"Lumley,.Brian.-.Titus.Crow.3.-.Clock.Of.Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lumley Brian)

'Do not be too eager, Earthman. And, yes, perhaps I myself am too fearful for the safety of Tiania and your friend. What you saw in the crystal was a possible future, a possible occurrence yet to come. It has not gone so far,

but in all the worlds of probability it will. I have searched
the possible futures of Earth's dreamland as far as I dare,
but only that one future ever presents itself for my viewing, and that one future draws ever closer. It is most certainly the same force that binds Titus and Tiania in dream that threatens their very existence.'
'Their very existence? But how can any real physical harm come to them when their bodies are here? I don't understand.'
Again (sadly, de Marigny thought) Kthanid shook his head. 'You seem to understand very little, Earthman.'
'You have to remember, Kthanid, that I'm not a great dreamer.'
'No, you are not,' the Eminence answered, again sadly. Then the great Being's thoughts brightened. 'But your father was; indeed he still is. And I believe that one day you will be, too.'
'That's all very well - and I thank you for your faith in me - but with all due respect, it doesn't help us much right now, does it? Look, you keep mentioning my father. I don't remember a great deal of him, but if it's true that he lives on in Earth's dreamland, well, surely he would be able to help me.'
'Etienne-Laurent de Marigny? Oh, yes, doubtless he would help you. Indeed, I am certain he would find a way to go to the aid of your friends - if he were able.'
De Marigny waited for Kthanid to continue, then shook his head at the great Being's silence. 'I still don't understand. My father is a lord in dreamland, surely. Trusted counselor to Randolph Carter, and -'
'Yes, that is so,' Kthanid interrupted, 'but there is a problem.'
'A problem?'
Kthanid offered what de Marigny took to be a nod, then continued. 'Ilek-Vad, where Randolph Carter wisely rules - and not only Ilek-Vad but Celephais and Dylath-Leen

too - they are beyond my power to scan. This was not always so. Until quite recently, an Earthyear or so at most, I could look upon Ilek-Vad and Celephais in my crystal, but no longer. Dylath-Leen is different. For many yean there has been some sort of screen about Dylath-Leen. Of two of these forcefields - I suppose that is what they must be - those about Ilek-Vad and Celephais, I know only this: that nothing gets either in or out. I do not wish to alarm you, young man, but for all I know of those places their inhabitants are no more, they may well have been stricken from the dreams of men. As for the third city, Dylath-Leen, I believe that the same force which obstructs me in attempting to locate Titus Crow and Tiania is also responsible for my inability clearly to scan Dylath-Leen. Yes, perhaps there is a connection there, de Marigny. Perhaps -'
'Perhaps that's where they are, in Dylath-Leen.'
'It would seem possible. You must look into it as soon as you can. Meanwhile, listen well to what I have to say. Remember that there are levels of dreaming, de Marigny, and that our lost friends must be in the very deeps of dream. A man might waken easily from the shallower levels, and he may be awakened even as he sinks into the abysses. But Titus and Tiania have penetrated to a region from which - for some reason as yet unknown, perhaps that force I have mentioned - they cannot escape unaided.
'In effect, this means that right now Earth's dreamland is more real to them than the waking world. Wherever they are you must find them; you must rendezvous with them there in the possible future that you saw in my crystal. It will not be easy.'
'Then let's waste no more time. Tell me how to go about it.'
'Yes, yes, in a moment. But before that there are certain things you must commit to memory. Firstly: in



Ulthar there is a very ancient man named Atal. Seek him out and ask him what you will. He is wise almost beyond wisdom and good beyond goodness. Secondly: beware of manifestations of Cthulhu or his devil's brood that you may come across, and remember that in the dreamlands even purely symbolic concepts may take form. Be particularly wary of Nyarlathotep! Thirdly: remember that you have Crow's flying cloak, and you have the time-clock, too. These should prove to be great weapons against any terrors dream may confront you with. As for the clock: why, Titus Crow can use that device in ways that confound even mef Finally: never forget that while many things are far simpler in dream, others are maddeningly difficult, almost impossible. Now, do you think you can remember these things?'
'Yes, and everything else you've showed me.'
'Good. As to how you may reach Earth's dreamland: first you must return to the time-clock, which you will then pilot back to Earth. I will of course assist you in your return to the time-clock, but from then on you will be on your own. I suggest you go into orbit about the planet Earth, after which . . . you will simply go to sleep. But as you drift into sleep you will command the clock to carry you in the direction of dreamland! Then you will sleep -and you will dream, de Marigny, you will dream.'
The Eminence paused, and after a moment de Marigny asked: 'And is that all?'
"That is all. Anything else would be a waste of time, superfluous, possibly dangerous. I do not know enough of your dreamland to say more. Now you must go back to the clock. Your quest begins, de Marigny. I wish you luck.'
Suddenly the great Being's face-tentacles spread outward from his face like the rays of a bright sun, and the lights of stars blazed in his eyes. De Marigny - or rather his Ka, or whatever it was of him that Kthanid had called to his glacier palace in Elysia's frozen regions

- was instantly dazzled. When finally he could see again, the scene before him was rapidly shrinking, dwindling down to nothing, so that soon even Kthanid was only a tiny, alien, jeweled creature that finally shrank away and vanished. Then there was nothing but a rushing darkness that seemed to last forever; and yet he knew when the rushing stopped and he found himself once more within the matrix of the time-clock that his journey had taken less than a second. Indeed, it had been instantaneous.
Without wasting a single moment, he turned the clock about and raced back through the voids of space toward the world of his origin. His heart began to beat wildly and his head started singing with exhilaration as he thought of the quest before him, and the reward at quest's end - to enter Elysia! Not once did he contemplate failure ...
Some time later, in the Hall of Crystal and Pearl, Kthanid stood where de Marigny had last seen him. Now, however, no bright fires lit his golden eyes, and the lighting of the vast chamber itself was greatly subdued. Within the Eminence an unseen battle raged, and he trembled violently as he sought to calm himself. Of course he had done the right thing ... or had he? After all, he owed no loyalty to the Earthman de Marigny . . . but then, neither was the man an enemy. Nor was his willingness to be faulted. Yet, if the problem was looked at in the right perspective it was immediately apparent that in the great scheme of things Henri-Laurent de Marigny was utterly insignificant. On the other hand . . .
For what must have been the fifth or sixth time since he had sent the disembodied de Marigny back to his Earthly body in the time-clock, Kthanid went to the huge cushion with its milky crystal and peered into translucent depths that quickly cleared to his gaze. And as before he drew back from the scene which repeated itself within the crystal's all-scanning eye. It was that same cruel scene

de Marigny had gazed upon earlier, at least in all the details of its background. But whereas before two figures had lain stretched out on the basalt steps of the ruby dais, now there was only one. Kthanid could see the man's face quite clearly, and once more he trembled mightily as the battle within him welled up again. The fear-filled yet grimly determined face in the crystal was that of Kthanid's most recent visitor - Henri-Laurent de Marigny!
Finally, something gave within the great Being's heart; a decision like none he had ever made before was made. He uttered a word which only the Elder Gods themselves might ever repeat or understand, then snatched his eyes from the scene in the crystal. And in the next instant his golden eyes blazed brighter as, tapping the tremendous sources of his body's alien energies, he sent his mind racing out on a Great Thought across strange transdimensional gulfs and light-years of space.
Straight to the time-clock where it raced in orbit around the Earth Kthanid's mind sped - but too late. De Marigny was already fast asleep in the warm womb of his weird vessel. And while that vessel registered his body's presence, Kthanid knew that the real de Marigny was somewhere else, inhabitant now of Earth's mysterious dreamland. It was as it should be, as Kthanid had planned it to be, and yet... What use to call him back from dream now?
Feeling within himself a treachery as alien to his emotions as they were to those of the Earthman he felt he had betrayed, the Elder God rushed in a fury back to Elysia. There he closed his palace and his mind to all would-be visitations and sat alone in the vast Hall of Crystal and Pearl.

The Quest Begins
Night merged slowly into dawn in dreamland. To the east the very faintest of flushes tinted the sky gray, which was as well, for otherwise the night, except where it was studded with the bright jewels of fireflies, was of
the very blackest.
At first de Marigny was disoriented, dazed; a lassitude was upon him. It was pleasant to do nothing but stand and admire the night and the first stirrings of a distant dawn. Then, as he drifted deeper into dream, he felt the night's chill and shivered at the luminous mist that began to swirl up eerily about his ankles. Then, he remembered his mission, and realized his supreme mistake. He was. .. alone! True, he still had Titus Crow's flying cloak about his shoulders, but where was the time-clock?
Suddenly complete realization of his plight filled him. He was lost in a nighted mist in some unknown region of Earth's vast dreamland, with only the fireflies for company and a ground mist that lapped at his ankles. And somehow he had lost his greatest hope of ever completing his mission; somehow he had left the fabulous time-clock behind him in the waking world. How had it happened?
What was it Kthanid had said he must do? Yes, the Eminence had said: 'Command the clock to convey you in the direction of dreamland.' Well, he had done just as Kthanid had directed . . . hadn't he? Then, remembering, de Marigny groaned and cursed himself for a fool. The instructions he had given the clock had been wrong. He had simply ordered it to transport him to dreamland. And

it had done just that. Without really knowing what he was doing, de Marigny had discovered Crow's method of using the clock more truly as a 'gateway.' For right now that alien vehicle was still in orbit around the Earth where he had left it, and de Marigny was stranded in dream just as surely as the friends he had come to rescue.