"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Bifrost 03 - Dragonrank Master" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

hand and spread his thumb and forefinger slightly.
The Norsemen howled.

Shocked by his companions' levity, Taziar whirled. His face flushed scarlet. A month in a village without
cruelty had made him careless. He had forgotten the heated pain of ridicule.

Gradually, the Norsemen's laughter subsided. Bothi gasped for breath. "Little dolt calls theBifrostBridge
a rainbow.'' This inspired a fresh wave of mirth at Taziar's expense.

Taziar scowled. His gaze followed the perfect sweep of the rainbow bridge. In his youth, he had run with
a gang of street orphans. The experience had ingrained the need to preserve self-dignity, to remain
collected and in control at all times.To lose face before a group of unforgiving rogues was to become
outcast, to lose the shared companionship, food, and plunder, and, perhaps, to lose one's life. Taziar's
slightness had made him even more sensitive to humiliation. Now, he struggled to regain his composure
and the Vikings' respect. "Bridge?" he asked, hoping the brevity of his question would keep him from
sacrificing the Norsemen's attention to another round of searing laughter.

Hamar fought a smile. "The Bifrost links our man world, Midgard, with Asgard, the realm of gods." He
fidgeted. "Let's go now. I think we've paused here long enough."

Taziar chewed his lip, intrigued by Hamar's obvious discomfort. Suddenly, the promise of adventure
beckoned, reminding him of past feats which had earned him his pseudonym and his reputation: the
boasts of youthful companions which inspired him to climb the highest, slickest walls architects could
design; the theft of the greatest artifact of the baron's church which condemned him to Cullinsberg's
dungeon, brutal torture, and a sentence of execution; and the lure of the impenetrable Dragonrank school
grounds. "What's it like across the bridge?"

Kolbyr stared incredulously."Across it?"

Bothi's voice acquired a patronizing tone. "You call yourself a climber, Shadow. Why don't you find
out?" He smirked, glancing at his companions for encouragement, but the other Vikings became strangely
silent.

Hamar seized Bothi's forearm with a hand as large and furred as a bear's paw. His gray eyes went cold
and all amusement left them. "We're here to spend Shadow's money, not get him killed by gods." He
addressed Taziar directly. "You can't cross theBifrostBridge . No mortal can."

Excitement coursed through Taziar. As he had so many times before, he accepted Kolbyr's dismissal as
a challenge. Boldly, he approached the end of the rainbow and laid a hand on the blue-hued upper band.
It swayed beneath his touch, but its substance felt real and solid, like a thinly hammered strip of steel. "It
seems firm enough."

A lofty shout of indignation suffixed Taziar's assessment. He turned. The Vikings were staring up the
colored bands, their pallid faces etched with horror.What could be terrible enough to frighten battle-mad
pirates ? Apprehension prickled the edges of Taziar's consciousness. He followed the direction of his
companions' gazes. A huge figure shuffled toward them on theBifrostBridge ; distance blurred it to a
moving mass of whiteness. The rainbow shivered beneath each footfall. "Who?" asked Taziar carefully,
his gaze locked on the approachingform.

Kolbyr inched forward and clamped fear-rigid fingers on Taziar's forearm. "Heimdallr," he whispered.