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.processtext.com/abclit.htmlbeltknife, and she was free, curled on her side, hidden in the grass.He helped her to her feet."If you hear anything, just lie down in thegrasses, and don't say anything, don't move," he said."I want to wait forAhira and Toryn, and " he saw how her eyes went wide.Damn.She hadn't known that the dwarf was Ahira, and Jason had just told her.Not good.Ahira was every bit as famous as Walter Slovotsky.Letting hisidentity slip wasn't dangerous, probably, not as bad or as good, if it allworked out as Jason having revealed who he was, but just a bad policy.Don't tell people things they don't need to know, Valeran always used to say.It's no favor to trust somebody with a secret that won't do him any damn good.He was already pulling clothes from his own rucksack, and she was alreadystripping off her thin gray shift, carelessly tossing it aside; he snatched itup and stuffed it in a pocket.Naked in the golden sunlight, she was slim and lovely, but he was JasonCullinane, dammit, not WalterSlovotsky, and he used his mind for thinking.He helped her into a bulky tunicand a pair of trousers, belting it tightly at the hips not her slim waist witha leather strap before tying her hair back with a small thong.Page 252ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlFrom a distance, she would pass, but close-up, it was hopeless.The smoothcomplexion, naturally reddened at cheekbones and along the jawline, and thefull lips weren't those of a boy, or a man.She smiled, not at all shyly, and put her arms around his neck, pullingherself close to him."Thank you so much for getting me out of there," shesaid, lifting her face to be kissed.She was gorgeous, and last night had been remarkable, but it occurred to Jasonthat perhaps Marnea wasn't overly bright.If somebody were to be ridingthrough the forest, the last thing they ought to be seeing was two peoplekissing.Hoofbeats sounded off in the distance; with a quick, hissed order to stay, hepushed her down in the tall grasses, and led his horse away, toward wheretall, gnarled oaks stood at the edge of the meadow, as though the leafy giantshad slowly, deliberately, over eons, waddled up to the meadow, only to stop atits shore.But it was only Ahira and Toryn, the dwarf frowning as he bounced on the backof his small gray gelding, the slaver smiling ear-to-ear as he led a string ofthree horses, one of them, a brown mare, already saddled, the other two loadedwith gear.Jason called to Marnea, and led his own horse back up to the path, then helpedher up to the saddle.Toryn chuckled."That was fun.I haven't had such a good time in years evenbetter than the time I got treble price for an old lame farmhand, I swear."Jason normally would have been angered by the comparison, and he knew heshould have been angered by the comparison, but things were going well, and hecouldn't help returning Toryn's infectious smile for just a moment."Where to?" he asked, turning to Marnea.She sat silently on the back of her horse for a moment."Lesteen," she said,quietly."He said he had some business in Lesteen, then he'd come back for me.He should be on his way now."Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlAhira nodded."Figure three days to Lesteen, one day scouting it out before hestrikes, then another three days back to Pemburne.If he's told you the truth,if you're telling us the truth, we'll catch up with him sometime tomorrow, orthe next day.""Then let's be about it," Toryn said."But I do foresee a problem, startingtomorrow.Pelester will have a wizard and a tracker on our trail on Marnea'strail.Perhaps you'll want to reconsider "Jason was already reaching for the small amulet on the thong around his neck.He edged his horse over toward Marnea, then handed it to her."Put this on."He turned back to Toryn."Prevents being located with magic.""You do have such wonderful tricks available, don't you?" Toryn's smile wascondescending."Well, then let's ride, shall we?"* * *They camped that night on a rocky outcropping high on a hillside.A cookfirewould have been asking for trouble, although from whom Jason didn't know sothey didn't light one anyway, and instead made a full dinner of fresh morningbread and the thick garlicky sausages that Toryn had demanded from Pelester'skitchen on his and Ahira's way out, all washed down with a light, sweet wine,chilled by wetting the wineskin and hanging it in the cool night breeze.Ittasted of apples and flowers and was ever so lightly honeyed.Jason took first watch, while the others curled up in their blankets.He sethis own blanket on a fairly flat rock and set his weapons down beside him.Asmall gathering of houses lay far down the hill; he could see an occasionalspark from a chimney, and a drifting wind brought the woodsmoke to his nose [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]