"Katherine Kurtz - Kelson - The Quest for Saint Camber" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

He glanced uneasily at Dhugal, who looked even more apprehensive than he himself felt, then made his gaze continue on around the table to Duncan, solemn and sympathetic, no doubt remembering his own most recent brush with the drug, to Nigel, who was trying hard not to transmit jus dry-throated fear to the rest of them, full of dread even though he was not being asked to endure the testing, past the inscrutable-looking Arilan, and on, at last, to Morgan.
УI think I would have preferred some time to get used to the idea, Alaric,Ф he said softly, managing to keep most of tile reproach out of his voice. УYou could have told me.Ф
УForgive me,Ф Morgan murmured. УI misjudged. We did talk about the advisability of doing this-one night late in tile fall, as I recall. Dhugal, you were there. But I suppose you put it out of mind when I was unable to procure any merasha on my own. The need is no less important for having .been postponed, however. ItТs vital that you know what you could come up against and how to deal with it.Ф
УWhatТs the urgency?Ф
УBecause you arenТt a child any more, my prince,Ф Morgan said a little sharply. УBecause in three daysТ time, youТll be knighted. For those who will never wear a crown, thatТs the official seal of manhood. It makes you fair game for those who might have spared you before, because of your youth- especially as your talents become more widely known. When you go on progress, and especially when you meet the Torenthi legates in Cardosa, youТll be particularly at risk.Ф
УImplying that I havenТt been for the past four years?Ф
УYouТve been lucky. You canТt be sure your luck will hold. If Brion had known what youТll know, he might not have died. ThatТs my fault. I knew what merasha could do, at least in theory. I should have made certain he did, too.Ф
УDonТt flatter yourself, Alaric,Ф Arilan said. УIt would have done no good in BrionТs case. Brion was never really comfortable with what he was and he never learned to utilize his powers the way he might have done. That isnТt your fault; you were only half-trained yourself. No, there was something in BrionТs own makeup that held him back, that made him just a little too reluctant to use what powers he had. I think I know, but I maynТt speak of it. Remember that I was his confessor for the last six years of his life.Ф
УHe spoke of these things to you?Ф Kelson asked.
УOnly peripherally and very rarely, at that. But why do you think he never taught you anything about the Haldane potential? Think back. Alaric and Duncan were the only ones who even tried to expose you to magic and esoteric philosophy.Ф
Kelson swallowed uncomfortably and reached out to touch a hesitant fingertip to the side of the leather flask.
УIf-if my father had known how to minimize the effects of the merasha, would that have saved him?Ф
As all eyes turned to Arilan in question, the Deryni bishop slowly shook his head.
УI canТt answer that. Kelson. It might have done so. If heТd known-if heТd been fighting it when I realized what was happening-itТs possible. But not knowing, he definitely didnТt have a chance. That I can say without reservation.Ф
УI see.Ф
Kelson picked up the flask and tipped it from side to side, with an answering gurgle of liquid still inside.
УVery well. Is there enough in here to do the job, or has it gone bad in four years?Ф
Nigel paled, and Morgan and Duncan exchanged startled glances, but Arilan only smiled slightly.
УI fear the wine has gone a little sour, and the merasha has lost its potency after so long, but I think I understand what youТre really asking. IТd intended to start with new wine, but we can use whatТs in there, if you wish.Ф
УIs that safe?Ф Morgan asked, before Kelson could reply.
Arilan nodded. УAs safe as merasha ever is. WhatТs in there is nearly spent-exactly how much, is difficult to determine-so IТll still have to add some from what IТve brought.Ф He gestured toward the green vial. УBut I wanted a higher dosage anyway. Even new, the original was too subtle for our purposes. I believe, however, that His Majesty means this trial partially as a remembrance of his father. For that purpose, IТm willing to sacrifice strict accuracy of dose in favor of spiritual resolution. And IТve brought a sedative, for afterward, to take the edge off.Ф
He handed a small parchment packet to the reluctant Duncan, who went immediately to fetch a cup of water. Meanwhile, as the others watched in taut fascination, Arilan matter-of-factly unstoppered the leather flask and sniffed at the contents, wrinkling his nose at the smell. A distracted snap of his fingers brought two empty goblets floating over from the dishes cleared away after supper, one of which he filled from the flask. After adding most of the contents of the glass vial, he poured the mixture back and forth several times between the first and second goblets, ending with half the mixture in each. These he set on the table before the king and Dhugal without ceremony. Beside him, Duncan had returned and was stirring a cup of water with a little horn spoon.
УThatТs the sedative?Ф Morgan asked.
Duncan nodded. УAye, nothing unexpected. A good, stiff dose, but theyТll need that. Dhugal, I think youТre familiar with this one.Ф
Dhugal, trained as a battle-surgeon, sniffed at the cup Duncan held out to him, frowned, then gingerly touched a fingertip to the liquid and then to his tongue, grimacing at the taste.
УAye, I know it. We wonТt wake before morning, and thatТs for sure. Next to a Deryni, itТs the best thing I know to knock out a patient so you can work on him. They donТt feel much.Ф
УAnd neither will you,Ф Arilan said, taking the cup from Duncan and setting it back in the center of the table. УNor will you want to.Ф
He glanced at Kelson, then at Morgan and Duncan, finally sparing a look and a smile for Nigel, who bit back a grimace of apprehension and clasped his arms across his chest, one nervous hand massaging the opposite bicep.
