"Eisenstein,.Phyllis.-.Elementals.2.-.1988.-.Crystal.Palace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eisenstein Phyllis)

When Gildrum returned, Cray and Sepwin and the lady Helaine were sitting
together by the pool, drinkнing white wine.
УI would have come sooner,Ф the demon said, stridнing toward them in his human
form, Уbut I thought it best to stop at home and let your mother know I was
back.Ф
Cray scrambled to his feet. УWhat news?Ф
With a smile, Gildrum accepted a cup of wine from the lady Helaine and raised it
to Cray. УSuccess.Ф He drained the wine at a draft. УI know where your white
sapphire and its owner are.Ф
УWhere?Ф
УAh ... well, that is not so easy to explain.Ф Gildrum set his cup down on the
rim of the pool. УYou know, we demons do most of our traveling by way of the
demon realm itself, and so we learn little of human geography. I may be an
exception to that, thanks to your mother; still, this place where the young
woman livesЧI canТt really tell you in what direction it lies, and how far, not
in terms of a horseback journey. But it can be reached through the demon realm.Ф
УVery well,Ф said Cray. УWill you take me there now?Ф
УI told your mother you would say that.Ф
Sepwin sprang to his feet. УIТm ready.Ф
Cray shook his head sharply. УNo, Feldar, youТre not coming along.Ф
УBut this is the quest that the lady Helaine predicted!Ф
Cray gripped his friendТs arm. УJust so. And I will not expose you to its
dangers. No, no arguments. This is my quest and my decision.Ф
Sepwin looked to the lady Helaine beseechingly, but she said nothing. Then to
Cray he said, УYouТll come back here afterward? YouТll tell me everything?Ф
УOf course.Ф Cray smiled and let him go. УShall we be on our way, Gildrum?Ф
УAs you wish,Ф said the demon and, turning to flame, it scooped Cray up.
Out in the bright sunshine, they soared into the sky, and somewhere above the
treetops they crossed over from the human to the demon realm. Though Cray closed
his eyes tightly against the intolerable glare of the world of Fire, he could
see it still, red against his eyelids. Gildrum had been born in Fire, and like
all demons, it could only traverse from the demon realm to the human one through
portals in its native world.
When the redness dimmed, Cray opened his eyes, knowing he was within the smoky
barrier between Fire and Air.
УElrelet is to meet us at the boundary of Air and Ice,Ф said Gildrum, Уwith a
cooperative Ice demon, if such exists.Ф
УWhy do we need so many demons? CanТt you just take me to her yourself through a
portal in Fire?Ф
УI could, but the part of her home that lies in the human realm is too well
guarded by sorcery for visiнtors to come even within shouting distance. The
other part, however, lies embedded in Ice, and with a knowlнedgeable Ice demon
for a guide, we can travel to its very walls.Ф
УEmbedded in Ice? IТve never heard of such a thing.Ф
УNor had I, until now.Ф
The smoke was beginning to thin, and in a moment they had emerged into the
untrammeled blue of the world of Air, a place without ground, without land-marks
visible to any human eye, even without sun, though it was suffused with light.
Only the flow of wind past his exposed skin showed Cray how swiftly his demon
steed traveled through this emptinessЧthe flow of wind and the rapid fading of