David Gemmell - Hawk Queen 1 - Ironhand' s Daughter

VIP免费

2024-12-01 0 0 525.33KB 178 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmell%20-%20Hawk%20Queen%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt

David Gemmell

Ironhand's Daughter

First Book Of The Hawk Queen

PROLOGUE

SUNLIGHT GLINTED ON steel as the knife blade spun through the air to thud home in the chalk-

circled centre of the board. The woman chuckled. 'You lose again, Ballistar,' she said.

'I let you win,' the dwarf told her. 'For I am a creature of legend, and my skills are second to

none.' He smiled as he spoke, but there was sadness in his dark eyes and she reached out to cup

her hand to his bearded cheek. He leaned in to her touch, twisting his head to kiss her palm.

'You are the finest of men,' she said softly, 'and the gods - if gods there be - have not been

kind to you.'

Ballistar did not reply. Glancing up he drank in her beauty, the golden sheen of her skin, the

haunting power of her pale blue-grey eyes. At nineteen Sigarni was the most beautiful woman

Ballistar had ever seen, tall and slender, full-lipped and firm-breasted. Her only flaw was her

close-cropped hair, which shone like silver in the sunlight. It had turned grey in her sixth year,

after her parents were slain. The villagers called it the Night of the Slaughterers, and no one

would speak of it. Pushing himself to his feet he walked to the fence post, climbing the rail to

pull Sigarni's throwing knife from the board. She watched him stretching out his tiny arms, his

stunted fingers unable to curl fully around the hilt of her blade. At last he wrenched it clear,

then turned and jumped to the ground. He was no larger than a child of four, yet his head was huge

and his face heavily bearded. Ballistar returned her blade and she slid it home into the sheath at

her hip. Reaching to her right she lifted a pitcher of cool water and filled two clay goblets,

passing one to the dwarf.

Ballistar gave a wide grin as he took it, then slowly passed his tiny hand across the surface of

the water. She shook her head. 'You should not make those gestures, my friend,' she said

seriously. 'If you were seen by the wrong man, you would be flogged.'

'I've been flogged before. Did I show you my scars?'

'Many times.'

'Then I shall not concern myself with fears of the lash," he said, passing his hand once more over

the drink. 'To the long-dead King over the water,' he said, lifting the goblet to his lips. A

sleek black hound padded into sight. Heavy of shoulder, slim of flanks, she was a hare and rabbit

hound, and her speed was legendary. Highland hunting hounds were bred for strength, stamina and

obedience. But most of all they had to be fast. None was swifter than Sigarni's hound. Ballistar

laid down his empty goblet and called to her. 'Here, Lady!' Her head came up and she loped to him,

pushing her long muzzle into his beard, licking at his cheek. 'Women find me irresistible,' he

said, as he stroked the hound's ears.

'I can see why,' Sigarni told him. 'You have a gentle touch.'

Ballistar stroked Lady's flanks and gazed down into her eyes. One eye was doe-brown, the other

opal-grey. 'She has healed well,' he said, running his finger down the scar on the hound's cheek.

Sigarni nodded, and Ballistar saw the fresh flaring of anger in her eyes. 'Bernt is a fool. I

should never have allowed him to come. Stupid man.'

'That stupid man loves you,' chided Ballistar. 'As do we all, princess.'

'Idiot!' she snapped, but the anger faded from her eyes. 'You know I have no right to such a

title.'

'Not so, Sigarni. You have the blood of Gandarin in your veins.'

'Pah! Half the population have his blood. The man was a rutting ram. Gwalchmai told me about him;

he said Gandarin could have raised an army of his bastard offspring. Even Bernt probably has a

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmel...n%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt (1 of 178) [1/31/2004 8:11:59 PM]

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmell%20-%20Hawk%20Queen%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt

drop or two of Gandarin's blood.'

'You should forgive him,' advised Ballistar. 'He didn't mean it.' At that moment a red hawk

swooped low over the clearing, coming to rest on a nearby bow perch. For a moment or two it

pranced from foot to foot, then cocked its head and stared at the silver-haired woman. The hound

gave a low growl, but slunk back close to Ballistar. Sigarni pulled on a long black gauntlet of

polished leather and stood, arm outstretched. The hawk launched itself from the fence and flew to

her.

