"Kate Forsyth - Eileanan 05 - The Skull Of The World" - читать интересную книгу автора (Forsyth Kate)

Warrior's feet from under him. Her teacher punched his left hand into his right palm, the gesture of
victory.

Isabeau was on her feet in an instant, triumph filling her. The Scarred Warrior attacked again, more
fiercely than ever. Isabeau had to twist and sway and feint more nimbly than ever, panting harshly as she
tried to control her breath. With an unexpected move, the Scarred Warrior spun and kicked high, and
Isabeau fell as if she had been knocked down with a hammer.
For a moment all her senses reeled. She got to her feet slowly, disappointment clear on her face. That
was the third blow. The contest was over.

Isabeau bowed to her opponent, lifting one hand to cover her eyes, the other hand bent outward in
supplication. That was the proper way to greet a Scarred Warrior who had proved his mastery over her.
Her opponent brought two fingers sweeping to his brow, then to his heart, then out to the snowy
darkness. Then they both turned, heads lowered, and knelt before the old woman in the snow-lion's
cloak. There was a long silence.

"This is the fourth long darkness that Khan has lived with us on the Spine of the World and so in our eyes
she is like a child of only four, as blind and mute as a newborn kitten," the Firemaker said, her
long-fingered hands sweeping through the air. Beneath the snarling muzzle of the snow-lion cloak, her old
face was set in deep lines of pride and determination, the eyes between their hooded lids as blue as
Isabeau's own. Isabeau bent her head lower, unable to help feeling a little prick of humiliation at her
great-grandmother's words.

"She has lived through twenty-one winters, however, and so in truth is no child. She has been silent and
learned as no child of four can. She has pleased her teachers and now, in the contest of the wooden
stave, has struck a blow against one vastly her superior. In the eyes of the Firemaker and the Scarred
Warriors, this is proof. Khan is ready to seek out her name and her totem."

Despite herself, Isabeau's eyes flew -up in excitement. Her great-grandmother made the gesture of
assent, and a little shift and murmur ran over the crowd. Isabeau lowered her face again, though her
fingers gripped her stave tighter than ever. The naming-quest was one of the most significant events in the
life of the Khan'cohbans. Isabeau would never be truly accepted as one of their own until she had
undertaken the dark and dangerous journey to the Skull of the World, and returned safely with the
knowledge of the White Gods' intentions for her.

Although Isabeau knew her destiny lay outside the Spine of the World, she still longed to undertake her
quest and attain real status within the pride. The storytellers often told the tale of how her famous father
Khan'gharad, Dragon-Lord, had won his name. Until Isabeau had survived the journey to the Skull of the
World too, she would never truly understand her father and her great-grandmother, or her twin sister,
Iseult, whose characters and philosophy had been so molded by the Khan'cohban way of life.

The queen-dragon had once told her that she would never find her true calling until Isabeau had
embraced both her human and fairy heritages. Thee must know thyself before thee can know the
universe, the queen-dragon had said. Thee must always be searching and asking and answering,
thee must listen to the heart of the world, thee must listen to thine own heart. Thee must search
out thy ancestors and listen to what they may teach thee, thee must know thy history before thee
can know of the future.

So Isabeau had sworn to do as the queen-dragon had commanded, thus accepting a geas that had taken
her far away from those that she loved best in the world. She had traveled up to the Spine of the World,