"Thieves World - Beyond The Veil" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morris Janet E)

was no womanish whining in her voice; rather, there was a warning tone.
She was as strong as he, perhaps stronger; her stamina was unparalleled. She
played at womanhood as she played at life. As a bedmate, he found her suitable;
as a companion, she wore upon his nerves. Six months on earth was not nearly
long enough to have mellowed her.
He squeezed his knees against his mount and muttered, "Hai," to it. It reared up
on its hind legs and walked three steps, forelegs flailing, breaking her hold on
its reins and causing the second Trфs to back up rapidly.
She pouted and put her hands on her hips. His horse came down on all fours
again, and by then, she'd thought better of her behavior. "Let us start anew,
surrogate husband. I have missed you. Let us hurry to our quarters and
reacquaint our bodies with one another."
He was not through punishing her for having been taken in by the Nisibisi
archmage Datan during the summer war for Wizardwall and turning against him; she
was not yet through punishing him for the loss of her betrothed husband,
Aљkelon, lord of dreams, to Tempus's own sister, Cime. That they both enjoyed
the strife they engaged in, neither would admit—out of bed. But tonight there
was something new about Jihan, something he didn't understand—a sense of
urgency, a tension in her. "Race me to the barn,
Tempus," she called out, and the Trфs she rode lunged homeward.
She still had a half-length lead on him when they thundered into Hidden Valley
between the sheer rock walls which curved in narrowly to make an easily
defensible choke point. One could climb out of the valley other ways; one could
not ride out. Bashir, warrior-priest of Free Nisibis, had given the land to Niko
and Tempus in gratitude for their assistance in routing the Nisibisi wizards who
had long oppressed his people. They had taken it gladly; Mygdonia and Ranke
might war unto the death of both, but Bashir and his Free Nisibis would endure.
Sometimes Tempus considered throwing in with the warrior-priest permanently: the
Stepsons would settle in gleefully among the free men. As it was, they were half
at home here.
Nisibisi free men, braided sidelocks confining their long hair, lounged around
the paddocks and trained desultorily with his Stepsons, even now as the moon
neared its zenith.
Two of each sort of commando ambled over to take their horses. It was a measure
of the easy atmosphere and mutual respect at the farm that Tempus could leave
his animals to others to tend.
He slipped to the ground and caught Jihan as she slid off the blowing Trфs, rump
to horse in cavalry fashion, lowering her gently to the ground. "Come, now,
Jihan," he said, kissing her brow though he hadn't meant to. "What's the matter
with you? You're not trying. You could have beaten me by two lengths, perhaps
three."
And she melted against him as the horses were led away, so that he was very much
aware that they stood in public. She said, her words muffled against his
leathers: "It occurred to me today, alone and friendless, that I've only six
months left with you. Then what, sleepless one, will happen to me?" She raised
her head and the red flecks were muted, saddened.
"Happen to you? Whatever you choose, I'd dare say. Your father is not one to
withhold his blessings."
"What if I told you I want to stay? Be with you permanently?"
"Permanently, with me, is a very long time. You'd become bored, restless.