"Anthony, Piers - Adept - 06 - Unicorn Point" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

century before, covering ground at a rate beyond the powers
of any horse. The magic of the unicorn was not merely in
her hom! This time she was trying not to throw him off, but
to outdistance something. What could it be, that caused her
to react this way?

Stile looked around, craning his head to see the ground
behind them. But their pursuer was not on the ground. It was
in the air, flying strongly. A small dragon? No, the shape was
wrong, and the mode of flight; it seemed to have birdlike
wings and a running body.

He ran through his mental repertoire of monsters, but could
not find a match. This one seemed alien to Phaze. What
could it be? No wonder Neysa was concerned; she did not
trust anything unfamiliar.

He continued his effort to place the creature. It had to be
something^. It had a body like that of a panther or lion, and a
head like that of a bird of prey. It reminded him of the old
heraldic devices in the history textsЧ

"Griffin!" he exclaimed. "That's a griffin! Head and wings
of an eagle, body of a lion!"

Neysa made a musical toot of agreement and continued
running at speed. She had known it by the sound and smell.

"But there are no griffins in Phaze!" he exclaimed after a
moment.

UNICORN POINT 15

Yet there it was, and gaining on them. A classic heraldic
monster. Obviously it did exist here.

Stile's brain was now racing at almost Neysa's pace. Sparks
were flying up from her heating hooves, and figurative sparks
were emanating from his head. There were only a few ways
that such a creature could be in Phaze. Was it possible that
all the surveys of the wildlife of the frame had been wrong,
and had overlooked this creature? He doubted that; those sur-
veys had been competent and conducted magically. The grif-
fin might be an illusion, crafted by another Adept. But he
doubted that too, because Neysa had heard it and scented it;

it would require an extremely thorough illusion to cover
sound, smell and sight in a manner that would convince a
unicorn. So it was probably a form assumed by some other
creature.