"Anthony, Piers - Adept - 03 - Juxtaposition" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

shoes. He felt ludicrous and illicit. "If anyone sees me in
this outrageous costumeЧ" He squinted at Stile. "You
were serious about magici You conjured this!"

"Aye. Now must I conjure myself to the Blue Demesnes,
to report to the Lady Blue. Neysa and the Flute will keep
thee safe, methinks. Farewell, friend."

"Farewell," Clef responded weakly.

Stile sang another spell and vanished. Clef contemplated
the vacated spot for a while, absorbing this new evidence
of enchantment, then felt his own clothing. Blue trousers,
golden shirtЧwhat next? "And I'm supposed to travel with
you," he said to the little unicorn. "With thee, I should
perhaps say. Well, he did warn me there would be tribula-
tions. I don't suppose you know the direction?"

Neysa blew a note through her hom that sounded like
an affirmation rendered in harmonica music. Clef had not
realized that the animal's hom was hollow, or that she
would really comprehend his words. He followed her lead.

The scenery was lovely. To the near south was a range
of purple-hued mountains, visible through gaps in the for-
est cover. The immediate land was hilly, covered with rich
green turf. Exotic birds fluttered in the branches of the
trees. No path was visible, but the unicorn picked out an
easy passage unerringly.

"Are youЧart thou able to play music on that hom?"
Clef inquired facetiously, feeling a need to assert himself
verbally if not physically.

For answer, Neysa played a merry little tune, as if on a
well-handled harmonica. Clef, amazed, fell silent. He
would have to watch what he said in this fantastic frame;

more things were literal than he was inclined to believe.

The pace became swift, as Neysa moved up to her limit.
Clef had always liked to walk, so was in no discomfort,
but wondered just how far they were going. In Proton,
with the limitation of the domes, it was never necessary to
walk far before encountering mass transportation. Obvi-
ously there was no such limit here.

The animal perked up her small ears, listening for some-
thing. Clef knew that horses had good hearing, and pre-
sumed unicorns were the same. It occurred to him that a