Читать книгу The Redemption of Althalus - David Eddings - Страница 22

The moon was full, and her pale light streamed in through the open window of the Arya’s bedroom to fall upon the sleeping girl’s face. Her mass of dark hair spilled out over her pillow, and sleep had softened her imperious expression, making her seem very vulnerable, and very, very young.

As silent as a shadow, Emmy flowed up onto the bed and sat beside the sleeping girl’s pillow. Her green eyes were a mystery as she regarded the face of her sometime mistress. Then she started to purr.

‘How do we get her out of here?’ Althalus asked silently. ‘I suppose I could carry her, but –’

‘She’ll walk,’ Emmy replied. ‘Look around and find her some clothes and a dark cape.’

‘Doesn’t she have to be awake to walk? And won’t she start screaming even before her eyes are open?’

‘I know what I’m doing, Althalus. Trust me. Get her some clothes.’

Althalus poked around until he found clothing suitable for travel, boots, and a well-made cloak. When he turned, he saw Andine sitting on the edge of the bed. Her huge eyes were open, but they obviously saw nothing.

‘Just bundle up her clothes,’ Emmy said. ‘I’ll have her dress herself once we’re outside the city. The cloak should be enough for now.’

Andine stood up, her eyes still blank, and she was holding Emmy in her arms. Althalus draped the cloak about her shoulders. ‘How long can you keep her asleep like this?’ he asked Emmy.

‘As long as I need to.’

‘Six or eight weeks might not be a bad idea. If the first face she sees when she wakes just happens to be Eliar’s, things might start to get noisy.’

Emmy’s eyes grew thoughtful. ‘You might have a point there,’ she murmured. ‘Let me think about it for a bit. Shall we go?’

They led their sleeping captive out into the corridor, and Althalus stopped briefly to examine the face of the sleeping Argan. Ghend’s henchman had yellow hair and regular features.

‘What are you doing,’ Emmy asked.

‘I want to be sure I’ll recognize him when I see him again,’ Althalus replied grimly.

They went on down the corridor, and after they’d rounded a corner, Althalus reached back and woke Argan and his companion. Then he silently led the Arya of Osthos out of her palace.

They moved quietly through the darkened streets of Osthos, Althalus used ‘leb’ to put the gate guards to sleep, and they left the city.

‘I think you were right, Althalus,’ Emmy said as Andine woodenly dressed herself. ‘It might be better to keep her mind asleep until we cross over into Perquaine. By noon tomorrow, her soldiers are going to be looking under every bush in Treborea for her.’

They soon rejoined Eliar and Bheid, and Eliar looked rather closely at the young woman who probably still wanted desperately to kill rum. ‘Is she all right?’ he asked with a note of concern in his voice. ‘I mean, you didn’t have to hurt her, did you?’

‘Emmy put her to sleep,’ Althalus replied. ‘It’ll probably be better to keep her that way until we get her out of Treborea.’

‘She won’t be able to sit a horse in her present condition,’ Bheid suggested.

‘I’ll take care of her,’ Eliar said. ‘I’ll sit her on my horse in front of me. I can keep her from falling off.’

‘All right,’ Althalus agreed. ‘She’s your responsibility. Take care of her. Let’s move on out. I want to put some distance between us and Osthos by morning.’

They crossed the River Maghu just to the north of the Perquaine city of Gagan two days later and moved into the drought-stricken countryside to the west. Arya Andine had remained semi-conscious, and Eliar had been strangely solicitous throughout the journey. He held her in place in front of him as they rode and lifted her on and off his horse with a peculiar gentleness. He fed her at mealtimes, and his own appetite seemed to have fallen off considerably.

‘Is it my imagination, or is he behaving just a bit oddly?’ Bheid asked Althalus after they’d crossed the river.

‘Eliar takes his responsibilities very seriously,’ Althalus replied, ‘and he’s always volunteering because he wants to be helpful. He’ll probably out-grow that in time.’

Bheid chuckled. ‘From what you’ve told me, I don’t think he should be quite so close to Andine when she wakes up. If she hates him as much as you say she does, she’ll probably try to reach down his throat and jerk out his heart as soon as she lays her eyes on him.’

‘We’ll find out before long, I expect. Emmy’s going to wake our little girl this evening, and you and I should probably be on our toes when Eliar holds the Knife out for her to read. She might take that as an invitation.’

They took shelter in the ruins of a long-abandoned house late that afternoon, and Althalus called up beef for supper before Emmy could suggest fish. Eliar, as he had since they’d left Osthos, cut up Andine’s supper and fed her carefully. She sat placidly with her hands folded in her tap, opening her mouth as he held each bite to her lips, much as a sparrow chick might.

After they’d eaten, Emmy commandeered Althalus’ voice again to give them their instructions. ‘I want you to be standing directly in front of her with the Knife right in front of her eyes when I wake her, Eliar. That way she’ll see the Knife before she sees you. Once she reads the Knife, she’ll be more or less compelled to do as she’s told. She might rant and rave a bit, but she won’t try to kill you.’