[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
place at the king's side. There was another figure behind them who Warin did not
recognize, with steel-grey hair which caught the firelight as the opening closed
behind him.
Then Warin was glancing wildly around, his men scrambling toward the door
only to puU up short at the sight of Duncan standing against the green-glowing
doorway, a naked sword held across his body in a nonthreatening but vigilant
pose. Warin froze and stared at Duncan wild-eyed for an instant, remembering
his last encounter with this proud young Deryni who now stood so confidently
before him, then closed his eyes and tried with visible effort to compose himself.
Only then did he turn to face his nemesis and his king.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Curse not the king, no not even in thy thought.
Ecclesiastes 10:20
"Tell your men to surrender, Warin. I am assuming command here," Kelson said.
"I cannot permit that, Sire." Warin's brown eyes met the king's without a flicker
of fear. "Paul, call the guards."
"Stay away from the door, Paul," the king said before Paul could move to obey.
The lieutenant froze at the sound of his name on the royal lips, then glanced at
Warin for guidance. Behind Dun-can, the door still glowed with a faint, greenish
light, and the priest minutely shifted his grip on bis naked blade in a gesture
calculated to instill hesitation.
Warin's eyes nicked to the door, to the look of indecision and fear on Paul's face,
to the unreadable eyes of Morgan standing close by the king. Then, with a sigh, he
dropped his gaze to the floor at his feet, his shoulders drooping dejectedly.
"We are undone, my friends," he said in a tired voice. "Drop your weapons and
stand away. We cannot resist Deryni sorcery with mere steel."
"But, my lord " one of the men protested.
4*Enough, James." He lifted his eyes to meet Kelson's once more. "All know the
fate of men who defy their king and fail. At least you and I and the others will die
with the certain knowledge that we fought on the side of God, And you, O King,
will pay a bigh price for our lives in the Hereafter."
There was a scarcely concealed murmur of consternation from the four men
grouped behind him, but then they began slowly unbuckling sword belts and
baldrics. The dull thud of sheathed steel on carpet was the only sound in the
firelight as the men relinquished their weapons and fell in behind their leader.
Even so, their manner was defiant Kelson noted this and many other things as he
signalled Duncan to collect the weapons. And while the new captives were at least
partially diverted by Duncan's movement, he caught Morgan's subtle sign toward
the low armchair by the fireplace. With a slight nod, Kelson moved to the chair,
waiting while Morgan turned it to face Warin and his men, then sitting and
adjusting the folds of his borrowed cloak in a regal gesture. When Kelson had
taken his place, Morgan retired to a position just behind and to the right of
Kelson's chair, Cardiel remaining in the shadows to the left of the fireplace. The
effect was instantly that of a king holding court, even in the relatively minor
splendor of a castle bedchamber. Nor was the effect lost on Warin's men, who
watched apprehensively to learn what this bold young king would do.
"We do not require your life or the lives of your men,1* Kelson said to Warin,
lapsing automatically into the royal "we". "We require only your loyalty from this
time on or, if not your loyalty, at least your willingness to listen to what we will
say in the next minutes."
"I owe no allegiance to any Deryni king," Warin retorted. "Nor am I any longer
intimidated by your royal birth. You Deryni are very bold when you have your
magic to defend you."
"Indeed?" said Kelson, raising an arched brow. "We seem to recall that you once
placed our General Morgan at your mercy in a similar manner, stripped him even
of most human faculties, that he might not defend himself in any fashion. The
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Click here to buy
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tendency to press one's advantage is a human trait as well as a Deryni one, it
seems."
"I will not associate with those who traffic in magic," Warin retorted, beard
jutting stubbornly as he half-turned away.
Morgan controlled an impulse to smile. "No? Then, how do you manage to keep
faith with yourself, Warin? The gift of healing is, after all, a kind of magic, is it
not?"
"Magic?" Warin bristled as he whirled back to face Morgan. "You speak
blasphemy! How dare you profane so holy a sign of God's favor by comparison
with your foul and heretical powers?! Our Lord was a healer. Why, you are not
worthy even to breathe the same air as He!"
"That may well be," Morgan replied neutrally. "Such is not for me to judge. But,
tell me. What is your understanding of the gift of healing?"
"Healing?" Warm blinked and hurriedly glanced at the others, could detect no
hint as to the purpose of the question. "Why, Holy Scripture tells us that Our
Lord healed the sick, as did His disciples after He was gone. Even you should be
aware of that"
Morgan nodded. "And my Lord Bishop Cardiel, do you concur with Warin's
claim?"
Cardiel, who by choice had remained in the background until now, started as his
name was spoken, then stepped hesitantly into the firelight beside Morgan. The
flames danced fire on the purple of his bishop's ring, and he fingered the wooden
crucifix around his neck as he gazed across at the rebel leader.
"It has always been my belief that Our Lord and His disciples healed the sick and
the lame," he agreed cautiously. "Excellent," Morgan nodded, turning back to
Warin. "Then, both of you could concede that healing is a God-given gift, not to
be trifled with, could you not?" "Yes," Cardiel said.
"Certainly," Warin replied, not batting an eye. "And your personal powers of
healing, Warin would they also be considered a gift of God?" "My pers "
Kelson gave a perturbed sigh and crossed his legs in exasperation. "Come now,
Warin, dont be coy. We know that you can heal. We saw you, minutes ago. We
also have certain knowledge that you healed a man in Kingslake last spring. Do
you deny it?"
'1 of course not," Warin retorted, reddening slightly as he held himself more erect
and straight "And if the Lord has appointed me to be His spokesman, who am I to
question His word?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
place at the king's side. There was another figure behind them who Warin did not
recognize, with steel-grey hair which caught the firelight as the opening closed
behind him.
