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

me busy, none is so intriguing as your mirror.Ф
Feldar opened one eye, the blue one. He gripped CrayТs arm above the elbow.
УThere is something wrong, my friend. I feel it in you now. I thought I felt it
even when I spoke to you in the web. What is it?Ф
УI donТt know what you mean, Feldar. Nothing is wrong.Ф
Sepwin opened the other eye and focused them both on Cray. УYou donТt know your
own mind. You amass knowledge, but it doesnТt please you. You feel a lack.Ф
Cray covered SepwinТs hand with his own, trying to soothe the stiffness he felt
there. УDo you speak as a friend, or as a Seer?Ф
УBoth. I see it in your face, and I see it in your heart. The mirror is for you,
Cray. You must look into it and find your heartТs desire.Ф
Cray shook his head. УNot I. I know what I wantЧto hone my skills and be the
best sorcerer that I can. If I do feel some lack, it is that so much knowledge
still remains beyond me.Ф
УNo. Something else. Something more important than sorcery.Ф
CrayТs hand tightened on SepwinТs. УWhere is your pool, Seer? Where is the
source of your power that you can see so deep inside me? We have no water here
for you to run your fingers through.Ф
УI donТt need it to read you, Cray. I know you almost as I know myself, and as I
am content, I know that you are not, no matter what you say.Ф
Cray looked up at the tree, whose dappled shade spread over them. Then he
shrugged. УPerhaps you are right, Feldar.Ф He reached out to snap a leaf off the
lowest bough. УYou see this? I made it, this thing of green and gold. I practice
a new form of sorcery here, and with every attempt, I find some small
imнprovement in myself.Ф He tossed the leaf aside. УNo, I am not content, my
dear friend. But I do find some pleasure in expanding my knowledge. And that, I
think, is as much of my heartТs desire as I will ever have. Come, look here.Ф
As Sepwin eased into a sitting position, Cray stood to pull a branch close and
show him the new growth upon it. From the size of a pearl, the bud had
develнoped till it was as large as a manТs fist. It had the form of a tightly
closed daffodil, petals squashed snugly into the bell of the trumpet. What
showed above its calyx was burnished gold.
УWill you call Mother?Ф Cray said to Gildrum. УToday is as good as any for what
I wish to show.Ф
Gildrum smiled, and then his human shape melted into fire and soared up to
DelivevТs tower workroom. In a few moments he returned to the garden, human once
more, with her on his arm.
УGood morning, Feldar,Ф she said. УItТs good to see you again.Ф And to Cray:
УYou wished to show me something, my son?Ф
He touched the unopened blossom. УThis is for you, Mother, if it turns out as I
hope.Ф With his two hands spread, he traced an invisible sphere about the bloom,
concentrating all his power, all his knowledge in that small space. Between his
palms, the petals twitched once, twice, as if some creature were trapped within
them, trying to escape. Then, they unfurled with a sound like the thinnest metal
foil crinkling, and the flower showed itself to be a daffodil of polished yellow
gold, a delicate, ruff-encircled trumpet as large as a wine goblet.
УOh, how lovely,Ф said Delivev. УSee how it shines in the sunlight. Will it
close at night, Cray, like the other flowers?Ф
УYes, for it is just as alive as they are.Ф
УAh, but look at the others,Ф said Gildrum. УLook at all the blossoms around