The Daylight War
The Daylight War, the eagerly anticipated third volume in Brett’s internationally bestselling Demon Cycle, continues the epic tale of humanity’s last stand against an army of demons.ON THE NIGHT OF A NEW MOON ALL SHADOWS DEEPEN AND THE DEMONS RISE.Arlen Bales understands the threat better than anyone. Resisting the coreling plague has shaped him into a weapon so powerful he has attracted enemies both above and below ground.But as Arlen prepares his people for battle, a daylight war approaches from the south. Out of the desert rides an army led by a man who believes his destiny is to unite humanity against the demons, willingly or not.Once, Ahmann Jardir and Arlen were like brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals, and Jardir’s ambition is matched only by the magic wielded by his first wife, Inevera, a powerful priestess.The corelings will attack in thirty nights, and the only men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all: those that lurk in the human heart.
Читать The Daylight War онлайн беплатно
THE
DAYLIGHT WAR
PETER V. BRETT
For my parents, John and Dolores, who still read together on the couch at night.
Prologue
Inevera 300 AR
Inevera and her brother Soli sat in the sunlight. Each held the frame of a basket between their bare feet, nimbly turning it as their fingers worked the weave. This late in the day, there was only a tiny sliver of shade in their small kiosk. Their mother, Manvah, sat there, working her own basket. The pile of tough date palm fronds at the centre of the ring they formed shrank steadily as they worked.
Inevera was nine years old. Soli was almost twice that, but still young to be wearing the robes of a full dalâSharum, the black cloth still deep with fresh dye. He had earned them barely a week ago, and sat on a mat to ensure the ever-present dust of the Great Bazaar did not cling to them. His robe was cinched loosely on top, revealing a smooth, muscular chest glistening with sweat.
He fanned himself with a frond. âEveramâs balls, these robes are hot. I wish I could still go out in just a bido.â
âYou may have the shade if you wish it, Sharum,â Manvah said.
Soli tsked and shook his head. âIs that what you expected? That I would come back in black and start ordering you around like â¦â
Manvah chuckled. âJust making certain you remain my sweet boy.â
âOnly to you and my dear little sister,â Soli clarified, reaching out to tousle Ineveraâs hair. She slapped his arm away, but she was smiling as she did it. There was always smiling when Soli was about. âWith everyone else, I am mean as a sand demon.â
âBah,â Manvah said, waving the thought away, but Inevera wondered. Sheâd seen what he did to the two Majah boys who teased her in the bazaar when they were younger, and the weak did not survive in the night.
Inevera finished her basket, adding it to one of the many stacks. She counted quickly. âThree more, and weâll have Dama Badenâs order complete.â
âMaybe Cashiv will invite me to the Waxing Party when he picks them up,â Soli said. Cashiv was Dama Badenâs kaiâSharum and Soliâs ajinâpal, the warrior who had been tethered to him and fought by his side on his first night in the Maze. It was said there was no greater bond two men could share.
Manvah snorted. âIf he does, Dama Baden will have you carrying one oiled and naked, celebrating the Waxing by offering a full moon of your own to his lecherous old hangers-on.â
Soli laughed. âI hear itâs not the old ones you need to worry about. Most of them just look. Itâs the younger ones that carry vials of oil in their belts.â
He sighed. âStill, Gerraz served at Dama Badenâs last spear party and said the dama gave him two hundred draki. Thatâs worth a sore backside.â
âDonât let your father hear you say that,â Manvah warned. Soliâs eyes flicked to the curtained chamber at the back of the kiosk where their father slept.
âHeâs going to find out his son is pushâting sooner or later,â Soli said. âI wonât marry some poor girl just to keep him from finding out.â
âWhy not?â Manvah asked. âShe could weave with us, and would it be so terrible to seed her a few times and give me grandchildren?â
Soli made a face. âYouâll need to wait on Inevera for that.â He looked at her. âHannuPash tomorrow, dear sister. Perhaps the damaâting will find you a husband!â
âDonât change the subject!â Manvah slapped at him with a palm frond. âYouâll face whatâs between the Maze walls, but not whatâs between a womanâs thighs?â
Soli grimaced. âAt least in the Maze I am surrounded by strong, sweating men. And who knows? Perhaps one of the pushâting dama will fancy me. The powerful ones like Baden make their favourite Sharum into personal guards who only have to fight on Waning! Imagine, only three nights a month in the Maze!â
âStill three nights too many,â Manvah muttered.
Inevera was confused. âIs the Maze not a holy place? An honour?â
Manvah grunted and went back to her weaving. Soli looked at her a long time, his eyes distant. The easy smile melted from his face.
âThe Maze is holy death,â her brother said at last. âA man who dies there is guaranteed Heaven, but I am not so eager to meet Everam just yet.â
