"Gray, Julia - Guardian 04 - The Red Glacier" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gray Julia)

worn it as a joke, it had soon become the precious link that helped her to find him wherever he was. Seeing it always made him think of Havenmoon, his home for the first fourteen years of his life Ч the asylum where Alyssa's comatose body still lay.
You're quite safe, he reassured her, sensing her unreasoning terror.
Why aren 't you back in the palace? she asked. That would be safe, not this. I won't be able to stand this for long.
Was there something you wanted to tell me? he asked quickly. The cat hissed again as the Skua rose with the swell. This time I'm not even going to try to sing, Alyssa declared, looking around wildly.
The irrelevance of this remark made it clear to Terrel that she was more than usually deranged, and he wondered whether he'd get any sense from her at all.
You don't have to, he said. Just give me your message and you can go. Much as he wanted her company, he couldn't bear to see her suffering.
What message? She sounded bewildered. / thoughtЧ
Oh, that! she interrupted. All the windows are closed. What?
Muzeni says . . . She paused, apparently trying to remember something elusive. Muzeni says .. . the crystal's broken, isn 't it? Smashed.
What does that mean? he asked, desperate now. Be careful where you choose to follow, she stated tone-lessly, as if she were reciting the words from memory. Don't fight the wrong war. And don't trust your instincts.
More confused than ever now, Terrel was about to speak again, but Alyssa overrode him.
I'm sick, she announced. And if you think I'm coming up on deck, you 're crazy.
Sick? Terrel queried, his heart sinking. Let me help you.
I have no need of your healing, she replied, sounding a little calmer at last. Just your love.
You have that always, he told her.
But there are others in your path who are in terrible pain, Alyssa added. Look ahead. Even the sky is at war.
And then she was gone. Terrel caught a last glimpse of the ring as it faded away Ч and then the cat was just a cat again. Dranga wandered off, with a puzzled 'miaow'. Terrel remained where he was, too stunned to do anything. Whatever message Alyssa had intended to bring had been garbled by her terror. Her utterances were often obscure, but under normal circumstances Terrel could usually interpret the meaning beneath the words. This time he was completely at a loss.
The one instruction that had a potentially relevant interpretation was the last. Look ahead. Coupled with Alyssa's apparently pointless refusal to even consider going up on deck, it did at least give Terrel something to do.
Leaving the long cabin he shared with several of the crew Ч all of whom had been quite unaware of the silent conversation Ч he climbed up the steep wooden steps to the foredeck. As soon as he emerged, he knew instantly that the windswept night was lit by more than normal moonlight, but he was not prepared for the sight that greeted him.
Ahead of the ship, the sky was filled with a shimmering arch of greenish-white luminescence, stretching from horizon to horizon. Along its upper rim, even brighter beads of light moved at incredible speeds, leaving behind them glittering silver trails that trembled like the strings of a star-born lute. As Terrel watched, spellbound, the archway expanded and transformed itself into a swaying curtain of unearthly light. Streaks of green and blue tinged the white
as the delicate fabric moved slowly on an unseen wind. Finally, as the rest of the astonishing display began to fade, the entire spectacle was suffused with an eerie crimson glow. As the other colours splintered into separate swathes and shards, the red mist remained constant, until it too vanished back whence it had come.
'Not a bad show tonight, eh?'
Kahl's voice made Terrel jump. The sailor's soft boots had made no sound as he'd come up behind him.
'Do you see this often?' Terrel whispered.
'Often enough. But there aren't many nights it's as bright as that.'
'It was beautiful.'
'I suppose so.' Kahl did not sound unduly impressed. 'Though they say that the winter lights are ill-omened when they turn the colour of blood.'
That gave Terrel pause for thought as he stared into the now empty darkness.
Even the sky is at war.
Chapter Two
Terrel's dream that night made the fire he'd seen rise from the ocean seem like a candle flame. Above him the sky was obscured by a threatening dome of thick cloud, which extended to the horizon in every direction. It blotted out the sunlight so that the scene below was illuminated only by its own infernal glow. There were huge lines of fire snaking across both land and sea, dividing them into distinct areas, which were themselves in turmoil. In places the ocean boiled, spitting forth great gouts of steam and flame. Elsewhere the waves were discoloured, with swathes of red or brown running through the grey waters. On land the conflagration was, if anything, even worse. Molten rock spilled from open wounds in the ground and flowed like rivers of fire, consuming everything in its path. Other eruptions hurled debris into the sky with an incandescent fury, their smoke and ash adding to the all-encompassing gloom. It was as if the entire planet was in the grip of a vast convulsion.
Gradually the fires dimmed, and without the sun to warm it the world became a frigid wasteland. Seas froze over, and snow and ice blanketed the darkened land. But the forces that were destroying Nydus were not done yet. There was movement, slow but massive, as whole continents drifted into each other, creating another type of upheaval. Mountains rose and were smashed, complete
oceans were thrown aside, only to inundate other regions and form new seas. And in the midst of the tumult one island floated free, finding its own escape route from the chaos.
At first Terrel thought it must be Vadanis, but its contours were unfamiliar. It was too big and too cold to be his homeland. By the time he'd realized that it must in fact be Myvatan, the dream had taken him closer, so that he could see individual landmarks within its bleak terrain. Much of what he saw was bewildering. Steam rose from pools of muddy water, even though they were surrounded by snow; crevasses in the great sheets of ice glowed bright blue, although the sky above was still an unremitting grey; and the interior plains were daubed with great splashes of colour - yellow, ochre, green and mauve - as if they'd been attacked by an insane artist.
And at the last, just before he woke up, Terrel saw the first indication that this daunting world might once have been inhabited. Atop one of the coastal cliffs, a huge boulder had been carved into the shape of what looked like an enormous fish. Although it resembled nothing Terrel had ever seen before, its fins and tail were undoubtedly meant to be part of a marine creature. He had seen another, much smaller and simpler, representation of the beast once before. And seeing it now gave him a surge of hope. This at least was a sign he did understand.
'Are you sure?' Terrel asked excitedly. 'Like a giant fish?'
'Yes. It's a whale,' Ostan repeated patiently. 'I've seen it many times. Why?'
'That's where I want to go ashore.'
The captain of the Skua looked at Terrel as if he were mad.
'That's impossible.'
'Please. It's very important.'
'It's just a sculpture,' Ostan said. 'I mean, it's impressive all right, but you'd get just as good a view of it from the sea. Better, in fact.'
'That's not the point.'
'Then what is? Why is this so important to you?' Ostan was aware that several of his crew were standing nearby, listening to the conversation with interest. Passengers were usually tolerated on board, rather than welcomed, but Terrel had been more acceptable than most - for obvious reasons. However, that would change quite rapidly if the foreigner became more trouble than he was worth. Ridiculous requests like this would not help his cause.
'There's a path I'm bound to follow,' Terrel replied, looking uncomfortable now. 'I swore an oath, and this is part of it.'
Ostan didn't know what to make of that.
'You're not making any sense,' he said. 'There's no path near there.'
'That's not what I meant,' the healer said, but Ostan ignored him.
'In fact, that part of the coastline is treacherous,' the captain went on. 'There are shoals and rocks just below the tide line and the currents are dangerous, especially when the tides are turning. I probably wouldn't be able to put you ashore there even if I wanted to. And if I did, you'd have to scale the cliffs to reach the whale. You don't look like much of a rock-climber to me. ThenЧ'
'That's my problem,' Terrel cut in. 'Won't you at least try?'