"Katherine Kerr - Deverry 06 - A Time Of Omens" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kerr Katherine)

She slammed out of the inn, strode across the courtyard, slammed out of the gates, and stomped off for
a long walk round the town. Wildfolk clustered round her like an army, and whether it was her rage or
their unseen but bristling presence, she didnтАЩt know, but no one, not one single thief or drunkard, so
much as came near her all during that long aimless trek. Through the muddy streets of Injaro, out into the
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html




surrounding cleared land along a rutted roadтАФonly the light from the Wildfolk of Aethyr kept her from
breaking her neck and ending that particular incarnation then and there. All at once she realized that sheтАЩd
gone dangerously far from the town, no matter how much dweomer she had, and turned back. For all
that sheтАЩd walked herself exhausted, she still was too angry to judge Salamander fairly.

Toward dawn her wandering brought her back to a small rise overlooking the harbor, where she paused
among a tangle of huge ferns, as big as trees, to catch her breath. Down below, out at the end of a long
jetty, a boat lay at anchor in a pool of torchlight. Like ants the troupe moved back and forth, hauling their
personal goods for the sailors to stow below. At the landward end of the jetty, Salamander was
supervising while a pair of stevedores unloaded the troupeтАЩs props and stage from a wagon. Jill swore
aloud. SheтАЩd forgotten how early the tide would turn for their journey out. Fortunately there was still
plenty of time left. She could trot right down, tell Salamander that she was going back to the inn for her
pack and suchlike, then return to the coaster before they sailed.

For a long time she stood there, leaning against one of the tree ferns, and wondered why she wasnтАЩt
hurrying. Already out to the east the sky was beginning to lighten to the furry gray that meant dawn
coming. Her gnome appeared to grab the hem of her shirt and pull on it as if he wanted to lead her to the
ship. She picked him up in her arms and made sure she had his attention.

тАЬGo tell Dallandra itтАЩs time. Find her among the Guardians. SheтАЩll know who sent you.тАЭ

In a puff of moldy air the gnome vanished. Jill watched the bustle at the pier. It seemed that everyone
was on board, but Salamander lingered on land, looking up the road into the town, pacing back and
forth, pausing to stare again. When the captain left the ship and walked over to argue with him,
Salamander waved his arms in the air and shook his head in a stubborn no. The sky was all silver now,
and already the heat of day was building in the humid air. Jill had one last stab of doubt. Was she simply
being stubborn? Was she deserting a friend, and him one sheтАЩd known for years and years? Yet with the
cold intuition of the dweomer she knew that she was doing the right thing, that she could no more force
him to take up his Wyrd before he wished than Nevyn had been able to force her, all those years ago.

At last, Salamander flung both hands into the air, shook his head, and followed the captain on board.
Just as the ship was pulling away from the jetty, the gray gnome appeared, all grins and bows. Jill picked
him up again and held him like a child clutching a doll as she watched the ship sail away, heading south on
a rising wind, until it disappeared into the opalescent dawn. In the dayтАЩs fresh heat, sweat trickled down
her back.

тАЬWell, we can hope, at least, that the Elder Brothers found themselves a better island to settle than this
one, but somehow or other, I have my doubts.тАЭ

The gnome mugged a mournful face, then disappeared.