"Kay, Guy Gavriel - Fionavar Tapestry 1 - The Summer Tree" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kay Guy Gavriel)

У\iFollowed?\iФ The shock registering on Lorenzo MarcusТs face was manifestly unfeigned.
УThatТs right,Ф Paul said, Уand I want to know what it was, too.Ф
УMatt?Ф Marcus asked, in a whisper.
The Dwarf fixed Paul Schafer with a long stare.
Paul met the glance. УOur priorities,Ф he said, УcanТt be the same in this.Ф After a moment, Matt S\a246ren nodded and turned to Marcus.
УFriends from home,Ф he said. УIt seems there are those who want to know exactly what you are doing when you . . . travel.Ф
УFriends?Ф Lorenzo Marcus asked.
УI speak loosely. Very loosely.Ф
There was a silence. Marcus leaned back in his armchair, stroking the grey beard. He closed his eyes.
УThis isnТt how I would have chosen to begin,Ф he said at length, Уbut it may be for the best after all.Ф He turned to Paul. УI owe you an apology. Earlier this evening I subjected you to something we call a searching. It doesnТt always work. Some have defences against it and with others, such as yourself, it seems, strange things can happen. What took place between us unsettled me as well.Ф
PaulТs eyes, more blue than grey in the lamplight, were astonishingly unsurprised. УIТll need to talk about what we saw,Ф he said to Lorenzo Marcus, Уbut the thing is, why did you do it in the first place?Ф
And so they were there. Kevin, leaning forward, every sense sharpened, saw Lorenzo Marcus draw a deep breath, and he had a flash image in that instant of his own life poised on the edge of an abyss.
УBecause,Ф Lorenzo Marcus said, Уyou were quite right, Paul Schafer\a151I didnТt just want to escape a boring reception tonight. I need you. The five of you.Ф
УWeТre not five.Ф DaveТs heavy voice crashed in. УIТve got nothing to do with these people.Ф
УYou are too quick to renounce friendship, Dave Martyniuk,Ф Marcus snapped back. УBut,Ф he went on, more gently, after a frozen instant, Уit doesnТt matter here\a151and to make you see why, I must try to explain. Which is harder than it would have been once.Ф He hesitated, hand at his beard again.
УYou arenТt Lorenzo Marcus, are you?Ф Paul said, very quietly.
In the stillness, the tall man turned to him again. УWhy do you say that?Ф
Paul shrugged. УAm I right?Ф
УThat searching truly was a mistake. Yes,Ф said their host, Уyou are right.Ф Dave was looking from Paul to the speaker with hostile incredulity. УAlthough I am Marcus, in a way\a151as much as anyone is. There is no one else. But Marcus is not who I am.Ф
УAnd who are you?Ф It was Kim who asked. And was answered in a voice suddenly deep as a spell.
УMy name is Loren. Men call me Silvercloak. I am a mage. My friend is Matt S\a246ren, who was once King of the Dwarves. We come from Paras Derval, where Ailell reigns, in a world that is not your own.Ф
In the stone silence that followed this, Kevin Laine, who had chased an elusive image down all the nights of his life, felt an astonishing turbulence rising in his heart. There was a power woven into the old manТs voice, and that, as much as the words, reached through to him.
УAlmighty God,Ф he whispered. УPaul, how did you know?Ф
УWait a second! You \ibelieve\i this?Ф It was Dave Martyniuk, all bristling belligerence. УIТve never heard anything so crack-brained in my life!Ф He put his drink down and was halfway to the door in two long strides.
УDave, please!Ф
It stopped him. Dave turned slowly in the middle of the room to face Jennifer Lowell. УDonТt go,Ф she pleaded. УHe said he needed us.Ф
Her eyes, he noticed for the first time, were green. He shook his head. УWhy do you care?Ф
УDidnТt you hear it?Ф she replied. УDidnТt you feel anything?Ф
He wasnТt about to tell these people what he had or hadnТt heard in the old manТs voice, but before he could make that clear, Kevin Laine spoke.
УDave, we can afford to hear him out. If thereТs danger or itТs really wild, we can run away after.Ф
He heard the goad in the words, and the implication. He didnТt rise to it, though. Never turning from Jennifer, he walked over and sat beside her on the couch. DidnТt even look at Kevin Laine.
There was a silence, and she was the one who broke it. УNow, Dr. Marcus, or whatever you prefer to be called, weТll listen. But please explain. Because IТm frightened now.Ф
It is not known whether Loren Silvercloak had a vision then of what the future held for Jennifer, but he bestowed upon her a look as tender as he could give, from a nature storm-tossed, but still more giving, perhaps, than anything else. And then he began the tale.
УThere are many worlds,Ф he said, Уcaught in the loops and whorls of time. Seldom do they intersect, and so for the most part they are unknown to each other. Only in Fionavar, the prime creation, which all the others imperfectly reflect, is the lore gathered and preserved that tells of how to bridge the worlds\a151and even there the years have not dealt kindly with ancient wisdom. We have made the crossing before, Matt and I, but always with difficulty, for much is lost, even in Fionavar.Ф
УHow? Haw do you cross?Ф It was Kevin.
УIt is easiest to call it magic, though there is more involved than spells.Ф
УYour magic?Ф Kevin continued.
УI am a mage, yes,Ф Loren said. УThe crossing was mine. And so, too, if you come, will be the return.Ф
УThis is ridiculous!Ф Martyniuk exploded again. This time he would not look at Jennifer. УMagic. Crossings. Show me something! Talk is cheap, and I donТt believe a word of this.Ф
Loren stared coldly at Dave. Kim, seeing it, caught her breath. But then the severe face creased in a sudden smile. The eyes, improbably, danced. УYouТre right,Ф he said. УIt is much the simplest way. Look, then.Ф
There was silence in the room for almost ten seconds. Kevin saw, out of the corner of his eye, that the Dwarf, too, had gone very still. WhatТll it be, he thought.
They saw a castle.
Where Dave Martyniuk had stood moments before, there appeared battlements and towers, a garden, a central courtyard, an open square before the walls, and on the very highest rampart a banner somehow blowing in a non-existent breeze: and on the banner Kevin saw a crescent moon above a spreading tree.
УParas Derval,Ф Loren said softly, gazing at his own artifice with an expression almost wistful, Уin Brennin, High Kingdom of Fionavar. Mark the flags in the great square before the palace. They are there for the coming celebration, because the eighth day past the full of the moon this month will end the fifth decade of AilellТs reign.Ф
УAnd us?Ф KimberlyТs voice was parchment-thin. УWhere do we fit in?Ф
A wry smile softened the lines of LorenТs face. УNot heroically, IТm afraid, though there is pleasure in this for you, I hope. A great deal is being done to celebrate the anniversary. There has been a long spring drought in Brennin, and it has been deemed politic to give the people something to cheer about. And I daresay there is reason for it. At any rate, Metran, First Mage to Ailell, has decided that the gift to him and to the people from the Council of the Mages will be to bring five people from another world\a151one for each decade of the reign\a151to join us for the festival fortnight.Ф
Kevin Laine laughed aloud. УRed Indians to the Court of King James?Ф
With a gesture almost casual, Loren dissolved the apparition in the middle of the room. УIТm afraid thereТs some truth to that. MetranТs ideas . . . he is First of my Council, but I daresay I need not always agree with him.Ф
УYouТre here,Ф Paul said.
УI wanted to try another crossing in any case,Ф Loren replied quickly. УIt has been a long time since last I was in your world as Lorenzo Marcus.Ф