'Ah, my beauty,' said Sigarni, reaching up and ruffling the russet-coloured feathers of the bird's

breast. Taking a strip of rabbit meat

from the pouch at her side, she fed it to the hawk. Swiftly and skilfully she attached two soft

collars to the hawk's legs, then threaded short hunting jesses through brass-rimmed holes in the

collars. Lastly she pulled a soft leather hood from the pouch at her side and smoothly stroked it

into place over the bird's beak and eyes. The hawk sat motionless as the hood settled, and even

turned her neck to allow Sigarni to lean forward and tighten the braces at the rear. The woman

turned her gaze back to the dwarf and smiled. 'I know that Bernt acted from stupidity. And I am

more angry with myself than with him. I told him to loose Lady only if there was a second hare. It

was a simple instruction. But he was incapable even of that. And I will not have fools around me.'

Ballistar said nothing more. There were, he knew, only two creatures in all the world that Sigarni

cared for - the hound, Lady, and the hawk, Abby. Sigarni had been training them both, determined

that they would work together as a team. The training had gone well. Lady would seek out the hares

and scatter them, while Abby swooped down from the trees in a kill that seemed swifter than an

arrow. The danger area came when only a single quarry was sighted. Hawk and bird had raced each

other to make the strike. Abby won both times. On the second occasion when Lady darted in to try

to steal the kill, Abby had lashed out, her beak grazing the hound's flank. Sigarni had grabbed

Lady's collar, dragging her back. In an effort to re-train Lady, Sigarni had allowed the cattle

herder, Bernt, to accompany her on the training hunts. His duty was to keep Lady leashed, and only

release her when more than one hare was sighted. He had failed. Excited by the hunt, Bernt had

loosed the hound at first sight of a single hare. Abby had swooped upon it, and Lady had sped in

to share the prize. The hawk had turned, lashing out with her cruel beak, piercing the hound's

right eye.

'You are hunting today?' asked the dwarf.

'No. Abby is above her killing weight. I let her have the last hare we took yesterday. Today we'll

just walk awhile, up to the High Drain. She likes to fly there.'

'Watch out for the sorcerer!' warned Ballistar.

'There is no need to fear him,' said Sigarni. 'I think he is a good man.'

'He's an Outlander, and his skin has been burned by sorcery. He makes me shudder.'

Sigarni's laughter pealed out. 'Oh, Ballistar, you fool! In his land all people have dark skins;

they are not cursed.'

'He's a wizard! At nights he becomes a giant bird that flies across High Druin. Many have seen it:

a great black raven, twice normal size. And his castle is full of grimoires and spells, and there

are animals there - frozen. You know Marion - she was there! She told us all about a great black

bear that just stands in the hallway, a spell upon it. You keep clear of him, SigarmT

She looked into his dark eyes and saw the reality of his fear. 'I shall be careful,' she said.

'You may rely on it. But I will not walk in fear, Ballistar. Have I not the blood of Gandarin in

my veins?' Sigarni could not quite mask the smile as she spoke.

'You should not mock your friends!' he scolded. 'Magickers are to be avoided - anyone with sense

knows that. And what is he doing here, in our high, lonely places? Eh? Why did he leave his land

of black people and come here? What is he seeking? Or is he perhaps hiding from justice?'

'I shall ask him when next I see him,' she said. 'Come, Lady!' The hound rose warily and paced

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmel...n%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt (2 of 178) [1/31/2004 8:11:59 PM]

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmell%20-%20Hawk%20Queen%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt

alongside the tall woman. Sigarni knelt and patted her flanks. 'You've learned to respect Abby

now,' she whispered, 'though I fear she will never learn respect for you.' 'Why is that?' asked

Ballistar. Sigarni looked up. 'It is the way of the hawk, my friend. It loves no one, needs no

one, fears no one.'

'Does it not love you, Sigarni?'

'No. That is why she must never be called in vain. Each time she

flies to the fist I feed her. The day I do not, she may decide never to

return. Hawks know no loyalties. They stay because they choose to.

No man - nor woman - can ever own one.'

Without a word of farewell the huntress strode off into the forest.

TOVI CLOSED THE double doors of his oven, removed his apron and wiped the flour from his face with

a clean towel. The day's bread was laid out on wooden trays, stacked six high, and the smell of

the baking filled his nostrils. Even after all these years he still loved that smell. Taking a

sample loaf, he cut through the centre. It was rich and light, with no pockets of air. Behind him

his apprentice, Stalf, breathed a silent sigh of relief. Tovi turned to the boy. 'Not bad,' he

said. Cutting two thick slices, he smeared them with fresh butter and passed one to the boy.

