"Alex Irvine - Wizard's Six" - читать интересную книгу автора (Irvine Alexander C)

WizardтАЩs Six
by Alex Irvine

Alex IrvineтАЩs novels include The Narrows, One King, One Soldier, and A Scattering
of Jades. His short fiction has been collected in Pictures from an Expedition and
Unintended Consequences. His latest book, Batman: Inferno, has drawn some
interesting comments on the Amazon.com page listing for it. (We wonтАЩt repeat
them here, save to say that тАЬItтАЩs a freaken [sic] book!тАЭ is not cause for a negative
rating in our eyes.)
With this new story, Mr. Irvine ventures into the High Fantasy genre with
affecting results.
****

1
In the spring Paulus set out north from The Fells, hunting the apprentice
Myros. He cannot be allowed to collect his six, the wizard had said. If you cannot
find his track, you must kill whichever of the six he has already selected. It did
PaulusтАЩ conscience no good to kill people whose only fault was being collected by
an aspiring wizard, but he would be only the first of many hunters. Without the
guildтАЩs protection, a wizardтАЩs six were like baby turtles struggling toward the sea.
Best to spare them a life of being hunted.
The apprentice had spent enough time in the Agate Tower to know that there
would be pursuit. He was moving fast and had four monthsтАЩ head start; Paulus
moved faster, riding through nights and spring storms, fording spring-swollen rivers,
asking quiet questions over bottles in public houses along the only road over the
mountains. He killed the first of the apprenticeтАЩs collection on a farm between a bend
in the road and a ripple of foothills: a small boy with a dirty face and a stick in his
hand.
Yes, mister, a man passed by here in the winter.
Yes, mister, he had a ring over his glove. I was feeding the pig, and he told me
I was a likely boy. Are you looking for him?
Can I see your sword?
They werenтАЩt supposed to choose children, Paulus was thinking as he rode
on. Even apart from the cultural sanction, childrenтАЩs magic was powerful but
unpredictable, tricky to harness. No wonder the guild was after this one.
****
In a public house that evening, the dayтАЩs chill slowly ebbing from his feet,
Paulus said a prayer for the boyтАЩs parents. He hoped they hadnтАЩt sent anyone after
him. It was bad enough to kill children; he had even less desire to take the lives of
vengeful bumpkins. Best to keep moving. Already he had gained a month on the
apprentice, who was moving fast for a normal man but not fast enough to stay ahead
of Paulus, who had once been one of the kingтАЩs rangers. Upstairs in his room,
Paulus watched a thin drift of snow appear on the windowsill, spilling onto the plank
floor. His prayer beads worked through his fingers. Go, boy, he thought. Speed
your way to heaven. He dreamed of turtles, and of great birds that flew at night.
In the morning the snow had stopped, and Paulus cut a piece of cheese from
a wheel left out in the kitchen. He stuck the knife in the remaining cheese and set a
coin next to it, then left through the back door and saddled his horse without waking
the stable boy. He rode hard, into the mountains and over the first of the passes
where the road lay under drifted snow taller than a man on horseback. The horse