[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Ser Noris changed.
His mouth gapes in a silent scream, his body writhes, his skin darkens,
roughens, cracks, turns fibrous and coarse. Eyes, mouth, all features,
dissolve into the skin, vanish. His head elongates, bifurcates, the portions
spread apart and grow upward, dividing again and again. His arms strain up and
out, stretching and thinning, his fingers split into his palms, grow out and
out, whiplike branches in delicate fans, twigs grow from the branches, buds
popping out from them, the buds unfolding into new green needle sprays.
Serroi changes, her body echoing everything happening in his.
The cliff cracks, shatters, great shards of stone rumbling into the valley, an
unstable ramp bathed in dust that billows up and up, drawn to the glowing,
changing giants, shrouding them.
When the dust settled, the giants were gone. Two trees grew at the edge of the
broken cliff, a tall ancient conifer, a shorter, more delicate lacewood.
A hush spread across the valley, a hush that caught mercenaries, exiles,
mijlockers, meien, everyone, and held them for a dozen breaths, long enough
for them to become aware of that stillness, to notice that the glass dragons
had vanished, the sky was empty.
26
Ignoring the hush, the Kulaan closed around Nekaz Kole; two tossed a third up
behind him, another trio dealt with the Nor. Before Kole could react, a
skinning knife slid into him, piercing his heart. The Kual pushed him from the
saddle and jumped after him. The Nor was down also, dead before he could know
he was dying, so tangled was he in the battle on the cliff.
Without breaking their silence, the Kulaan started briskly away, one Kual
leading the gold rambut. They didn t touch the demon macai.
The beast stood frozen, locked into place by the meta-morphosis of its
creator, Ser Noris. Locked into place and beginning to rot, the demon essence
coming loose from the natural part. Before the Kulaan had vanished into the
brush, the skin and bones collapsed out of the smoky black outlines. A breath
later, the demon residue faded, vanished.
27
Warmth followed the hush across the valley, visible in eddies of golden light
spilling over the walls, flooding over the army, waking the men from their
daze, prodding them into movement, urging them away from the valley. The
Ogogehians snapped into alertness, found Nekaz Kole dead, the norits dazed and
helpless. They split into small groups, rifled the supply wagons and marched
away, the Shawar shooing them on until they started down from the saddle of
the pass.
They crossed the foot of the Plain, made their way through the Kotsila Pass
and descended on Sankoy like a swarm of starving rats, looting and killing,
working off their fury and shame at their defeat, paying themselves for the
gold they d never collect. They trickled into the several port cities,
commandeered sufficient shipping and went home.
The Sankoise were slower to understand and react, but the unleashed Shawar
nudged them from their lethargy and into movement. They began drifting away
from their camps, abandoning much of their equipment, some of them even
ignoring their mounts, moving slowly almost numbly at first, then faster and
faster until they were running. They settled to a more conserving gait when
they passed beyond the reach of the golden warmth, but they were a ragged,
weary, starving remnant by the time they crossed Kotsila Pass and straggled
down to a homeland in chaos with no time and less will to welcome them.
Page 164
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Few of the dedicated Followers were left on their feet, most were laid in the
mud; those that survived huddled in dazed groups about the mindless norits.
But the others, the tie-conscripts there because they had no choice, they
needed no urging to leave. They followed the Ogogehians over the supply
wagons, carrying off all they could stuff in improvised packs. They went home
to starvation and raids from human wolves, young men roaming the Plain
attack-ing anything that seemed vulnerable; they went home to a guarded
welcome as chill as the winter winds sweeping the Plain, a welcome that warmed
considerably when they joined the folk inside the walls, added the food they
brought to the common store and helped fight off the raiders through the rest
of the winter.
(Hern ranged the land with a motorized force of meien and exiles, gradually
restoring order, bringing isolated set-tlements into the common fold, passing
out the rescued grain.)
28
Tuli crowed with pleasure as Ildas plumped out and began vibrating with his
contented coo. Cradling him against her ribs she got to her feet and moved to
stand beside Coperic.
He was staring at the patch of green on the top of the ruined cliff, strain in
his face and body as he fought to deal with the loss of a friend and perhaps
more than friend. Tuli watched, angry again, jealous, wanting to strike at him
for the hurt he was giving her. She remembered how much she needed him and
kept a hold on her temper and her mouth so she wouldn t say or do anything
she d regret later.
