"Watt-Evans,.Lawrence.-.Ethshar.5.-.Taking.Flight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

Other books by Lawrence Watt-Evans:
The Legends of Ethshar
The Misenchanted Sword
With A Single Spell
The Unwilling Warlord
The Blood of A Dragon
The Spell of the Black Dagger
Night of Madness
Other Works
Dragon Weather
Touched by the Gods
The Rebirth of Wonder
Split Heirs(with Esther M. Friesner)
Crosstime Traffic
Nightside City
The Nightmare People
Taking Flight
A Legend of Ethshar
Lawrence Watt-Evans


All rights reserved.
Cover art (Flightby Dalmazio Frau) copyright й 2001 Dalmazio Frau.
Taking Flight

SECOND EDITION
Dedicated to the Hotchkisses:
Charlotte and Mark
and Laura and Arthur
Prologue
The girl squirmed on her seat, and the old woman cast her a quick, angry glance. She quieted, and the woman turned back to her customer.
Well, lad, she said, what would you have of me?
The boy hesitated.
Im ... Im Kelder of Shulara, he said.
I know, she replied, nodding.
It was a lie, of course; she hadnt known anything of the sort. In fact, it struck her suddenly that the name might be false, and instead of looking omniscient she might look foolish if she believed it. Kelder of Shularawell, really, that probablywas a lie! And not a very original one, at that. Smoothly, so that the boy saw no pause, she winked at him and continued, in a mysterious tone, I know all Ineed to know.
The lad looked suitably confused and impressed. Behind him, the little girl rolled her eyes upward and mouthed somethingit looked like, Oh, comeon, Grandma!
So, Kelder of Shulara, the woman went on, a bit hurriedly, you have come to Zindrщ the Seer to learn your futureand I see it laid out before me, vast and shining. There is too much to tell you all of it, my child, for your life will be long and rich; you must ask me specific questions, and I shall answer them all...
The girl cleared her throat. Her grandmother glared at her and continued, ...at the cost of merely three bits apiece.
Kelder, fortunately, didnt notice any of the byplay between Zindrщ and her granddaughter; he was staring intently at the crystal bowl on the table before him, as if he expected to see something in it himself.
Thatwas an uncomfortable thought; Zindrщ did not like the idea of a customer who hadreal magic.
But surely the boy couldnt have any magic; he was just a peasant.
He cleared his own throat, and asked, Will Iever get out of Shulara?
That was an easy one. Oh, yes, Zindrщ said. You shall go, and you shall go far, beyond the hills and into strange lands, and you shall return safely. He probably wouldnt, but she knew what he wanted to hear.
Return? Ill come back?
Zindrщ suppressed a frown and silently cursed herself for not listening more carefully to the boys tone and phrasing. Oh, yes, she said. You will return, covered in glory, to tell those who remained behind of the wonders you saw.
To stay? Kelder asked; then something registered, and without waiting for an answer he asked, Wonders? What wonders?
Many wonders, Zindrщ said quickly, hoping to distract the boy from the question of exactly where he was going to wind up. Great cities and vast plains, strange beasts and beautiful women, and much mighty magic. She usually threw in something about mountains, rather than plains, but in a place as hilly as Shulara she thought that plains would be more exotic and intriguing.
Magic? But what will I do? Where will I go?