"Simon Hawke - Wizard 5 - The Samurai Wizard" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawke Simon)

realized in that instant that he had prevailed over the master. And
that knowledge made him feel giddy with power.
He had fooled Yohaku. The master would believe in his sincerity,
in the depth and strength of his honor, in the truth of those
ridiculous, melodramatic, empty words that he had spoken, when
the real truth was not that KannoтАЩs desire to be worthy of the
master was greater than his desire to live. Far from it. The truth
was that the worth he placed on his own self, the value of his
monumental ego, was so great that he would rather die than be
humbled in the eyes of others.
Yohaku would now believe that he was humble, worthy, selfless,
when in truth Kanno was none of those things, but quite the
opposite. And the strength of his own ego had given him the power
to deceive the master. Yohaku would never realize it, but in that
one incandescent instant when he had magically stopped the blade,
Kanno had become the master.
And the choices he had made since then were rendered that much
easier for him, because there was no need to question his own
decisions, no room left for doubt, no necessity for self-justification.
Yohaku was JapanтАЩs highest ranking and most venerable adept, one
of the greatest living magic-users in the world, and Kanno had
outwitted him. In that moment, he felt himself reborn. There were
no longer any limits.
He had served Yohaku faithfully for ten long years, hiding his
true colors during all that time, exercising the greatest of
self-discipline, swallowing his pride, and effacing himself. Ten
years. The bastard had made Mm wait ten years before he
pronounced him worthy to stand for his first levels and agreed to
sponsor him. Kanno had passed with flying colors. Even then, when
he could have struck out on his own, he has asked the master if he
could remain with him, to study further and refine his knowledge.
Yohaku had been proud and pleased with him. The fool. He never
suspected KannoтАЩs true intent. Yes, Kanno meant to learn, but not
out of selfless dedication and a sincere desire to improve his art, but
out of a driving ambition to increase his power.
He had been careful, oh, so very careful. He had successfully
resisted the overwhelming temptation to peruse YohakuтАЩs
thaumaturgic scrolls when the master wasnтАЩt looking. He forced
himself not to delve into the masterтАЩs secrets. At least, he had
resisted until he was absolutely certain that Yohaku trusted him
completely and would never even entertain the faintest glimmer of
suspicion concerning his pupilтАЩs duplicity. Kanno had waited until
he was absolutely certain of the spells the master used to unlock
the invisible, thaumaturgic seals on his ancient scrolls and
leather-bound tomes. And even after he had learned all those spells
by heart, backward and forward, he still resisted the temptation
until he was sure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that there were
no other warding spells that might entrap him or alert Yohaku to
what he had done. For years, Kanno bided his time patiently. And
then, when he felt totally secure in his duplicity, he broke the