Then Warin was glancing wildly around, his men scrambling toward the door
only to puU up short at the sight of Duncan standing against the green-glowing
doorway, a naked sword held across his body in a nonthreatening but vigilant
pose. Warin froze and stared at Duncan wild-eyed for an instant, remembering
his last encounter with this proud young Deryni who now stood so confidently
before him, then closed his eyes and tried with visible effort to compose himself.
Only then did he turn to face his nemesis and his king.
a
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r
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B
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A
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Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Curse not the king, no not even in thy thought.
Ecclesiastes 10:20
"Tell your men to surrender, Warin. I am assuming command here," Kelson said.
"I cannot permit that, Sire." Warin's brown eyes met the king's without a flicker
of fear. "Paul, call the guards."
"Stay away from the door, Paul," the king said before Paul could move to obey.
The lieutenant froze at the sound of his name on the royal lips, then glanced at
Warin for guidance. Behind Dun-can, the door still glowed with a faint, greenish
light, and the priest minutely shifted his grip on bis naked blade in a gesture
calculated to instill hesitation.
Warin's eyes nicked to the door, to the look of indecision and fear on Paul's face,
to the unreadable eyes of Morgan standing close by the king. Then, with a sigh, he
dropped his gaze to the floor at his feet, his shoulders drooping dejectedly.
"We are undone, my friends," he said in a tired voice. "Drop your weapons and
stand away. We cannot resist Deryni sorcery with mere steel."
"But, my lord " one of the men protested.
4*Enough, James." He lifted his eyes to meet Kelson's once more. "All know the
fate of men who defy their king and fail. At least you and I and the others will die
with the certain knowledge that we fought on the side of God, And you, O King,
will pay a bigh price for our lives in the Hereafter."
There was a scarcely concealed murmur of consternation from the four men
grouped behind him, but then they began slowly unbuckling sword belts and
baldrics. The dull thud of sheathed steel on carpet was the only sound in the
firelight as the men relinquished their weapons and fell in behind their leader.
Even so, their manner was defiant Kelson noted this and many other things as he
signalled Duncan to collect the weapons. And while the new captives were at least
partially diverted by Duncan's movement, he caught Morgan's subtle sign toward
the low armchair by the fireplace. With a slight nod, Kelson moved to the chair,
waiting while Morgan turned it to face Warin and his men, then sitting and
adjusting the folds of his borrowed cloak in a regal gesture. When Kelson had
taken his place, Morgan retired to a position just behind and to the right of
Kelson's chair, Cardiel remaining in the shadows to the left of the fireplace. The
effect was instantly that of a king holding court, even in the relatively minor
splendor of a castle bedchamber. Nor was the effect lost on Warin's men, who
watched apprehensively to learn what this bold young king would do.
"We do not require your life or the lives of your men,1* Kelson said to Warin,
lapsing automatically into the royal "we". "We require only your loyalty from this
time on or, if not your loyalty, at least your willingness to listen to what we will
say in the next minutes."
"I owe no allegiance to any Deryni king," Warin retorted. "Nor am I any longer
intimidated by your royal birth. You Deryni are very bold when you have your
magic to defend you."
"Indeed?" said Kelson, raising an arched brow. "We seem to recall that you once
placed our General Morgan at your mercy in a similar manner, stripped him even
of most human faculties, that he might not defend himself in any fashion. The
a
a
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T
n
n
s
s
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F
f
f
o
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P
m
m
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e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
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.
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tendency to press one's advantage is a human trait as well as a Deryni one, it
seems."
"I will not associate with those who traffic in magic," Warin retorted, beard
jutting stubbornly as he half-turned away.
Morgan controlled an impulse to smile. "No? Then, how do you manage to keep
faith with yourself, Warin? The gift of healing is, after all, a kind of magic, is it
not?"
"Magic?" Warin bristled as he whirled back to face Morgan. "You speak
blasphemy! How dare you profane so holy a sign of God's favor by comparison
with your foul and heretical powers?! Our Lord was a healer. Why, you are not
worthy even to breathe the same air as He!"
"That may well be," Morgan replied neutrally. "Such is not for me to judge. But,
tell me. What is your understanding of the gift of healing?"
"Healing?" Warm blinked and hurriedly glanced at the others, could detect no
hint as to the purpose of the question. "Why, Holy Scripture tells us that Our
Lord healed the sick, as did His disciples after He was gone. Even you should be
aware of that"
Morgan nodded. "And my Lord Bishop Cardiel, do you concur with Warin's
claim?"
Cardiel, who by choice had remained in the background until now, started as his
name was spoken, then stepped hesitantly into the firelight beside Morgan. The
flames danced fire on the purple of his bishop's ring, and he fingered the wooden
crucifix around his neck as he gazed across at the rebel leader.
"It has always been my belief that Our Lord and His disciples healed the sick and
the lame," he agreed cautiously. "Excellent," Morgan nodded, turning back to
Warin. "Then, both of you could concede that healing is a God-given gift, not to
be trifled with, could you not?" "Yes," Cardiel said.
"Certainly," Warin replied, not batting an eye. "And your personal powers of
healing, Warin would they also be considered a gift of God?" "My pers "
Kelson gave a perturbed sigh and crossed his legs in exasperation. "Come now,
Warin, dont be coy. We know that you can heal. We saw you, minutes ago. We
also have certain knowledge that you healed a man in Kingslake last spring. Do
you deny it?"
'1 of course not," Warin retorted, reddening slightly as he held himself more erect
and straight "And if the Lord has appointed me to be His spokesman, who am I to
question His word?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]