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

the smoky limits of Fire behind them.
Like the other boundaries between the demon worlds, the one between Air and Ice
seemed infinite in extent, up, down, right, left. At first, far off, it appeared
as just the slightest cloudiness in the vast blue of Air, but soon it loomed
ahead like an enormous wall, faintly white, like water with a few drops of milk
stirred in. And within this whiteness were a few grayish streaks, like colossal
strands of spiderwebЧhuge fractures in the body of Ice, flaws in that single
gigantic crystal. Cray and Gildrum were still far from the immense flat surface
when he began to shiver from the chill that drifted toward him from it.
Gildrum, noting the shiver, warmed Cray with its flame.
Against the enormous expanse of Ice, Elrelet became visible as the merest puff
of cloud. It extruded an arm to wave at the travelers, and they joined it.
УYouТve had some luck, I hope,Ф said Gildrum.
УI think so. At least, I have a tentative offer.Ф
УHow tentative?Ф
УMiddling,Ф said Elrelet. УCray freed this one eleven years ago, and it still
seems to have a little gratitude left. As much as any of them have. Sometimes I
have the impression that Ice demons think theyТre doing Cray a favor by letting
him free them.Ф
УTheyТre just proud,Ф said Cray.
Elrelet made a rude noise. УI can think of a better word for it.Ф
УAnd it can probably think of a lot of words for you,Ф said Gildrum. УNow no
more of this talk while weТre so close to Ice. And come, take Cray. HeТll be
more comfortable for the journey with you.Ф
Cray felt only the briefest gust of frigid air as Gildrum withdrew and Elrelet
enveloped him in its pale, cloudy substance. For a moment, he saw as through a
gray veil, all his body encased in cloud no thicker than a fingerТs width. And
then the substance became transparent, as if Elrelet had vanished, though Cray
knew from its warmth that the demon still clothed him.
The three of them moved closer to the boundary of Ice, close enough to touch it.
A light dusting of snow covered it, white particles drifting away at random,
filling the air with a fine, glittering mist. Cray waved his demon-gloved hand
above the area nearest him, clearing it and setting the mist awhirl with eddies.
His nose almost touching the surface, cushioned only by the layer of Elrelet
that surrounded him, he peered into the depths of Ice. The light from Air seemed
to penetrate far, revealing a solid, transparent world marred only by its
fractures and an occasional cloudy patch caused by trapped air bubbles.
УOur guide,Ф said Elrelet, and a puff of cloud mateнrialized beside CrayТs eyes
to become a stubby, pointнing finger.
Deep in the transparency before him, parallel toЧno, withinЧone of the
fractures, Cray saw motion. A slim, whitish object pressed toward him, forcing
the fracture open just enough to let it pass. It was a slender cone, not unlike
one of the heavy icicles that depended from SpinwebТs parapets in winter, and
its surface was frosted with a thousand tiny scales, like pinhead snowflakes.
Cray pushed himself to one side as the fracture opened to Air like a mouth and
the creature emerged. As it floated free of Ice, and the fracture closed behind
it, the demonТs slender form expanded like a bird fluffing its feathers.
Multiple icicles fanned outward from its cone shape like a spray of fronds,
expanding, unfolding, growing branches, spines, spicules until the demon was a
multiplex form like a hundred giant snowflakes clustered together, a star made