"Sara Douglass - Redemption 2 - Pilgrim" - читать интересную книгу автора (Douglass Sara)

It was a strange mixture of lizard and bird. About the size of a small dog, it had the body of a large iguana,
covered with bright blue body feathers, and with a vivid emerald and scarlet crest. It had impossibly deep
black eyes that absorbed the light about it. What it used the light for Zenith could not say, perhaps as food,
but once absorbed, the lizard apparently channelled the light through some furnace within its body, for it re-
emerged from its diamond-like talons in glinting shafts that shimmered about the forest.
Zenith smiled, for the feathered lizard was a thing of great beauty.
Watching Zenith carefully, the lizard crawled the distance between the tree and the cart, giving both
donkeys and Zenith a wide berth. It sniffed briefly about the wheels of the cart, then, in an abrupt
movement, jumped into the tray.
Zenith moved very slowly so she could see what the lizard was doing тАФ and then stopped, stunned.
The lizard was sitting close to Drago's head, gently running its talons through his loose hair, almost. . .
almost as if it were combing it, or weaving a cradle of light about his head.
Zenith was vividly reminded of the way the courtyard cats in Sigholt had taken every opportunity they
could to snuggle up to Drago.
Zenith's eyes widened, and suddenly the lizard decided to take exception to her presence. It narrowed its
eyes and hissed at her, then leaped to the ground and scuttled away into the trees.
Zenith stared at the place where it had disappeared, then looked back to Drago. She smoothed the loose
strands of his coppery hair (was it brighter now than it had been
*19┬╗
previously?) away from his face, studying him carefully. He looked the same тАФ and yet different. His face
was still thin and lined, but the lines were stronger, more clearly defined, as if they had been created
through purpose rather than through resentment and bitterness. And even though he was asleep, there was a
strange "quiet" about him. It was the only way Zenith could describe it to herself. A quiet that in itself gave
purpose тАФ and hope.
His eyelids flickered open at her touch, and his mouth moved as if to smile.
But he was clearly too exhausted even for that effort. "Zenith," he whispered. "Are you well?" Zenith's eyes
filled with tears. Had he been worried for her all this time? The last time he'd seen her had been in Niah's
Grove in the far north of the forest, battling the Niah-soul within her.
She smiled, and took his hand. "I am well," she said. "Go back to sleep."
Now his mouth did flicker in a faint smile, but his eyes were closed and he was asleep again even before it
faded.
Zenith stood and watched him for some time, cradling his hand gently in hers, then she looked at Faraday.
The woman was deeply asleep, peaceful and unmoving, and Zenith finally set down Drago's hand and
moved away from the cart.
Unsure what to do, and unsettled by the continuing agitation she could feel from the trees, Zenith
remembered the staff that Drago had dropped. She walked about until she found where it had rolled, and
she picked it up, studying it curiously.
It was made of a beautiful deep red wood that felt warm in her hands. It was intricately carved in a pattern
that Zenith could not understand. There was a line of characters that wound about the entire length of the
staff, strange characters, made up of what appeared to be small black circles with short hooked lines
attached to them.
┬л20┬╗
The top of the staff was curled over like a shepherd's crook, but the knob was carved into the shape of a
lily.
Zenith had never seen anything like it. She hefted the staff, and laid it down next to Drago.
Then she sighed and walked away, sitting down under a tree. She let her thoughts meander until they
became loose and meaningless, and her head drooped in sleep.
She dreamed she was falling through the sky, but in the instant before she hit the ground StarDrifter was
there, laughing, his arms held out for her.
/ will always be there to catch you, I'll always be there for you.