"Mercedes Lackey - Last Herald Mage 2 - Magic's Promise" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

He'd acquired a much greater appreciation for good servants since he'd
become a Herald.
He returned to his packs; there were a lot of small, valuable trinkets he
just barely remembered being gifted with in there.
:Why do people insist on giving me all this stuff?: he asked Yfandes, a
little irritably. :It isn't bribery; I'd have sensed that and given it back. :
:I told you,: she replied. :They wanted something of the excitement of your
life to rub off on them, so they give you things. That's what it means to be
Herald Vanyel, second only to King's Own.:
He made a sound of contempt, as he sorted through the things; jewelry
mostly. :I bet they think I have everything I could want. I suppose on a lot of
levels, I do. I'm ungrateful, I guess. I don't know why I'm not happier.:
:Vanyel Ashkevron, you are being an idiot,: she replied acidly. - .Stop
feeling guilty about feeling like youтАЩre overworked and unhappy! YouтАЩre only
human!:
:Beloved, I think you know me better than I know myself. : He laughed to
keep from wincing; she was cutting a bit too close to the truth. His hand fell on
more jewelry, and he changed the subject. :Ah, now these I remember; I
bought them honestly.: He selected the three trinkets that he had thought
would please Randale, Shavri, and Jisa when he'd seen them; a cloak - clasp
for Randale in the form of a vine of Heal-All twining around a beryl the green
of a Healer's robes-a pendant that matched for Shavri - and a wonderful little
articulated carving of a Companion complete with formal panoply for Jisa. The
rest went back into the pack; he would need presents for the mob at Forst
Reach, and there was surely enough there to make a start. He paused with
the last piece, a crystal mage-focus stone (rose-quartz, sadly, and not a stone
he cared to work with) still in his hand.
:Think Savil would like this?:
 :You know she would. Rose-quartz is her Prime Focus, and you don't
often see a crystal that big or that clear.:
:Good.: He put it with the little gifts on his bedside table.
The bed looked better than ever.
:Courtesy calls,: Yfandes reminded him. :Then you canтАЩt take a nap.
Lazy.:
He groaned. :Too true. Oh, well: He picked up the! crystal and slipped it
into his pocket. :Savil first. She'll put me in a good mood for the others.:
There was a touch of smile in Yfandes' mind-voice when he slipped out
his door and down the hall-still barefoot. :You don't really need to be put in a
good mood for Jisa do you ?:
He grinned; although she couldn't see it, she would feel the rise in his
spirits. :No-but if Randi ends up giving me an assignment anyway, I won't feel
so bad about it!:

Two
Vanyels room was in the тАЬold Palace,тАЭ the original building dating back to
King Valdemar; in the oldest section still used for Heralds' quarters. Savil's
suite was in the new wing added some fourteen years ago. She no longer
occupied the suite he'd had when he first was put in her custody by Lord
Withen - she didn't teach more than one pupil at a time these days, so having
no use whatsoever or a suite with four bedrooms, she'd moved instead to