D. Jackson - A Plunder of Souls
Здесь есть возможность читать онлайн «D. Jackson - A Plunder of Souls» весь текст электронной книги совершенно бесплатно (целиком полную версию без сокращений). В некоторых случаях можно слушать аудио, скачать через торрент в формате fb2 и присутствует краткое содержание. Год выпуска: 2014, ISBN: 2014, Издательство: Tom Doherty Associates, Жанр: Исторический детектив, Фэнтези, на английском языке. Описание произведения, (предисловие) а так же отзывы посетителей доступны на портале библиотеки ЛибКат.
- Название:A Plunder of Souls
- Автор:
- Издательство:Tom Doherty Associates
- Жанр:
- Год:2014
- ISBN:9781466840782
- Рейтинг книги:5 / 5. Голосов: 1
-
Избранное:Добавить в избранное
- Отзывы:
-
Ваша оценка:
- 100
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
A Plunder of Souls: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация
Предлагаем к чтению аннотацию, описание, краткое содержание или предисловие (зависит от того, что написал сам автор книги «A Plunder of Souls»). Если вы не нашли необходимую информацию о книге — напишите в комментариях, мы постараемся отыскать её.
A Plunder of Souls — читать онлайн бесплатно полную книгу (весь текст) целиком
Ниже представлен текст книги, разбитый по страницам. Система сохранения места последней прочитанной страницы, позволяет с удобством читать онлайн бесплатно книгу «A Plunder of Souls», без необходимости каждый раз заново искать на чём Вы остановились. Поставьте закладку, и сможете в любой момент перейти на страницу, на которой закончили чтение.
Интервал:
Закладка:
“Mister Kaille? Are you well?”
He opened his eyes once more. “Aye, I’m fine. Thank you, sir. Tell me, do you feel about Sebastian Wise the same way you felt about Keller and Forrs?”
“Sebastian the younger, you mean?”
Ethan nodded. In his impatience to be moving, he had started to drum his fingers on the arm of his chair. He willed himself to stop.
Rowan did not seem to have noticed. He was gazing up at the ceiling. “No,” he said at last. “I didn’t care much for his father, but the son is a different matter. He can be abrasive, but I trust him; I wouldn’t hesitate to do business with him.”
“Did his father engage in smuggling as well?”
“I think I’d rather not answer that, Mister Kaille. I do have dealings with the son on a regular basis.” A grin curved his lips. “I suppose that tells you what you need to know, doesn’t it?”
“Mister Wise will hear nothing of this conversation from me, sir,” Ethan said, getting to his feet.
Rowan smiled as he stood. “Thank you, Mister Kaille.”
Ethan walked out of the house a short time later. He couldn’t say with certainty where the spell he felt had come from, but given its might, the distance it seemed to have traveled, and the direction the power seemed to flow, he thought that it had come from somewhere out on the harbor. Casting on water magnified the strength of a conjuring, something Ethan was sure Nate Ramsey knew. He halted along Ellis Street and gazed out over the harbor, searching in vain for Ramsey’s ship. There was little about the Muirenn to distinguish it from other merchant vessels; he knew this, and yet he searched anyway, as if hoping that the man would be flying a black flag on his mainmast to let Ethan know where he was.
He could almost hear Ramsey laughing at him. No, Kaille. I’m not going to make it that easy for you.
Ethan walked to the Dowsing Rod, avoiding the barracks along the way and thus coming to the tavern from the north end of Sudbury Street. It was the middle of the day; the tavern was usually quiet at this hour. But upon entering, Ethan was struck by the somber quality of the silence that greeted him. Kannice was behind the bar with Kelf, but as soon as she saw him, she came out, and rushed into his arms.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his breath stirring her hair. “What’s happened?”
“It’s Missus Tyler,” she said, her voice low.
It took him a moment to place the name. “The house down the street,” he said. “The one that’s been quarantined.”
“Aye.” She pulled away to look him in the eye. “She died this morning.”
Chapter ELEVEN
“Who did you hear it from?” Ethan asked.
“Diver, actually,” Kannice said. “He was looking for you. He had it from Pat Daily.”
“Aye. The one who’s been posted at the house.”
She nodded, her cheeks colorless, fear in her bright blue eyes. “We should leave, Ethan,” she said in an urgent whisper. “Now, before it gets bad.”
“Kannice-”
“Please. It’s not just the Tyler woman. There are more outbreaks in New Boston. It’s getting worse.”
