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

The hall was so quiet he could hear the murmur of voices from one of the
farther suites without straining his ears at all. A quick Look gave him identities;
Savil and Jays. He paused for a moment and sent the tentative little mind -
probe on ahead of him that was the Thought - sensing equivalent of a knock
on the door, and got a wave of welcome from both minds before he had taken
two steps.
Now sure of his reception - and that he wasn't interrupting anything - he
crossed the remaining distance to Savil's door and pushed it open.
Savil, her silver hair braided like a coronet on the top of her head, was
enthroned in her favorite chair, a huge, blue monstrosity as comfortable as it
was ugly. Tall Jaysen (who always looked bleached, somehow) was half-
sprawled on her couch, but he rose at Vanyel's entrance- then did a double
take, and staggered back a step, hand theatrically clutched to his chest.
тАЬMy heart!тАЭ he choked. тАЬSavil, look at your nephew! Barefoot, shaggy -
headed, and shabby! Where in Havens has our peacock gone?тАЭ
тАЬHe got lost somewhere south of Horn,тАЭ Vanyel replied. тАЬI last saw him in a
tavern singing trios with my mind and my wits. I haven't seen either of them in
a while, either.тАЭ
тАЬWell, you surely couldn't tell it from the reports we got back,тАЭ Jaysen
answered, coming quickly forward and clasping his forearms with no sign of
the uneasiness he'd once had around the younger Herald. тАЬThere's three new
songs about you out of your year down south, in case you didn't know. Very
accurate, too, amazingly enough.тАЭ
Vanyel sighed. тАЬGods. Bards.тАЭ
Jaysen cocked his graying head to the side. тАЬYou should be used to it by
now. You keep doing things that make wonderful songs, so how can they
resist?тАЭ He grinned. тАЬMaybe you should stop. Become a bricklayer, for
instance.тАЭ
Vanyel shook his head and groaned. тАЬIt's not my fault!тАЭ
Jaysen laughed. тАЬI'd best be off before that trio wrecks my workroom. Did
Savil tell you? I've been given the prot├йg├йs you'd have gotten if you hadn't
been in a combat zone. Count your blessings - one's a farmgirl who had much
rather be a fighter than a Herald-Mage, thank you; one's a very bewildered
young man who can't for a moment imagine why he was Chosen and as a
result has no confidence whatsoever; and the third is an overly confident
sharpster who's actually a convicted lawbreaker!тАЭ
тАЬConvicted of what?тАЭ Vanyel asked, amused at the woebegone expression
on Jaysen's face.
тАЬChicanery and fraud. The old shell-and-pea game at Midsummer Fair; he
was actually Chosen on the way to his sentencing, if you can believe it.тАЭ
тАЬI can believe it. It's keeping you busy, anyway.тАЭ
тАЬIt is that. It's good to see you, Van.тАЭ Jaysen hesitated a moment, and
then put one hand on his shoulder. тАЬVanyel-тАЭ He locked his pale, near-
colorless blue eyes with Vanyel's, and Van saw disturbance there that made
him, uneasy. тАЬTake care of yourself, would you? We need you. I don't think
you realize how much.тАЭ
He slipped out the door before Vanyel could respond. Van stared after him
with his mouth starting to fall open.
тАЬWhat in the name of sanity was that about?тАЭ he asked, perplexed, turning
back to his aunt, who had not left the comfortable confines of her chair. She