"Katherine Kurtz - Camber 3 - Camber the Heretic" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

upon him, of an eddy of surprise that he had called up this imagery for the
work they did. But there was an undercurrent of acceptance, tooтАФof
acquiescence to this approachтАФand he knew that they would follow his lead.
He watched as the breeze subsided to a tiny, controlled whirlwind hovering
above the cup, did not dare to breathe as the funnel sank and touched the
surface of the water, stirring it slightly and then dying away.
When all movement on the surface of the water had ceased, when all that
stirred was the renewed shaking of his hand, Cinhil closed his eyes briefly and
passed the cup to Joram. Joram, apparently unmoved by what he had just
seen, bowed solemnly, grey eyes hooded and unfathomable. Holding out the
cup beside the entranced Alroy, he extended his right hand over the rim as
Cinhil had done.
"O Lord, Thou art holy, indeed: the fountain of all holiness. We pray Thee
now send Thy holy Archangel of Fire, the Blessed Michael, to instill this water
with the fire of Thy love and make it holy. So may all who drink of it command
the element of Fire. Amen."
A moment, with his hand held over the cup, and then the hand was drawn a
little to one side, though still it hovered close. Fire glowed within the hollow of
his palm, growing to an egg-sized spheroid of golden flame which hung
suspended but a handspan from the cup. The flame roared like the fire of a
forge, filling the warded circle with its might.
After a few heartbeats, Joram turned his hand slightly downward and
seemed to press the fiery sphere into the surface of the water. Steam hissed
and spat for just an instant, then ceased as the flame subsided to a cold blue
which brooded, barely visible, on the surface and around the rim.
Carefully, reverently, Joram turned toward his sister and extended the cup
to her. She tossed her wind-tumbled hair back from her face with a quick,
graceful gesture and took the cup, held it close against her breast for just a
moment while she gazed into the water.
Then she raised it high in supplication, her eyes focused on and through
the glow of flame.
"O Lord, Thou art holy, indeed: the fountain of all holiness. Let now Thine
Archangel Gabriel, who rules the stormy waters, instill this cup with the rain of
Thy wisdom, that they who shall drink hereof may justly command the element
of Water. Amen."
For an instant there was silence, a growing electric tension in the air. Then
lightning crackled in the space above their heads, and thunder rumbled, and a
small, dark cloud took form above the cup.
Cinhil gasped, his resolve shaken at what Evaine had called, but the others
did not move so neither did he. Evaine's face was suffused with radiance, her
blue eyes focused entirely on this thing she had called.
Thunder rumbled again, lower and less menacing this time, and then a
gentle rain began to fall from the little cloud, most of it falling into the cup but
a few drops splashing on those who watched. Cinhil flinched as the first drop
hit his face, restraining the almost irresistible urge to cross himself, but the
rainfall ended almost as soon as it had begun. Abruptly, the cup in Evaine's
hands was only what it had been before, though fuller by perhaps a fingerspan
than it had been. The outside of the cup ran with water beaded on the glaze,
dripping a little on the precious Kheldish carpet as Evaine handed it to Alister
with a bow.