He gathered her in his arms and held her close. He could tell she was crying, and wondered if she was thinking of Rafe, her husband, who had died of the distemper eight years ago.
“I don’t know where we would go,” he said after some time, speaking the words into her auburn hair.
“We could stay with my sister,” Kannice said, whispering into his chest. “I don’t think there’s been any illness out in Dorchester.”
“I’m not sure your sister would welcome me into her home.”
Kannice looked up at that. “She would if I asked. She would if it meant saving your life.”
“But what if it seems to her that I’m endangering hers, or the lives of her children? For years, she’s been after you to sell the tavern. And she knows that my work takes me into the streets. Would she want us in her home? Or would she think we were bringing smallpox to her?”
“Well, if not Dorchester, we can go somewhere else.”
Ethan gazed unseeing over the top of her head. Despite her pleas, he didn’t want to leave. Mrs. Tyler had died, which meant that her ghost might well be here, and her grave might be the next one desecrated by those who had violated the burying grounds. Was he afraid? Yes, though more for Kannice than for himself. He considered telling her that she should close down the Dowser and leave without him until this outbreak had passed. But he knew she would be hurt by the suggestion. Probably, she would refuse.
“I can’t leave, Kannice,” he said. His eyes met hers. “I know why you’re frightened; I am, too. But I can’t leave.”
She was strong and pragmatic, and as smart as anyone he had ever known. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and she didn’t argue. “The work you’re doing for Pell?” she asked.
“Aye. And for Darcy and Ruth Walters. We haven’t had a chance to talk about any of it, but the fact is that Missus Tyler’s death might be of importance. It might…” He faltered, but then pressed on. “It might even be of some help to me.”
She grimaced. “How?” Before he could answer, she shook her head. “No. Don’t tell me.”
“It’s better that way,” Ethan said. “This is a dark business, even more so than usual.” He hesitated again, feeling self-conscious. “Do you know what’s to be done with her, and more important, when they’ll take her?”
“According to Diver, they’ll bury her tonight sometime after midnight.” A haunted look came into her eyes. “I’m sure they’ll take all the usual precautions,” she said, her voice flat.
Ethan nodded, feeling selfish. This had to be terribly difficult for her. Perhaps he should take her to Dorchester, his inquiries be damned. He could get her settled there and be back in the city before midnight. He was about to say as much when he heard Kelf clear his throat. They both turned to see the barman, red-faced and as diffident as a schoolboy, holding a cask of wine on his massive shoulder.
“This was just delivered in back,” he said, his voice rough. “I was wonderin’-I’m sorry to interrupt-but I didn’t know where you wanted it.”
Kannice glanced at Ethan, a smile on her lips. “Come on then, Kelf. I’ll show you.”
Left alone, Ethan turned his thoughts back to the death of Mrs. Tyler. The “usual precautions” Kannice mentioned included wrapping the corpse in a sheet treated with tar, placing it in a coffin, and having pallbearers carry it over a specified route, to wherever she was to be buried. The town selectmen had probably mandated that the burial take place in the middle of the night so that there would be as few people as possible abroad in the streets when the body was carried from the Tyler house to the burying ground. As an added precaution, a man would walk ahead of the corpse to clear the lanes of any who might still be about.
The house itself would be cleansed several times, and smoked with brimstone and frankincense. Mrs. Tyler’s bedding would be taken to the Pest House at Rainsford Island for smoking and airing. And Patrick Daily would be relieved of his guard duty in perhaps a week’s time, when the selectmen were convinced that the danger of infection within the house had passed.
Somehow, Ethan needed to get inside the house before that week passed. He couldn’t wait so long, and he couldn’t miss the opportunity to communicate with Mrs. Tyler’s shade. The question was, how could he enter the house without endangering his own life and the lives of Kannice, Diver, Henry, and everyone else with whom he had contact?
Kannice came back out of the kitchen a few minutes later and walked around the bar to where he stood.
Читать дальшеИнтервал:
Закладка:
Похожие книги на «A Plunder of Souls»
Представляем Вашему вниманию похожие книги на «A Plunder of Souls» списком для выбора. Мы отобрали схожую по названию и смыслу литературу в надежде предоставить читателям больше вариантов отыскать новые, интересные, ещё непрочитанные произведения.
Обсуждение, отзывы о книге «A Plunder of Souls» и просто собственные мнения читателей. Оставьте ваши комментарии, напишите, что Вы думаете о произведении, его смысле или главных героях. Укажите что конкретно понравилось, а что нет, и почему Вы так считаете.