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

'Get that thing out of my sight,' she grated. 'And bring me my son.'' In that
instant she made it clear to everyone present that, in her mind, she had only
one son - and the observers took their cue from her. The senior midwife
brought the elder twin to the bedside, while minions cleared away the bloody
sheets and tried to restore a semblance of normality to the scene. Adina
cradled the child, looking at him with eyes that were full of relief as well
as love.
'This is my son,' she whispered. 'This is my son.'
In the antechamber where most of the court seers were gathered, the news that
the Empress had given birth to twins was greeted with exclamations of
disbelief. Their consternation increased when they learnt of the second boy's
defects, and of the Empress's reaction to them. The hurried and anxious debate
that followed was led, naturally enough, by Mirival, the Chief Seer. As the
Emperor's closest advisor, he knew it would be his duty to report the
unexpected event to his lord, but before he did so he needed a plausible
explanation. In particular he had to explain the failure of their augury.
Mirival prided himself on the fact that no one in all Vadanis knew more about
the Tindaya Code, but his many readings of that ancient text had found
absolutely no mention of twins. He had never even considered such a
possibility, and nor had any of his fellow astrologers. How could their
science have failed them so drastically, especially when their other
predictions had all proved to be so accurate?
Mirival looked around at his colleagues, seeing his own fears reflected in
their frowning eyes, and knew that they too were at a loss.
'Theories, gentlemen?' he prompted, without any real hope.
'There's nothing in the Code to even suggest-' 'I'm aware of that,' Mirival
snapped. 'We've a great deal of work ahead of us, trying to seek out what
we've missed, but that will have to wait. What I need right now is a way to
present this to Dheran - and to the people.'
There was a long, awkward silence, as each of the seers contemplated just how
foolish they were going to appear.
'Do the people have to know?' Kamin suggested timidly.
Mirival was about to tell his deputy not to be so stupid, but then he held his
tongue, considering the idea.
'Should we not take our lead from the Empress?' Fauria enquired. 'Women's
instincts do not contain the logic of astrology, but they cannot always be
dismissed lightly. If Adina disowns the second boy, we can surely do the
same.' 'Exactly,' Kamin said, more confident now that he had received some
support from a fellow seer. 'Hide him away somewhere safe, and no one need
know he even exists.'
'But the midwives will gossip, like all servants,' Shahan pointed out. He was
the eldest of the group - and some said the least imaginative. 'We won't be
able to silence all the rumours.'
'There will be some practical difficulties,' Mirival conceded thoughtfully.
'But silence can be bought or enforced if necessary.' He was beginning to warm
to the idea. Keeping the second birth secret could save much embarrassment.
Plans were already forming in his calculating mind.
'We'll still have our Guardian,' Fauria said. 'His destiny can unfold as
planned.'
'And there's every likelihood that the second infant will die soon anyway,'