"Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman - Legends 02 - War Of The Twins" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weis Margaret)

slowly, in hideous aspect-starvation, disease, murder ...

War.


CHAPTER 1

A hoarse, bellowing yell of fear and horror shattered Crysania's sleep. So
sudden and awful was the yell and so deep her sleep that, for a moment, she
could not even think what had wakened her. Terrified and confused, she stared
around, trying to understand where she was, trying to discover what had
frightened her so that she could scarcely breathe.

She was lying on a damp, hard floor. Her body shook convulsively from the
chill that penetrated her bones; her teeth chattered from the cold. Holding
her breath, she sought to hear something or see something. But the darkness
around was thick and impenetrable, the silence was intense.

She let go her breath and tried to draw another, but the darkness seemed to be
stealing it away. Panic gripped her. Desperately she tried to structure the
darkness, to people it with shapes and forms. But none came to her mind. There
was only the darkness and it had no dimension. It was eternal....

Then she heard the yell again and recognized it as what had awakened her. And,
though she came near gasping in relief at the sound of another human voice,
the fear she heard in that yell echoed in her soul.

Desperately, frantically trying to penetrate the darkness, she forced herself
to think, to remember. . . .

There had been singing stones, a chanting voice -Raistlin's voice-and his arms
around her. Then the sensation of stepping into water and being carried into a
swift, vast darkness.

Raistlin! Reaching out a trembling hand, Crysania felt nothing near her but
damp, chill stone. And then memory returned with horrifying impact. Caramon
lunging at his brother with the flashing sword in his hand.... Her words as
she cast a clerical spell to protect the mage.... The sound of a sword
clanging on stone.

But that yell-it was Caramon's voice! What if he

"Raistlin!" Crysania called fearfully, struggling to her feet. Her voice
vanished, disappeared, swallowed up by the darkness. It was such a terrible
feeling that she dared not speak again. Clasping her arms about her, shivering
in the intense cold, Crysania's hand went involuntarily to the medallion of
Paladine that hung around her neck. The god's blessing flowed through her.

"Light," she whispered and, holding the medallion fast, she prayed to the god
to light the darkness.