"Gray, Julia - Guardian 01 - The Dark Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gray Julia)

'He sounds really angry,' Alyssa commented.
'And he couldn't hide it,' Terrel agreed. 'Which is probably why he ended up here.'
'I wonder how long he lived here?'
'Judging by the number of journals, I'd say quite a long time.' Terrel began turning pages and glancing at the contents. There were columns of figures, tables and charts, and diagrams of stars, as well as other, stranger notations. 'There's so much in here! If the others are the same, it could take years just to read them all.'
'Do you think we're the first to find them?' Alyssa asked. 'In all this time?'
'Probably.' It was a melancholy thought.
'So no one knows what else he discovered?'
'No. But I'm going to find out,' Terrel vowed.
Before he could read on, or look at any of the other volumes, he was distracted by a sudden shout which seemed to come from above.
'Get away from me!'
A moment later there was a loud thump, followed by another shout - and then a large chunk of the dome crashed down into the room. Terrel and Alyssa shrank back as bits of wood flew in all directions, and it was only when the dust had cleared that they saw Elam, lying quite still in the midst of the debris.

Chapter Five

Terrel and Alyssa hurried to Elam's side. He was breathing, but the fall had knocked him unconscious and a small cut just above his left eye was bleeding profusely. Terrel pressed a finger to the wound to stem the flow, and glanced up at the roof.
'We'd better move him in case any more falls in.'
By the time they had half carried, half dragged him to the side of the room, the bleeding had stopped. A few moments later, Elam groaned and opened his eyes.
'What hurts?' Terrel asked.
'Everything.'
'I don't think you've broken any bones, but try to move a little.'
Elam flexed his limbs gingerly.
'You're lucky,' Terrel concluded. 'Just bumps and bruises. What were you doing up there?'
'Just looking around. You can see over the wall from the roof.'
'How did you get up there?' Alyssa asked.
'There are rungs set in the wall outside, just round the corner from the door.' Elam's eyes flickered and he raised an accusing finger. I was just looking, and then that thing attacked me.'
His companions glanced round. A large tawny owl was perched on the edge of the ruined roof, regarding them with intense black eyes. At the sound of Elam's angry voice it had raised itself up in alarm, but now it relaxed again, obviously deciding that he was no longer a threat.
'An owl?' Terrel exclaimed, trying hard not to laugh. I thought you'd seen a ghost.'
'The filthy creature flew in my face,' Elam said, remembering a sudden whirlwind of feathers and talons. 'I lost my balance.' He picked up a piece of wood and tried to sit up, meaning to hurl it at his assailant, but Alyssa caught his arm, and the renewed pain in his head made him think better of it. 'I'll get you next time,' he muttered venomously.
The owl did not move, but gave a long wavering hoot, followed by several sharp clicks.
'She was only trying to protect her young,' Alyssa said.
'How do you know?' Terrel asked.
'She just told me. The nest is in the other part of the dome, over there. Elam came too close, that's all.'
'How was I supposed to know?' Elam grumbled. Neither he nor Terrel doubted the nature of the communication between Alyssa and the owl. All animals reacted to her in remarkable ways.
'It's all right,' she went on. 'I've told her we mean no harm. As long as we avoid the nest, she won't attack again.'
The bird blinked twice, then flew off out of sight. Terrel turned back to Elam.
'How are you feeling?'
'Terrible.'
'Rest there a while. When you feel like moving, we'd better think about getting back.'
It was already past noon. Terrel knew that the longer they were away the more likely it was that questions would be asked about their absence - and he wanted the observatory to remain their secret.
Leaving Alyssa with their patient, Terrel retrieved Muzeni's book and leafed through it, reading occasional passages. It was hard to believe that it had been written so long ago, by the heretic whose skeleton lay just outside the door, but he couldn't think of any better explanation. Many of the sections he was drawn to were similar to those he had read in some of the books in the library, while others were quite new to him - and a few were quite frightening in their implications. One paragraph in particular, which was on a page opposite some indecipherable hieroglyphics, was very ominous in tone.
'I regret I will not live to see the Guardian born, for when that happens all our fates will be decided. If I am right, and conventional wisdom wrong, then the Code is predicting events that are astronomically impossible. So which is wrong, the prophecy or science? Either way, the consequences will be dire. (Even the court dullards see that!) It is hard to imagine destruction on such a scale.'
After that, Terrel lost his appetite for reading and became restless. When he glanced over at Alyssa, she smiled at him.
'Go on,' she said. 'The owl's asleep again. She won't-bother you unless you disturb her.'
Terrel was no longer surprised when Alyssa knew what he wanted to do even before he did himself. He went outside, walked carefully round the skeleton, and found the metal rungs. Once he reached the top of the ladder, he kept to the edge of the roof, well away from the dome and the bird's nest. From his vantage point he could just catch glimpses of the roof of the main house, the far end of the lake, and parts of the grounds. But it was the view to the northeast, where the perimeter wall ran closest to the hill, that held his attention.
The open moor stretched away into the distance, a mixture of brown earth tones and purple heather, with bright patches of green in the wet marshes. In the hazy distance, Terrel could just make out the shapes of grey rolling hills. As far as he could see, there was no sign of any human influence on the land, which looked wild and forbidding even in the gentle sunshine. But it was still a source of wonder to him. It was his first sight of the outside world.
When he returned to his companions, Elam was sitting up, his back propped against the wall, and there was more colour in his cheeks. Taking one hand each, Terrel and Alyssa pulled him to his feet. Although he groaned again, he seemed reasonably steady, and they set off. Before Terrel left, he picked up the journal, wishing he could take all the books with him, and closed the lid of the chest.
'We ought to shut the door again,' he said once they were outside.
He and Alyssa managed to pull it to between them. The last part closed in a rush, so that the wood slammed into the door frame with a force that shook the walls. To their horror, this disturbed the skeleton and the skull toppled forward, taking the ribs with it like a ball scattering skittles. Then the spine and the arms collapsed too, leaving only a jumbled pile of bones on the ground.
No one spoke for several heartbeats. Then Elam cleared his throat.
'I guess his watch is over.'