"Kerr, Katharine - Dragon Mage 02 - Black Raven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

СCould I scry your family out, you mean?Т
СJust that.Т He was looking at her with begging eyes.
СJahdo, IТm so sorry, but I canТt. I can only scry someone out if IТve seen them in the flesh first.Т
СOh.Т He gulped back tears. СWhy?Т
СItТs just the way dweomer works. I donТt truly know why. IТm sorry. ItТs a hard thing to be missing your kin and have no way to get news of them.Т
СThat be true, sure enough, At least Evandar comes and goes, and you do see him now and again.Т Jahdo paused to wipe his eyes with the back of a grubby hand. СI did wake so cold this morning, and I did think on how warm it be at home,Т
СOh come now!Т Dallandra said with a laugh. СCerr CawnenТs a good bit farther north than we are. It must be even colder.Т
СAh, you know not about the lake. Our lake, it be warm, my lady, even in winter. My Da did tell me once that way down in the deeps of the lake lie springs, where water bubbles up from the fire mountain, and it be as hot as youТd heat for a bath, hotter even.Т
СFire mountain?Т Rhodry said. СDoes your town lie near a fire mountain?Т
СToo near, some say. I mean, we sit not in its shadow, but it be close enough. One of our gods does live in it, you see. As long as we do honour him and bring him gifts, heТll not harm us.Т
Dallandra had grave doubts, but she saw no use in worrying the lad when there was naught to be done about it.
СSo,Т she said instead. СYour town stands on the shores of this warm lake?Т
СOn them and in them, my lady. YouТll see, or so I do hope. But truly, I might not shiver so badly now if my kin were here with me. Rori, and what of your kin? Never have I heard you speak of them, not once.Т
СProbably you never will,Т Rhodry said. СIТve no idea if they ride above the earth or under it, and I care even less.Т
Jahdo stared open-mouthed.
СA silver dagger canТt afford a warm heart,Т Rhodry went on. Think on Yraen, as much a friend as IТve ever had, and ye gods, I donТt even know where he lies buried, do I? You learn, lad, after a while and all, to keep your heart shut as tight as a miserТs moneybox.Т
СMayhap so,Т Jahdo said. СBut never could I be a silver dagger.Т
СGood,Т Rhodry said, smiling. YouТre a lucky man, then. Although, truly, thereТs one kinsman I do wonder over, just at times, and thatТs my brother Salamander, as his name goes in this country.Т He glanced at Dallandra. СDid you ever meet him? In our fatherТs country heТs called Ebany Salomanderiel tran Devaberiel.Т
СIТve not,Т Dallandra said. СAlthough Jill told me a lot about him. He seemed to irritate her beyond belief.Т
СHe takes some people that way. WhatТs so wrong, Jahdo? You look like youТve just heard one of EvandarТs riddles.Т
СThat be the longest name that ever IТve heard in my life,Т Jahdo said. СHow do you remember such?Т
СPractice.Т Rhodry suddenly laughed. СLetТs get up, shall we? IТm hungry enough to eat a wolf, pelt and all.Т
СSo am I,Т Dallandra said. СAnd speaking of Evandar, I dreamt about him last night, and I have an errand to run.Т
Since the presence of iron caused him agony, and the dun held an enormous amount of the stuff, Evandar had taken to finding Dallandra in the Gatelands of Sleep. They would then arrange a meeting somewhere free of the demon metal, as he called it. In the brief afternoon, when the air felt not warm but certainly less cold, Dalla wrapped herself in a heavy cloak and trudged through Cengarn to the market hill. At its crest the open commons lay thick with snow, crusted black with soot and ash from household fires. A group of children ran and played, their young voices sharp as the wind as they dug under the crust to find clean snow. Dallandra suppressed the urge to make a few snowballs herself and slogged across to a small copse of trees, where in the streaky shade of bare branches Evandar waited, wrapped in his blue cloak.
СThere you are, my love,Т he said.
СI am indeed,Т Dallandra said. СNow whatТs this urgent matter?Т
СRhodryТs brother. Ebany, as his name goes in Bardek.Т
СHow very odd! We were just speaking of him, Rhodry and I.Т
СNot odd at all. You were feeling his approach, my love, through the mists of the future.Т
СHis approach?Т
СThatТs what IТve come to ask you about. You see, heТs gone quite mad, and I donТt have the slightest idea of what to do about it.Т
СAh. And I suppose you think I do.Т
СDonТt you?Т
Dalla considered for a long moment.
СPerhaps,Т she said at last. СIТm remembering some of the things Jill told me about him. He had a great talent for dweomer, so she said. He studied it for many years, but then he just walked away from it.Т
СWill that drive someone mad?Т
СIndeed it will. You canТt just stop your studies once youТve reached a certain point.Т
СImph.Т Evandar rubbed his chin with one hand. This world of yours, my love. Everything here seems so Ч so wretchedly irrevocable.Т
СNot exactly.Т Dallandra paused for a laugh. СHe could have left the dweomer, certainly, if heТd wished. But he needed to go back to his teacher and have her help him. How to explain this - let me think - well, I canТt, really, but there are rituals that seal things off properly, that stop certain processes which studying dweomer starts in motion.Т
Evandar blinked rapidly several times.
СOh well,Т Dallandra went on. СIt doesnТt particularly matter. I suppose you want me to try to cure Ebany for you.Т
СNot so much for me, but for his own self and his father. You see, I promised Devaberiel that IТd bring his son home. And so I went looking for him in Bardek, and I found him quite deranged. His wifeТs frantic about it.Т
СHe has a wife, then.Т
СAnd children. A lot of children, actually. I didnТt get a chance to count them.Т
СWell, you canТt just snatch him away from his family.Т
СHereТs a great marvel. I realized that all on my own.Т Evandar smiled and leaned over to kiss her. СSo I thought IТd bring them all over.Т
СOver where?Т Dallandra grabbed his shoulders and pushed him to armТs length. СAnd when? ThereТs not enough food in the dun for everyone whoТs already in it. YouТll have to wait until the first harvest Ч early summer, that will be.Т
СWell, then, you see? ItТs a grand thing that I thought to consult with you first. Especially since thereТs also the little matter of his travelling show.Т
СTravelling show?Т
СHis eldest son juggles. His eldest daughter and her brother walk the slack wire.Т Evandar held up one hand and began counting things off on his fingers. СThen heТs got friends who are jugglers and acrobats. Rather a lot of those, actually. Some lasses rescued from slavery who dance with scarves. Servants. Horse handlers, and of course, the horses and wagons. And then ЧТ