"Mercedes Lackey - Valdemar Anthology - Sun in Glory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

Reulan licked his lips and swallowed again. тАЬThank you, Khar. I could be dead if you
hadnтАЩt been with me! But why-тАЭ
:If youтАЩd be so kind,: Khar interrupted, busy now smoothing down his abundant
whiskers, :IтАЩd appreciate a small reward. I would suggest a fish...a large, fat fish.:
How catlike. Despite his confusion and awe, Reulan smiled. Trust a feline to always be
looking out for itself. тАЬIтАЩm sorry, Khar,тАЭ he said, feeling slightly foolish to be talking to a cat.
тАЬSweetwater has no fish. And if we wanted fish, which most of us donтАЩt, weтАЩd have to depend
on traders or go to Sunhame itself.тАЭ
:Well, now, thatтАЩs an idea. LetтАЩs go to Sunhame, you and I, and you can get me a
fish.:
Reulan stared at the cat, unsure if he was being mocked or not. Sunhame was more
than four daysтАЩ walk away, not an arduous journey but one he had not particularly
contemplated. A sudden thought passed through his mind. Sunhame. He hadnтАЩt been in the
capital city since the final six-month period of his training as sun-priest and that had been
over three years ago. The Holy Writ required that every person, once in his or her lifetime,
should visit Sunhame. The most propitious of times to make that journey was at
mid-summer, to be present at the high holy day of Summer Solstice, when the sun stood
longest in the sky. Naturally, the journey was even more important for sun-priests, who were
expected to serve as examples to the populace. He mentally figured out the calendar:
Summer Solstice was only six days away. He could easily make Sunhame by then.
He snorted. What was he thinking? Why should he suddenly leave his village to make a
journey to Sunhame? Certainly not for a fish, though he knew he owed Khar more than a
simple meal for saving his life. On the other hand, the village was as prosperous as a village
its size could be, its people were healthy, and no babies were due. Besides, the village
midwife could handle that far better than he.
A strange, fey mood swept over him. Sunhame. Why not?
тАЬDo you think,тАЭ he asked, reaching down to scratch Khar under the chin, тАЬthat you could
wait a bit to collect your reward? Long enough for me to set things right in the village and to
pack my supplies? Or do you suggest we leave this very day?тАЭ
If feline expressions could be said to duplicate those of human beings, Khar looked
positively disgusted. :Cats, Reulan,: he said with monumental dignity, :are known for their
patience. A few more days certainly wonтАЩt kill me.:
***
And so it had been decided. Reulan had sought out Santon, the village headman, and
explained that he would be making a pilgrimage to Sunhame to fulfill his obligation to be
present at the Temple of Vkandis Sunlord at the Summer Solstice. Santon, understandably,
was somewhat taken aback by the suddenness of this decision, but Reulan had mollified the
big farmer by pointing out that the villagers could walk to Two-Trees, the village closest, for
their own mid-summer celebration at that chapel. And if anyone was injured or needed
medical care, Two Trees was large enough to have its own healer.
Truth to be told, another reason surfaced in ReulanтАЩs mind for the journey, and that was
simple curiosity. When traders had come through Sweetwater a month ago, they had told
the villagers that the tragic and untimely death of the Son of the Sun, along with the inability
of the senior-most priests of the Temple to choose his successor, had thrown Sunhame into
confused anticipation. From what the traders said, infighting among various factions of the
senior priesthood had broken out. Time and again they had sought a consensus, put
forward various candidates, but had reached no agreement. It seemed as if something was
blocking a decision that would make everyone happy.
Reulan looked on the infighting among his superiors with a certain amount of disdain.
Politics! God, he hated politics! As a priest, it was his duty to worship Vkandis and to look