УWhenever youТre ready, then, gentlemen,Ф Arilan said quietly. УActually, why donТt you go first. Kelson, so we donТt have to watch both of you at once? I know you donТt much trust me right now, so Alaric can monitor. IТd recommend you have a very modest taste first, so you can experience the subtler effects, and then toss it off as neatly as you can. In this concentration, it has a particularly nasty aftertaste, as IТm sure Duncan can attest. I suspect this is similar to the strength Loris and Gorony used on him.Ф
If Arilan had intended his words to be reassuring, he failed utterly, for Kelson had seen the end result of DuncanТs ordeal-and of his fatherТs. Picking up the merasha-drugged goblet of his own volition was one of the most difficult things he had ever done.
This is what killed your father! his fear screeched at him, even though he knew it was not true. You will taste his death again!
His hand trembled as he brought the cup to his lips, and he had to steady it with his other hand. Try as he might to prevent it, images of his fatherТs death began crowding into memory-the well-loved face contorted with pain and bewilderment, the chest heaving for breath-and sometimes the face was his own. Sternly he told himself that he was not his father, but dread continued to scurry just at the edges of awareness, constantly dipping deeper into that well of vague and even more soul-chilling fears that every man has, that would always resist reason.
But to counter it, he could feel support all around him: magical bolstering, the likes of which his father had never known-the quick, timid caress of DhugalТs mind, backed by DuncanТs, and then the more powerful surge of MorganТs exhortation for courage, as the Deryni duke laid his hand on the back of KelsonТs neck. He could sense ArilanТs mind only sketchily, though what did come through was benign, but even Nigel, all potential and no power as yet, displayed a fierce glow of fortitude that was another source of comfort.
Heartened, Kelson tipped the cup to taste of the temporary death of mind, barely testing with the tip of his tongue. Unlike his father, he would not really die. Surely he could endure this tempering ordeal, so that his fatherТs death might not have been in vain.
The wine was pungent and tart. Arilan had been right about it going sour. It was not yet vinegary, but almost- probably not a Fianna varietal, but it would have been a good Vintage red, four years before. He knew his father had approved. He wondered why it had not lasted better.
Perhaps it was the merasha, he decided, as he ran his tongue across his lips. Perhaps the old merasha had changed it as it lost its potency. Odd, but the tip of his tongue suddenly felt a little numb. And as he swallowed, the sharp tang of the turning wine left a bitter aftertaste at the back of his tongue-not unexpected, in light of what Arilan had said. He swallowed again and became aware of a faint buzzing that started in his throat and quickly spread to the back of his head.
УDrink it down now,Ф Morgan murmured, suddenly at his right ear, standing now to rest both hands on his shoulders. УYou might as well avoid the worst of the transition. Fast is better, believe me.Ф
Kelson might have argued with Arilan, if only because he resented the Deryni bishopТs highhandedness in this entire matter, but not with Morgan. He could feel an unpleasant tingling already extending into his lips and down his arms. He raised the cup again in hands that were fast losing sensation.
УAll of it, in one big gulp,Ф Morgan urged, as Kelson set it to his lips.
Kelson managed it in two, almost immediately fighting nausea as the sour wine hit his stomach. But it was not the wine that made him want to retch. He knew that with a cold, gut-cramping fear, triggered by yet another image of his father dying, that would not respond to the rational awareness that he was safe here, among friends. Morgan took the empty goblet before he could drop it, but then all his senses began shutting down and he was alone-more alone than he had ever been, even before he came into his powers.
His vision began to blur, tunneling down something like the way it did when he was going into trance for a very deep working. Only, instead of letting him focus inward, the tunnel kept closing in, constricting, shutting him off from both outward and inward sensation until he was blind.
And blind with his powers as well as his eyes. He tried to open his mouth to ask if anyone was still there, but the movement made his stomach churn-though not enough, unfortunately, to heave up what was lying there like a belly full of coals, sending jerky streamers of fire into all his limbs.
УKelson, can you hear me?Ф a voice said, close in his ear, its sound like the rasp of rusty metal against his raw nerves.
He managed to nod, but he had to close his eyes to do it-which didnТt matter, since he couldnТt see anyway. A vague, faraway part of him knew his hands were gripping the edge of the table for dear life, his only anchor in the world now inaccessible to him, but what touched his face, clamping his head between, might have been tongs of fire, had he not somehow sensed they were MorganТs hands.
УKeep your eyes closed, take a deep breath and let it out, and try to concentrate only on my voice,Ф Morgan commanded. УYour shields are nearly gone. Try not to resist what IТm about to do. This isnТt going to be pleasant for either of us, but IТll show you whatТs happening and how to make the best of it.Ф
Kelson could not have disobeyed, had his soulТs salvation depended on it. The touch of MorganТs mind was far worse than the touch of his hands. All he remembered of the next hour or two was screaming-though they told him, later, that he had uttered not a sound.
He supposed they had finally given him ArilanТs sedative, at the end, because when he finally woke, it was the next morning, and Jatham, his senior squire, was rousing him for Sunday Mass, and his head hurt worse than any hangover he could ever remember having or even hearing about.
УGod, how did Duncan function at all?Ф Kelson whispered, hardly even able to lift his head as he waited for Jatham to fetch Morgan. УThe merasha disruption, on top of everything else they did to him!Ф He shifted one arm over his aching eyes to shut out the light. УAnd my father! I doubt he even knew what was happening to him.Ф
Dhugal, stirring from the cot where he had slept at the foot of the kingТs great bed, groaned as he managed to raise himself far enough to clamp both arms around one of the bedposts and look muzzily in KelsonТs general direction.
УYou mustnТt let yourself dwell on it,Ф he said, Уjust as I mustnТt let myself think about what my father suffered. It does no good. WhatТs important is that weТve learned what can be done if we ever have to face merasha again - God forbid!Ф