The Complete Conclave of Shadows Trilogy: Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, Exile’s Return. Raymond E. Feist

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ guards will kill those men for sure,’ said Talon, draining his mug and standing up. ‘We can stop black murder.’

      Caleb shook his head. ‘Most likely they will take whatever gold the merchants have, and the horses, and leave them to walk to Latagore. By the time they reach the city, the two mercenaries will already have left on a boat for the far shore and be on their way to High Reaches or Coastal Watch.’

      ‘Or they could simply slit their throats and linger in Latagore. The nervous one might get panicked and act rashly.’

      Caleb stood up and signalled to the woman who had served them. ‘Tell the boy to ready our wagon.’ Looking at Talon he said, ‘We will have to whip the horses to a froth to overtake them.’

      ‘Not necessarily,’ said Talon. ‘The mercenaries do not look like the type to ride in haste. They will attempt to keep the merchants deceived until they attack them. You’ve travelled this road before; where would you judge the most likely place for the murders to take place?’

      ‘There’s a deep ravine five miles along from here, and it abuts the road. If I were to carry out an attack, that is where I would do it, for it would be easy enough work to drag the bodies up into the ravine for half a mile or so, then quickly return to the road without anyone noticing. It might take months for anyone to stumble on the bodies should that be the case.’

      Talon said, ‘Then we need to hurry. They must already be a mile or more down the road.’

      Caleb fixed Talon with a curious look for a moment, then said, ‘Let us go, then.’

      They had to wait a few minutes for the wagon to be fetched around from the back. The boy had brushed the horses while they had rested and Caleb gave him a copper piece for doing the extra work.

      Caleb set the horses to a fast walk, causing them to snort in protest at the faster than average pace. ‘If you’re right, we’ll overtake the merchant and guards just as they reach the ravine cut-off.’ He glanced over and saw that Talon’s face was set in a mask of determination. ‘Why are you so anxious to intervene, my young friend?’

      Talon’s expression turned dark. ‘I don’t approve of murder.’

      Caleb nodded. After a moment he said, ‘If you’re going to act the hero, it would be well for you to go armed.’

      Talon nodded. He turned and fetched out a sword and belt-knife from behind the wagon’s seat. He had seen no reason to don them prior to this moment.

      Caleb kept the horses moving and after a few minutes of silence, asked, ‘How are the two mercenaries armed?’

      Without hesitation, Talon answered, ‘The taller one, the calm one, wore a long sword on his right hip – he’s left-handed. He wore a long dagger on his left hip, and I glimpsed the hilt of a throwing knife inside the top of his right boot.

      ‘The nervous fellow wore a short sword on his left hip and had two daggers in the right side of his belt. He had several knives inside that black sleeveless over-jacket he wore and another small blade in the sweatband inside his slouch hat, on the side with the black crow’s feather.’

      Caleb laughed, an even more rare occurrence than smiling. ‘I missed that last one.’

      ‘It deformed the hat slightly.’

      ‘You’ve taken to your lessons at Kendrick’s well. All you missed was the blade behind the buckle of the nervous man’s belt. I only noticed it because he took care standing up and put his thumb behind it for a moment, as if preventing getting cut by it.’

      ‘Sounds like a bad place to keep a blade.’

      Caleb said, ‘If done right, it’s a good place, really. If done poorly …’ He shrugged.

      They rode along at a good clip as the sun travelled across the sky. As they crested a hill, Caleb said, ‘There.’

      In the distance, Talon could see the road rise up on the left and fall away on the right. The city was now clearly in view in the distance: they would easily have reached it before nightfall if things had gone as planned.

      At the far end of the road, Talon saw movement. ‘Four riders.’

      Caleb snapped the reins and set the horses to a faster trot. ‘They’re going to reach the ravine sooner than I thought!’

      The wagon picked up speed and Talon hung on to the seat with both hands as the heavy axles sent every bump from the wheel straight up into his back. This wagon was built to haul heavy loads, not provide comfort for those riding it.

      The sound of the wagon flying down the road should have alerted the riders, but by the time Talon and Caleb drew near they could see the four men had squared off, the two merchants arguing with the two guards. The mercenary Talon thought of as ‘the nervous one’, drew his sword, just as his companion turned to see the wagon approaching. He yelled and the first man turned to see what the problem was.

      The two merchants turned their horses and attempted to ride away, causing the nervous mercenary to swing his sword at the nearest merchant, cutting him on the left shoulder. The man shrieked and fell from his mount.

      Caleb steered the now-galloping horses to the left of the three who were milling around. The merchant who had fallen scuttled like a crab, scrambling backwards away from the two riders. The other merchant was now charging down the road, arms flapping as if he was attempting to fly off the back of the horse.

      Talon stood and launched himself off the wagon as it sped past, knocking the nervous rider from his horse, sending his sword flying. Caleb did his best to keep the wagon from overturning as it slowed down. The other mercenary quickly evaluated the situation and spurred his own mount to a gallop up the road, back the way they had come.

      Talon landed on top of the nervous one who grunted as the breath was knocked out of him, then thrashed as Talon rolled off him. Talon came to his feet, sword in hand, expecting the man to be rising.

      Instead the man lay on the ground clutching at his stomach. Blood fountained through his fingers and he looked at Talon. ‘Look what you’ve done to me! You’ve killed me!’

      Talon kept his sword in his hand as he went and knelt next to the man. ‘That blade behind the buckle?’ he asked.

      ‘Damn thing never worked,’ said the injured man. ‘Now I’m bleeding like a stuck pig.’

      Caleb had turned the wagon around and driven back to where Talon and the other two men waited. Talon pushed aside the wounded man’s hands and disengaged the buckle. He pulled out the blade, a three-inch-long piece of sharp steel with a ‘t’ cross handle; it was designed to slip out of the buckle and sit between the two middle fingers of the hand, the handle resting on the palm. It would be a dangerous jabbing weapon.

      Caleb said to the merchant, ‘Are you hurt?’

      The man held his hand over his bleeding shoulder. ‘I’ll live, no thanks to that blackheart.’ He was a stocky man with a balding pate, a fringe of grey hair circling the back of his head. His eyes were dark and his chin sported a tiny beard.

      Caleb got down from the wagon and came to stand beside Talon. He looked down at the mercenary on the ground, at the knife and the wound and said, ‘You’ll live to hang. That little blade didn’t cut СКАЧАТЬ