"Brooks, Terry - Jerle Shannara 01 - Ilse Witch" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

himself beside the Healer.
"Watch this damaged man closely, Dome. No visitors. Nothing
until you hear back from me."
The Healer sipped at his tea. "You know something about him
that you're not telling me, don't you?"
"I suspect something. There's a difference. But I need time to
make certain. Can you give me that time?"
The Healer shrugged. "I can try. The man inside will have some-
thing to say about whether he will still be here when you return. He
is very weak. You should move swiftly."
Hunter Predd nodded. "As swift as Obsidian's wings can fly," he
replied softly.
Behind him, in the near darkness of the open doorway, a shadow
detached itself from behind a wall and moved silently away.
The attendant who had served dinner to the Wing Rider and
the Healer waited until after midnight, when the people of Bracken
Clell were mostly asleep, to slip from his rooms in the village into
the surrounding forest. He moved quickly and without the benefit
of light, knowing his path well from having traveled it many times
before. He was a small, wizened man who had spent the whole of
his life in the village and was seldom given a second glance. He
lived alone and had few friends. He had served in the Healer's
household for better than thirteen years, a quiet, uncomplaining
sort who lacked imagination but could be depended on. His quali-
ties suited him well in his work as a Healer's attendant, but even
better ac a spy
He reached the cages he kept concealed in a darkened pen be-
hind the old cabin in which he had been born. When his father and
mother had died, possession had passed to him as the eldest male. It
was a poor inheritance, and he had never accepted that it was all to
which he was entitled. When the opportunity had been offered to
him, he snatched at it eagerly. A few words overheard here and
there, a face or a name recognized from tales told in taverns and ale
houses, bits and pieces of information tossed his way by those res-
cued from the ocean and brought to the center to healЧthey were
all worth something to the right people.
And to one person in particular, make no mistake about it.
The attendant understood what was expected of him. She had
made it clear from the beginning. She was to be his Mistress, to whom
he must answer most strongly should he step from between the lines
of obedience she had charted for him. Whoever passed through the
Healer's doors and whatever they said, if they or it mattered at all, she
was to know. She told him the decision to summon her was his, al-
ways his. He must be prepared to answer for his cummons, of course.
But it would be better to act boldly than belatedly. A chance missed
was much less acceptable to her than time wasted.
He had guessed wrongly a few times, but she had not been
angry or critical. A few mistakes were to be expected. Mostly, he
knew what was worth something and what was not. Patience and
perseverance were necessary.