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.Theflag-bearer laughed, backed by sudden ugly silence.The halberd's steel-shod buttcarved arcs in the air as the guardsman raised his weapon for a second blow, thena third.Emien shrank in distaste from his place at Tathagres' side.He barely heard thereply which emerged half-strangled from the Kielmark's throat.The Kingresponded with evident displeasure.Chain clanked.The halberdier closed oncemore, and fresh blood spangled the floor.The play of petty emotion across the royal countenance raised hackles on Emien'sneck.In all probability the flag-bearer had told the truth; but in vindication forpast dishonor, the King was unwilling to quit.The boy felt his stomach twist;aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rlinked with revulsion came cold fear that one day the man in chains would behimself.Harrowed by vivid imagination, he saw accusers lined up to condemnhim, his drowned father closely followed by mother, sister and the sailors he hadabused on Crow's pinnace.Beyond stood four deckhands sold to the galleys onSkane's Edge; these were joined by the King's youngest page boy and a fat leeringguardsman he had cheated into subservience at cards.Each blow that fell uponthe Kiel-mark made Emien flinch and sweat.The officers soon tired of the sport.Only the King remained unsatisfied.Theabuse continued, ascending in violence until furnishings rocked and scatteredbefore the halberdier's obedient enthusiasm.Repelled to the verge of nausea,Emien pressed his palms to his face.And spurred by her squire's discomfort,Tathagres stood up.Light from the windows sparkled over white mail as she picked her way aroundthe overturned rungs of a chair."Your Grace, the prisoner is no longer a threat toour position.The Thienz assures it.And with the Kielmark hostage, any captainswho remain loyal can be controlled.The Gierj will gain you ships in time, but notif you waste the opportunity."The halberdier straightened over the Kielmark's sagging form, uncertain.At last,with a wave of bored acquiescence, the King ordered the sovereign of Cliffhavenremoved to the east keep dungeon.The victim staggered badly as the soldiers dragged him from the hall.Shocked byhis halting progress, Emien squeezed his eyes closed.A steward mounted the daiswith a tray of wine and poured glasses in celebration of the victory.The Warlord-General issued orders to complete occupation of the fortress.The flag-bearervolunteered to close the boom across the harbor; he left with a junior officer andtwo guardsmen.The remaining troops were dispatched, some under orders tosearch the town and a few to stand watch in the anteroom.Boots tramped acrossrumpled carpeting and a blood-spattered expanse of marble with casualdisregard; the Kielmark's legendary might was broken.His conquerors answeredorders with a cheerful swagger, certain of fame and spoils.Once the light tower was manned and the town proved deserted, servants arrivedand straightened the disarranged furnishings.Emien paid little notice.Concerned with his own thoughts, he lingered when the Thienz was summoned.While the Warlord-General, Lord Sholl and Tathagres seated themselves on thedais with the officers to conduct their council of conquest, the fisherman's sonfrom Imrill Kand watched on the sidelines, plotting his mistress' downfall.Motionless where he had fallen when the guards flung him through the door, theKielmark sprawled face down in the same stone cell where he had latelyimprisoned Jaric.Bruised, bloodied, beaten, he did not budge, even to ask forwater.The King's guardsmen secured his chains and locked the door.Gloatingover his defeat, they left him in darkness without bothering to post any sentry.An hour passed, then two.Metal scraped faintly beneath the floor.A length offlagstone shifted, raised, and a stealthy whisper issued from a tunnel beneath."Lord?"Chain rattled as the Kielmark stirred.He turned his head and spoke throughcracked lips."No guard.""Fires!" said the man in the hole."They're fools, then."aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rThe Kielmark offered no comment.Eager hands levered the stone aside and aman emerged, blindly drawing candle and striker from a pouch at his belt.Lightbloomed beneath his fingers, revealing the intent features of the man who hadplayed the flute in the courtyard.Still reeking of ale, one of the dancers climbedout after him, armed to the teeth and dangerously sober.He drew a key from histunic, bent over the Kielmark and swiftly unlocked the fetters.Crusted cuffs fell open.In slow painful stages, the Kielmark rolled over.Hisexpression hid very little.Cliffhaven's two wiliest captains looked on with concernand wisely offered no assistance as he sat up.Even by the weak flicker of candle-flame, they could see things had gone badly.The Kielmark's ribs and shoulderswere crisscrossed with mottled welts; his back was little better.To touch even inkindness would only increase his discomfort.One of the captains swore.The Kielmark looked up.His eyes shone baleful and pale beneath eyebrowsmatted with dried blood."Did the signal arrive from the straits?"The flute player raked dirt-streaked fingers through his hair."Nine dead, a scoreand four with burns major and minor and the rest of the lot lying about in thebrush, croaking like frogs, their throats left raw from screaming.But watching,they said, for your banner in the tower." He paused, suddenly contrite."Are yourribs intact? You weren't exactly acting after the bit with the flagpole.Corley sayshe only followed orders, Lord, but there's a wager going round that you'll breakboth his legs."The Kielmark grunted.Split lips parted across his teeth."I'll settle for theKingsmen's heads," he said bluntly."On with it, then."He pinched out the candle.Darkness dropped, hiding his suffering through aterrible interval while the captains lowered him into the tunnel.Beneath the high vaulted arches of Cliffhaven's great hall, the Thienz coughedthrough its gills.It leaped to its feet with a shrill scream of warning and suddenlystaggered, a crossbow quarrel bristling from its throat.Knocked backwards by theimpact it fell, smashing through the rungs of an ivory-inlaid globe stand.Keithland rolled across the rug and the chamber erupted into chaos."Treachery!" shouted Lord Sholl.He dove behind his stout oaken chair just as thetapestries slithered into heaps, revealing arrowslits cut through the stone wallsbehind.A storm of shafts flickered past the arched windows.The royal chiefadvisor rammed face-first into oak, pinned by an arrow through his back.TheGrand Warlord-General slipped to the floor beside him, his mouth stretched widein surprise.The advisor's flesh crumpled before his eyes, melting into a form notrecognizable as human; but sorcery blazed above the dais, dazzling his visionbefore the change was complete.He died still wondering whether a demon hadshared his salt.Shielded by the crackling blaze of Tathagres' conjuring, Emien crouched in terror,while on the dais around him the royal council members slumped in their seats,struck down by enemy arrows.Since the Thienz' first cry, his mistress had leapedto her feet, her hands clenched over the band at her throat.She raised a cracklingarch of light over the King.Any shaft which touched it exploded into sparks.Butthe rest of the arrows hissed to their marks with grisly accuracy; in seconds,Emien, Kisburn and Tathagres became the sole survivors amid a slaughteredaaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]