Moving to the rear door, Tovi stepped outside. Above the stone and timber buildings of the village

the dawn sun was clearing the peaks and a fresh breeze was blowing from the north. The bakery

stood at the centre of the village, an old three-storey building that once had been the council

house. In the days when we were allowed a council, thought Tovi sourly. The buildings surrounding

the bakery were sturdily built, and old. Further down the hill were the simpler timber dwellings

of the poorer folk. Tovi stepped out into the road and gazed down the hill to the river. The

villagers were stirring and several women were already kneeling by the water-side, washing clothes

and blankets, beating them against the white rocks at the water's edge. Tovi saw the black-clad

Widow Maffrey making her way to the communal well. He waved and smiled and she nodded as she

passed. The smith, Grame, was lighting his forge. Seeing Tovi, he strolled across. Soot had

smeared the smith's thick white beard.

'Good day to you, Baker,' said Grame.

'And to you. It looks a fine one. Nary a cloud in sight. I see you have the Baron's greys in your

stalls. Fine beasts.'

'Finer than the man who owns them. One of them has a split hoof, and both carry spur scars. No way

to treat good horses. I'll take a

loaf, if you please. One with a crust as black as sin and a centre as white as a nun's soul.'

Tovi shook his head. 'You'll take what I give you, man, and be glad of it, for you'll not taste a

better piece of bread anywhere in the kingdom. Stalf! Fetch a loaf for the smith.'

The boy brought it out, wrapped in muslin. Dipping his huge hand into the pocket of his leather

apron, Grame produced two small copper coins which he dropped into Stalf s outstretched palm. The

boy bowed and backed away. 'It'll be a good summer,' said Grame, tearing off a chunk of bread and

pushing it into his mouth.

'Let us hope so,' said Tovi.

The dwarf Ballistar approached them, labouring up the steep hill. He gave an elaborate bow. 'Good

morning to you,' said Ballistar. 'Am I late for breakfast?'

'Not if you have coin, little man,' said Tovi, eyes narrowing. The dwarf made him feel

uncomfortable, and he found himself growing irritable.

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmel...n%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt (3 of 178) [1/31/2004 8:11:59 PM]

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmell%20-%20Hawk%20Queen%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt

'No coin,' the dwarf told him affably, 'but I have three hares hanging.'

'Caught by Sigarni, no doubt!' snapped the baker. 'I don't know why she should be so generous with

you.'

'Perhaps she likes me,' answered Ballistar, no trace of anger in his tone.

Tovi called for another loaf which he gave the dwarf. 'Bring me the best hare tonight,' he said.

'Why does he anger you so?' asked Grame, as the dwarf wandered away.

Tovi shrugged. 'He's cursed. He should have been laid aside at birth. What good is he to man or

beast? He cannot hunt, cannot work. If not for Sigarni maybe he would leave the village. He could

join a circus! Such as he could earn an honest living there, capering and the like.'

'You're turning into a sour old man, Tovi.'

'And you are getting fat!'

'Aye, that's the truth. But I still remember the wearing of the Red. That's something I'll take to

the grave, with pride. As will you.'

The baker nodded, and his expression softened. 'Bonny days, Grame. They'll not come again.'

gave them a fight, though, eh?'

Tovi shook his head. 'We showed them how brave men die - that's not the same, my friend.

Outnumbered and outclassed we were -their knights riding through our ranks, cutting and killing,

our sword-blades clanging against their armour and causing no damage. Gods, man, it was slaughter

that day! I wish to Heaven I had never seen it.'

'We were badly led,' whispered Grame. 'Gandarin did not pass his strength to his sons.'

The smith sighed. 'Ah, well, enough dismal talk. This is a new day, fresh and untainted.' Spinning

on his heel, the burly blacksmith strode back to his forge.

The boy, Stalf, said nothing as Tovi re-entered the bakery. He could see his master was deep in

thought, and he had heard a little of the conversation. It was hard to believe that Fat Tovi had

once worn the Red, and had taken part in the Battle of Golden Moor. Stalf had visited the battle

site last autumn. A huge plain, dotted with barrows, thirty-four in all. And each barrow held the

dead of an entire clan's fighting men.

The wind had howled across Golden Moor and Stalf had been frightened by the power and the haunted

wailing of it. His uncle, Mart One-arm, had stood with him, his bony hand on the boy's shoulder.

'This is the place where dreams end, boy. This is the resting place of hope.'

'How many died Uncle?'

'Scores of thousands.'

'But not the King.'

'No, not the King. He fled to a bright land beyond the water. But they found him there, and slew

him. There are no Mountain Kings now.'

Uncle Mart walked him on to the moor, coming at last to a high barrow. 'This is where the Loda men

stood, shoulder to shoulder, brothers in arms, brothers in death.' Lifting the stump of his left

arm, he gave a crooked smile. 'Part of me is buried here too, boy. And more than just my arm. My

heart lies here, with my brothers, and cousins, and friends.' •

Stalf dragged his mind back to the present. Tovi was standing by the window, his eyes showing the

same faraway look he had seen that day on the face of Mart One-arm.

