"Katherine Kurtz - Adept 01 - The Adept" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

down to what's really troubling you."
"I know what's troubling me," Peregrine muttered. "I keep seeing things I shouldn't*."
"Why don't you humor me by pretending that I do know what I'm doing?" Adam said mildly. "I know you're a
bundle of nerves - and I understand why - but it isn't going to get any better if you won't let me help you."
Brought up short by this gentle rebuke, Peregrine blinked owlishly at Adam from behind his spectacles, then
drew a determined breath.
"I'm sorry," he said, subdued. "What do you want me to do?"
"First of all," Adam said easily, "I want you to take the float between your two hands and hold it so that you
can see the flame of the candle through the glass."
"All right." Peregrine turned the glass globe around experimentally, peering through it from several different
angles. "Should I take off my glasses first?" he asked.
"You may, if it will make you feel more comfortable. How well do you see without them?"
"Oh, well enough, this close," Peregrine replied. "They're really for distance. Will it make any difference with
the experiment?"
"Not really."
"In that case, I'll leave them on." He glanced doubtfully at Adam. "Are you going to hypnotize me?"
"So, you know my tricks already," Adam said, leaning back in his chair with a look of faint amusement. "You
needn't worry. It won't be like Svengali or Count Dracula, robbing his victim of all power of will. I promise you,
you'll remain in control of the situation at all times."
The assurance produced the desired smile, if still a bit strained. Subsiding, Peregrine bent his gaze to the
float and the light of the candle. Seen through the slight distortion of the hand-blown glass, the flame seemed
to take on a life of its own, expanding and contracting in a succession of bright dancing forms.
By degrees, as Adam's low voice began urging relaxation and a centering on the image of the flame,
Peregrine felt himself drawn closer to the warm, lively glow, bathing in its brightness as it filled his field of
vision. A growing lightness seemed to permeate his limbs, as though his body were shedding its weight. Far
from being strange, the sensation was oddly familiar, even comforting.
Peregrine closed his eyes, trying to recall when and where he might have felt this way before. At the same
time, he heard Adam Sinclair's deep, resonant voice speaking to him in words that were clear but remote, as
though carried over a great distance.
"That's rightтАж. Go ahead and close your eyes. Relax and float. There's nothing to fear now. You're perfectly
safe. Just relax. RelaxтАж."
Gradually the remaining tension drained away from the young artist's face. As he began to relax, his
breathing came more easily, with the shallow regularity of someone just on the verge of sleep. Adam fell
silent for a few seconds, to see if he would rouse himself, but Peregrine only gave a little sigh and seemed to
settle even more.
"That's very good," Adam said softly. "Can you hear me clearly?"
"Yes." The answer was almost inaudible.
"Excellent." Adam kept his tone quiet and reassuring. "At the moment, you're perfectly aware of what's going
on around you; it's simply too much bother to pay attention to other things. You're relaxed and safe and
perfectly at peace. Now, I'm going to fetch something from across the room. When I return, I shall ask you to
perform a simple task for me - one that is perfectly within your ability. Will that be all right?"
"Yes."
Satisfied, Adam went to the desk at the far end of the room, returning with a pencil and a blank pad of paper.
Peregrine was sitting as he had left him - relaxed and motionless, eyes closed.
"You're doing just fine," Adam reassured him, in the same quiet tone he had used throughout. "We're finished
with the float for now, so I'm going to take it out of your hands," he said, suiting action to words. "I'm giving
you a pencil and some paper instead. I want you to take a few more deep breaths, to let go of any remaining
tension or anxiety that might still be with you. Then, when you're ready, I want you to open your eyes and
look at me, with all your inner intuition as well as your physical eyes, and draw what you see. Do you
understand?"