Coperic sighed as he relaxed. He put his hand on Tuli s shoulder. Looks like
it s over.
Uh-huh. Kole s dead.
I saw. He lifted a hand, squinted against the gilded light pouring like
water over the wall, washing over the army. Rats are running for their holes.
Time we was leaving too. Bella.
She stepped away from him and stood watching as he talked rapidly with the
others, sending them out to scavenge food, mounts and anything that seemed
useful. After a frown at Tuli that told her to stay put, he left. For a while
she stood watching the army break apart and won-dering what was happening
inside the wall, then she set-tled herself on a bit of withered grass and
arranged Ildas comfortably in her lap, and began brooding over her fu-ture.
Coperic probably expected her to come back to Oras with him, and she was
probably going to go. It looked like the best choice if she could make him
keep her and not send her home to her father. She frowned at the wall,
thinking about the swarm of girls inside. Maybe she could have grown used to
all that if she d stayed there. What had Tuli-then thought? She tried to
remember. It was only what? two-three passages ago. Too much had happened
since. She couldn t bring that girl back, she was just gone, that was all. And
it didn t matter anyway. She scratched absently along the fireborn s elastic
spine and thought about staying at the Biserica for weapon training. Rane
wanted that. The ex-meie wanted Tuli to take over her run, and the idea
appealed to her. Trouble was she couldn t go out right away, she d have to
spend a bunch of years being trained. A great wave of resistance rose in her.
All those girls, tie-girls, tar-girls, strangers from all over, she didn t
like them any better now than she had when she was growing up at Gradintar or
forced to mix with them up in Haven. The thought of having to live in a herd
of them churned her stomach and soured her mouth. She couldn t do it.
Giggling, stupid, supercilious girls. No! Maybe if she went back when she was
older. She thought about what she didn t want. She didn t want to marry
anyone; and she d probably have to if she went back with her family. She
didn t want to go back and be shut behind house walls like most mijloc women,
tar-women anyway, doing the women s work she despised. She didn t want to be
shut behind Biserica walls either, living by Biserica rules. At least Coperic [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
Ser Noris changed.
His mouth gapes in a silent scream, his body writhes, his skin darkens,
roughens, cracks, turns fibrous and coarse. Eyes, mouth, all features,
dissolve into the skin, vanish. His head elongates, bifurcates, the portions
spread apart and grow upward, dividing again and again. His arms strain up and
out, stretching and thinning, his fingers split into his palms, grow out and
out, whiplike branches in delicate fans, twigs grow from the branches, buds
popping out from them, the buds unfolding into new green needle sprays.
Serroi changes, her body echoing everything happening in his.
The cliff cracks, shatters, great shards of stone rumbling into the valley, an
unstable ramp bathed in dust that billows up and up, drawn to the glowing,
changing giants, shrouding them.
When the dust settled, the giants were gone. Two trees grew at the edge of the
broken cliff, a tall ancient conifer, a shorter, more delicate lacewood.
A hush spread across the valley, a hush that caught mercenaries, exiles,
mijlockers, meien, everyone, and held them for a dozen breaths, long enough
for them to become aware of that stillness, to notice that the glass dragons
had vanished, the sky was empty.
26
Ignoring the hush, the Kulaan closed around Nekaz Kole; two tossed a third up
behind him, another trio dealt with the Nor. Before Kole could react, a
skinning knife slid into him, piercing his heart. The Kual pushed him from the
saddle and jumped after him. The Nor was down also, dead before he could know
he was dying, so tangled was he in the battle on the cliff.
Without breaking their silence, the Kulaan started briskly away, one Kual
leading the gold rambut. They didn t touch the demon macai.
The beast stood frozen, locked into place by the meta-morphosis of its
creator, Ser Noris. Locked into place and beginning to rot, the demon essence
coming loose from the natural part. Before the Kulaan had vanished into the
brush, the skin and bones collapsed out of the smoky black outlines. A breath
later, the demon residue faded, vanished.
27
Warmth followed the hush across the valley, visible in eddies of golden light
spilling over the walls, flooding over the army, waking the men from their
daze, prodding them into movement, urging them away from the valley. The
Ogogehians snapped into alertness, found Nekaz Kole dead, the norits dazed and
helpless. They split into small groups, rifled the supply wagons and marched
away, the Shawar shooing them on until they started down from the saddle of
the pass.
