to fall,
Chainer ducked down an alley when no one was
looking and headed for the gates.

His pace slowed once he was clear of the city. It
had been so long since he'd had any time to himself
that he had all but forgotten how to enjoy it. He
wondered what other people did when they weren't