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The Verge Of An Empire 27
They appeared, osh-zan-kai wearing their unit's standard assault armor, helmets, breath masks, and long heavy rifles at the ready. They became a convex line, blocking the entrance, and everyone arrived, arrived, and then he appeared among them, slowly walking, surrounded by guards, jingling chains, a huge man in a black cloak, whose face I could not see. For a moment, my left hand was taken away, the cane almost fell out. Heart attack? Heart attack? No, not the time! Not now!- Osh-zan-kai, the ratio of lups and people is seven to one, armed with shortened assault carbines of the latest generation with underbarrel bayonet-knives for more convenient combat in confined spaces."What are you muttering, el'Moria?" Marcellus asked quietly.- They are trained for combat in urban conditions, they do not undergo drill training ...- Yes you…- Defensive formation!- What?!- Correction! Construction! Among them, only two lups! Mork, they're regulars and they're standing up like they're going
The Verge Of An Empire 28
The next morning I woke up quite refreshed and well rested. Anticipating all the troubles that await me in the coming day, I dressed, breakfasted with appetite and, saying goodbye to the household, which I usually do not, went to Scoalt Yard.Having overcome the cordon of journalists from the capital's newspapers at the entrance to the territory of the Tower, I crossed the courtyard and entered the hall. There was no free space on the walls, floor and ceiling from the piles and crossbeams along which the workers scurried. Marblers from all over the capital are herded into Scoalt Yard in order to give it a proper look as soon as possible.“Did you see this, Thane el'Moria?” - Marcellus Mork, pacing the hall with a bandaged hand, pointed to the front door.– Journalists or flowers?- Both. They do not understand that they are preventing us from working. Although it's all very touching, of course.There were indeed stacks of flowers against the outer walls, and some well-wisher had hung
The Verge Of An Empire 29
- Predatory forms and delightful chasing!– Yes, cathars are forged only by masters, and each such sword is individual. And on that stand over there you can see a plucked seven-string…I took her around the museum, showing her columns from the temple on Mount Adugashi, a figurine of a dancing cloak, ancient sets of weapons, samples of sacred religious texts, and collections of poems by poets of the Tolkwan era. We laughed together at the clothes of the noble class of the Malkabi people and marveled at how someone managed to transport the war chariot of King Kapotar to Starkrar. There was a period in the history of Maldiz when people from the Barnabarite people seized power in the country, and they had kings, not maharajas. The Barnabarites held out for two generations, after which they were all slaughtered, and the throne was taken by the Maharajas of the Simptor dynasty. The last exhibit we came to was the main trophy of General Stubbs. I deliberately circled the halls, examining the
The Verge Of An Empire 30
Later we saw each other more often, and I caught myself thinking that I was only going into the world to see the Thani el'Zornaz. It was so strange not to feel squeamish disgust from the beautiful Tanya. I told her the truth about what I was doing with her feelings, and she silently gave me permission to correct these flaws, which, when they appeared, caused her such suffering. She knew that she was ill, and what her illness was leading to, she also knew. By the will of the moon, I alone was able to slow down and reverse the disease, making Bali forget about unbearable headaches, depression, paranoia, fear of bright lights. We tried not to be noticed, to conduct sessions ... perhaps you can call it therapy, in private, so as not to compromise her. I didn't even notice how the attraction got too strong.- Started a romance?- It's a novel. How do our crooked novelists write there, Sebastina? Were they overwhelmed by a whirlpool of passion?“I don’t know, master, I only read cookbooks a
The Verge Of An Empire 31
On the second floor of Incival's house, there seemed to be a large-scale battle and, at the same time, a fire. Burnt memories remain from the furniture, the ceiling and walls are sooty, traces of burning, cracks, and dents are visible everywhere. Three baked corpses in different parts of the floor, two of them human and one lups. Extensive scorched wounds and damage from iron shards embedded in flesh. In lups, the body is cut in half in the same ideal way. At the magical laboratory, I found a wide puddle of black viscous slurry of unknown origin with a pungent smell of reagents. Pieces of metal and fragments of a wooden object float in a puddle, in which it is difficult, but possible to recognize a fire wand. Fragments of cobra decorations survived, but the sphere was broken. The laboratory itself was almost not damaged, it was not affected by the fire, but some items of magical use are lying on the floor, and along one of the walls stretched a gleaming trail of the silver blood of te
The Verge Of An Empire 32
“You know, Zinkara, I can't help feeling that I saw you once. Perhaps you, like the rest of the palace servants, huddled against the walls, begging for mercy, as I led the soldiers through the corridors to finally end this stupid kicking of your undercountry, which you called the struggle for sovereignty. It is possible that this is a figment of my imagination and we do not know each other, although you know me for sure. Anyway, I can't get rid of this stupid feeling. And I can't remember your creepy face. But I know for sure that you are a bone in the throat of my country, and I will rot you in prison.The tongueless Maldese stroked his beard sedately, holding my gaze, and I could swear I heard his clear and intelligible speech:“Sankarishma will judge us, Thane el'Moria, his punishment is inevitable. You sowed the wind, and the growing hurricane will swallow everything that is dear to you. I swear.I did not call someone to witness and force the ambassador to speak. He will only onc
The Verge Of An Empire 33
For her, my tone is like a blow of a whip, because usually I am extremely polite with all the girls of the Rosebud, but now I am not in the mood for pleasantries! I feel that I am ready to break loose on anyone, just to get rid of the heavy evil fear and anger that it generates! If I came in vain, then I will not have a single lead left to look for Incival.“The mistress will be here in a minute,” Inresh squeaked, looking fearfully at Sebastina. - Settle down!I sank into a huge easy chair, took off my glasses, closed my eyelids and began to massage my eyes.“Would you like some egg liqueur, master?”- No.- Guilt?- No.- Cognac?- I do not want anything. Just get close. Your presence calms me a little.Inhaling the smell of peonies fragrant from the floor vase, and listening to the ticking of the clock, I waited for the hostess for several minutes, during which I calmed down a little. Fortunately, she does not like to test my patience, although she knows that I am ready to forgive h
The Verge Of An Empire 33
I lie in bed among hot blankets, and sleep is afraid to come to me, because I am afraid to fall asleep. This happens in patients with fever or poisoned by bad food, who are tormented by great heat and nausea. Any attempts to fall asleep are futile, because crazy pictures, fragments of some melodies, slurred phrases are dancing in the inflamed mind. Every now and then the disfigured muzzle of the late Wolfeld flickers, the family of coal miners dances among the nameless tombstones, and people whom I did not personally see, but who have disappeared, lie in a heap on the sidelines. Customs officials, most of them never found, none of the ones de Moranjac suspected of taking bribes. Speaking of him, the high accuser is also here, in my head, in the midst of the excruciating heat. He and his whole family dine at a large table, not noticing the dancing dead and the lups prowling between the graves.“Monsieur de Moranjac,” I said as I approached, “forgive me for disturbing your meal. I don't