They crossed the foot of the Plain, made their way through the Kotsila Pass
and descended on Sankoy like a swarm of starving rats, looting and killing,
working off their fury and shame at their defeat, paying themselves for the
gold they d never collect. They trickled into the several port cities,
commandeered sufficient shipping and went home.
The Sankoise were slower to understand and react, but the unleashed Shawar
nudged them from their lethargy and into movement. They began drifting away
from their camps, abandoning much of their equipment, some of them even
ignoring their mounts, moving slowly almost numbly at first, then faster and
faster until they were running. They settled to a more conserving gait when
they passed beyond the reach of the golden warmth, but they were a ragged,
weary, starving remnant by the time they crossed Kotsila Pass and straggled
down to a homeland in chaos with no time and less will to welcome them.
Page 164
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Few of the dedicated Followers were left on their feet, most were laid in the
mud; those that survived huddled in dazed groups about the mindless norits.
But the others, the tie-conscripts there because they had no choice, they
needed no urging to leave. They followed the Ogogehians over the supply
wagons, carrying off all they could stuff in improvised packs. They went home
to starvation and raids from human wolves, young men roaming the Plain
attack-ing anything that seemed vulnerable; they went home to a guarded
welcome as chill as the winter winds sweeping the Plain, a welcome that warmed
considerably when they joined the folk inside the walls, added the food they
brought to the common store and helped fight off the raiders through the rest
of the winter.
(Hern ranged the land with a motorized force of meien and exiles, gradually
restoring order, bringing isolated set-tlements into the common fold, passing
out the rescued grain.)
28
Tuli crowed with pleasure as Ildas plumped out and began vibrating with his
contented coo. Cradling him against her ribs she got to her feet and moved to
stand beside Coperic.
He was staring at the patch of green on the top of the ruined cliff, strain in
his face and body as he fought to deal with the loss of a friend and perhaps
more than friend. Tuli watched, angry again, jealous, wanting to strike at him
for the hurt he was giving her. She remembered how much she needed him and
kept a hold on her temper and her mouth so she wouldn t say or do anything
she d regret later.
Coperic sighed as he relaxed. He put his hand on Tuli s shoulder. Looks like
it s over.
Uh-huh. Kole s dead.
I saw. He lifted a hand, squinted against the gilded light pouring like
water over the wall, washing over the army. Rats are running for their holes.
Time we was leaving too. Bella.
She stepped away from him and stood watching as he talked rapidly with the
others, sending them out to scavenge food, mounts and anything that seemed
useful. After a frown at Tuli that told her to stay put, he left. For a while
she stood watching the army break apart and won-dering what was happening
inside the wall, then she set-tled herself on a bit of withered grass and
arranged Ildas comfortably in her lap, and began brooding over her fu-ture.
Coperic probably expected her to come back to Oras with him, and she was
probably going to go. It looked like the best choice if she could make him
keep her and not send her home to her father. She frowned at the wall,
thinking about the swarm of girls inside. Maybe she could have grown used to
all that if she d stayed there. What had Tuli-then thought? She tried to
remember. It was only what? two-three passages ago. Too much had happened
since. She couldn t bring that girl back, she was just gone, that was all. And
it didn t matter anyway. She scratched absently along the fireborn s elastic
spine and thought about staying at the Biserica for weapon training. Rane
wanted that. The ex-meie wanted Tuli to take over her run, and the idea
appealed to her. Trouble was she couldn t go out right away, she d have to
spend a bunch of years being trained. A great wave of resistance rose in her.
All those girls, tie-girls, tar-girls, strangers from all over, she didn t
like them any better now than she had when she was growing up at Gradintar or
forced to mix with them up in Haven. The thought of having to live in a herd
of them churned her stomach and soured her mouth. She couldn t do it.
Giggling, stupid, supercilious girls. No! Maybe if she went back when she was
older. She thought about what she didn t want. She didn t want to marry
anyone; and she d probably have to if she went back with her family. She
didn t want to go back and be shut behind house walls like most mijloc women,
tar-women anyway, doing the women s work she despised. She didn t want to be
shut behind Biserica walls either, living by Biserica rules. At least Coperic [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]