'Can I take some bread to me mam?' asked Stalf. Tovi nodded.

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmel...n%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt (4 of 178) [1/31/2004 8:11:59 PM]

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmell%20-%20Hawk%20Queen%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt

Stalf chose two loaves and wrapped them. He had reached the door when Tovi's voice stopped him.

'What do you want to be, lad, when you're grown?'

'A baker, sir. Skilled like you.' Tovi said no more, and the boy hurried from the bakery.

Sigarni loved the mountain lands, the lush valleys nestling between them, and the deep, dark

forests that covered their flanks. But mostly she loved High Druin, the lonely peak which towered

over the high lands, its summit lost in cloud, its shoulders cloaked in snow. There was, in High

Druin, an elemental magnificence that radiated from its sharp, defiant crags, a magic that sang in

the whispering of wind-breath before the winter storms. High Druin spoke to the heart. He said: 'I

am Eternity in stone. I have always been here. I will always be here!'

The huntress let Abby soar into the air and watched her swoop over High Drum's lower flanks. Lady

bounded out over the grass, her sleek black body alert, her one good eye scanning for sign of hare

or rat. Sigarni sat by the Lake of Tears, watching the brightly coloured ducks on the banks of the

small island at the centre of the lake. Abby circled high above them, also watching the birds. The

hawk swooped down, coming to rest in a tree beside the lake. The ducks, suddenly aware of the

hawk, took to the water.

Sigarni watched with interest. Roast duck would make a fine contrast to the hare meat she had

eaten during the last fortnight. 'Here, Lady!' she called. The hound padded alongside and Sigarni

pointed to the ducks. 'Go!' hissed Sigarni. Instantly the dog leapt into the water, paddling

furiously towards the circling flock. Several of the birds took wing, putting flat distance

between them and the hound, keeping low to the water. But one took off into the sky and instantly

Abby launched herself in pursuit.

The duck was rising fast, and Abby hurtled down towards it with talons extended.

At the last possible moment the duck saw the bird of prey - and dived fast. For a heartbeat only

Sigarni thought Abby had her prey, but then the duck hit the water, diving deep, confusing the

hawk. Abby circled and returned to her branch.

The huntress gave a low whistle, summoning Lady back to the bank. The sound of a walking horse

came to Sigarni then, and sherose and turned.

The horse was a tall chestnut, and upon it rode a black man, his cheeks, head and shoulders

covered in a flowing white burnoose. A cloak of blue-dyed wool hung from his broad shoulders and a

curved sword was scabbarded at his waist. He smiled as he saw the mountain woman.

'When hunting duck, it is better for the hawk to take it from below,' he said, swinging down from

his saddle.

'We're still learning,' replied Sigarni affably. 'She is wedded to fur now, but it took time - as

you said it would, Asmidir.'

The tall man sat down at the water's edge. Lady approached him gingerly, and he stroked her head.

'The eye is healing well. Has it affected her hunting?' Sigarni shook her head. 'And the bird?

Hawks prefer to feed on feather. What is her killing weight?'

'Two pounds two ounces. But she has taken hare at two-four.'

'And what do you feed her?'

'No more than three ounces a day."

The black man nodded. 'Once in a while you should catch her a rat. Nothing better for cleaning a

bird's crop than a good rat.'

'Why is that, Asmidir?' asked Sigarni, sitting down beside the man.

'I don't know,' he admitted, with a broad smile. 'My father told me years ago. As you know the

hawk swallows its prey - where it can -whole and the carcass is compressed, all the goodness

squeezed out of it. It then vomits out the cast, the remnants. There is, I would imagine,

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmel...n%2001%20-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txt (5 of 178) [1/31/2004 8:11:59 PM]

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

file:///G|/rah/David%20Gemmel/David%20Gemmell%20-%20Hawk%20Queen%2001%20\-%20Ironhands%20Daughter%20v1.1.txtDavidGemmellIronhand'sDaughterFirstBookOfTheHawkQueenPROLOGUESUNLIGHTGLINTEDONsteelastheknifebladespunthroughtheairtothu\dhomeinthechalk-circledcentreoftheboard.Thewomanchuckled.'Youloseagain,...

展开>> 收起<<

David Gemmell - Hawk Queen 1 - Ironhand' s Daughter.pdf

共178页,预览5页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

David Gemmell - Hawk Queen 1 - Ironhand' s Daughter

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: