"Eric Van Lustbader - Sunset Warrior 5 - Dragons on the Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lustbader Eric van)

ship, pointing its sharp upswept prow toward the wall of water that was now almost upon them. And, for
the first time, he appreciated the Bujun craft's design. His own ships would have wallowed in a wave
trough but the Tsubasa's sleek shape sliced through the waves. The mainsail was almost full out and he
could feel a corresponding quickening of their speed. They were almost there. But the wavefront had also
picked up momentum as it drew strength from the heart of the typhoon, the flailing arms of the gale, the
deepening surge of the sea itself deep down where light itself was forever banished.

The tsunami was all they could see now, their entire universe, and Moichi knew that the ship still had
several meters to go. It had been a desperate gamble, trying to cleave through the wavefront on speed
and nerve, a long-odds bet at best. They had run out of time.

The Bujun was trembling in fear and effort beside him. Moichi felt it almost as if it were his own, and he
murmured, 'Come on, lad, don't fail me now! It's just the two of us and the Tsubasa against this
leviathan!'

Inwardly, for just a moment as he stared into the heart of the tsunami, Moichi felt his resolve begin to
crumble, for surely there was no way through this cyclopean madness. He had been a fool to attempt this
run at it.

Then he felt movement beside him, heard the Bujun's call like a distant sea bird's in his ear, 'She's coming
to, Captain. Helm's answering fully. The wind's directly aft!'

All doubts vanished. 'Double and redouble!' Moichi shouted, immensely grateful for the Bujun's courage
and resolve. 'Keep the helm steady, mate! If we're blown off course even a few degrees we'll be lost!
Our bow must strike the wavefront dead on!'

The sound of the tsunami was like the rending of the earth's mantle. It shuddered the decks, chattered
the men's teeth, making them weep with fear and loathing.

'Bastard!' Moichi called at the curling black wall of water. 'I'll beat you yet! My time's not come and
surely not by your evil hand!' And with immeasurable effort, the two men held the helm steady as they
met the onrushing wavefront, towering over them to an impossible height so that even Moichi, his soul
expanded to its limits, felt the chill tendrils of fear writhing in his belly. 'The time of truth's come, lad!'

The Tsubasa sliced into the wavefront. Walls of wind-whipped water rose above them until they seemed
a part of the raging sky, replacing it altogether. They were within the tsunami, their fate now linked with
its elemental and unpredictable power. Its energy was unendurable - it was like being inside a massive
hive of bees stirred by an intruder to a frenzy. Then the sides of the wavebody seemed to glass over, to
deepen in color and depth. What was happening?

God of my father, Moichi prayed. This is truly the face of death. For within the tsunami's very heart he
discerned what could only be termed a female face, elemental, to be sure, its features shifting like
currents, sliding away into shadow and reappearing slightly altered as if each heartbeat, each moment in
time brought it a new aspect.

It was like looking into the face of a god. It was dominated by great lidless eyes and a lipless mouth. It
was a face of unmitigated rage, so shocking in its intensity that Moichi felt the breath sucked from him as
if all the air had been withdrawn from this place. He also had the impression of immeasurable age, so that
for the first time in his life the concept of eternity was given form and substance.