[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
."Thank you very much."The ghazneth ripped the heavy cloak off over her head, taking with it the simple smock underneath and leaving the princess in nothing but her breast bindings and loins girdle.He hardly seemed to notice.Boldovar simply buried his face in the black cloth and let out a long, satisfied groan as he began to absorb its magic.The watery depths changed to Vangerdahast's study, and grotesque and lascivious carvings began to appear on the walls.Finally coming to understand how she had been tricked, Tanalasta screamed in anger."No!"Boldovar looked up and smiled, the remains of her shredded smock draped over his head."Oh, yes."Battlelord Steelhand's voice boomed up the stairs."We're coming, Princess! A few moments more."But they did not have a few moments more.The depth of color was already fading from Tanalasta's weathercloak, and the chamber now looked more like a ghastly festhall devoted to unnatural cravings and monstrous delights than Vangerdahast's study.If she allowed the ghazneth to absorb any more of her magic, Steelhand and his men would have no chance at all of destroying the thing.Gritting her teeth against the crushing pain in her abdomen, Tanalasta propped herself up and drew the iron sword secreted in the door of her hiding box.Every day, her self-defense instructors drilled one simple lesson into her: strike to cripple, then strike to kill.But how to cripple a ghazneth?To stop Boldovar, she knew she had to do more than crush a knee or slash a hamstring.She had to assault him in the very heart of his sick existence.The answer came to the princess easily.She pushed herself to her knees and brought the short blade across Boldovar's loins in a vicious backhand slash."Coward!" she cried.Boldovar's crimson eyes grew as wide as coins, then he let out a surprised little whimper and allowed the weathercloak to slip from his grasp.Tanalasta brought the sword back in the opposite direction, opening another dark gash in the underside of his belly.Her own pain seemed to vanish-or rather, her fear seemed to vanish.She was still aware of her labor, of the crushing feeling around her waist and the baby moving steadily closer to the world, but now she was in control.She brought the blade around for an overhand hack at the center of his big belly."Enough!"Boldovar's arm flashed out to block.The blow caught him across the wrist and nearly lopped it off, but the ghazneth hardly seemed to notice.He circled his forearm around as though it were a blade, forcing Tanalasta's sword back against her thumb and stripping it from her grasp.The weapon fell free and clanged off the rim of the box.Tanalasta turned toward the stairwell door, where the sound of pounding boots had grown so loud the princess swore the warpriests had to be in the room with her.They very nearly were.The battlelord and his first three men stood at the top of the stairwell, panting for breath and running in place, apparently convinced they were still ascending the spiraling staircase into Vangerdahast's study."Steelhand!" Tanalasta called."Run forward!""What are you calling him for?" Boldovar demanded."You asked me to play."The ghazneth's hand slammed into Tanalasta's head so hard that she heard half a dozen teeth clatter off the wall.Her vision narrowed and her hearing grew distant, then she felt herself being jerked out of the iron box and hurled against the stone wall.The impact moved the baby lower, and she felt its head beginning to crown.When her eyesight returned, Boldovar was standing in front of her, holding her against the wall with his mutilated forearm and glaring at her with an insane, maniacal grin."Good.You're back."Something sharp and hot pierced Tanalasta's abdomen just below the navel, then her belly exploded into agonizing pain.She looked down and saw the ghazneth's arm pressed against her stomach.At first, she could not quite fathom what she was seeing-then she noticed the collar of red blood around his forearm, and felt a huge hand feeling around inside her."Let me see.where is that baby?" He grabbed something up near her rib cage and pulled.Tanalasta's world became a red fiery scream.She brought her knee up more by instinct than intention and felt it connect hard.Boldovar did not groan, but the impact was enough to send him two steps back.He was holding something brownish and bloody in his hand.It wasn't a baby, and that was enough for Tanalasta.Boldovar smiled and raised the bloody mass to his mouth-then pitched over forward as Battlelord Steelhand and his men barreled into him from behind [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]