"The Eyes Of A God" - читать интересную книгу автора (Marco John)

'It is a secret place, far from here, far across a desert. There are people like me there, and people like your child."
'Magical people?"
The woman's smile dimmed. "Yes, all right. Magical people."
Suddenly a memory bloomed in Beith's mind. She gasped, "You're the Witch of Grimhold."
'No," said the woman. "I am no witch."
'You are," Beith insisted. "My mother told me the story, when I was very young."
'Your mother was mistaken," said the woman. She closed her eyes for a moment and seemed to be concentrating. The awesome calm within Beith increased. As quickly as she had recalled the old legend, she forgot it.
'Now, tell me," the woman continued. "Will you let me take your child? I will look after him for you. I will take him to a place where no one will harm or ridicule him."
Beith struggled to stay awake. "There's no need. Gilwyn is safe here. The king has promised it."
'The new king?"
'Yes, Akeela. He's told me this very day that Gilwyn is safe here. He will always have a place here in Lionkeep. It is the king's promise."
For a moment the woman said nothing. She turned away, considering the moon outside the window. "I have heard about your new king," she said at last. "I have heard that he is very good; very wise."
'He is good. And he has been kind to me and my baby."
'And he will look after your child, even when he is grown?"
'He will."
'Even if he is crippled?"
'Yes."
'And simple?"
Beith hesitated, but only for a second. "Yes, even then."
There was no sound from the stranger. The light from her amulet lit her face, revealing concern. Beith, still in the hold of the bewitchment, couldn't help but smile at the tiny figure who Everything about it was tiny, in fact. Beith had never seen anyone like her, not outside a carnival. She realized that the stranger was a woman, and that the woman was a midget.
'Who are you?" Beith asked. "What are you doing here?" The woman smiled. Beith could see her impish face in the red glow of her necklace. "Fair questions, Beith," she said. "But first, your child is safe. Do not be afraid for him."
To her surprise, Beith wasn't afraid. She knewЧsomehowЧthat no harm had come to Gilwyn. She squinted at the little woman and saw her multicolored coat swirling as if it were alive. "Are you magical?" she asked.
The question delighted the intruder. "Why, yes I am." "I'm not afraid. But I should be. Am I under a bewitchment?" The woman floated closer, until she and Beith were standing face to face. Only they weren't really, because Beith towered over the stranger. The woman looked up at Beith. She seemed to be studying her.
'Let us talk." She gestured toward the bed. "Sit." Beith heard the warnings in her mind, telling her to run and to rescue Gilwyn, yet the voices were very faint, pushed way back in her brain. So instead of running, Beith obeyed the stranger, sitting down at the edge of the bed. She noticed the amulet around the woman's neck, glowing ruby red. The remarkable coat she wore no longer swam with life, yet Beith knew she was in the power of a magician.
'Why are you here?" she asked again.
The woman replied, "For the sake of your child, Beith. I can help him."
'Gilwyn? Gilwyn needs no help."
'Does he not?" asked the woman. "I have heard about him. He is deformed, quite probably crippled. He is not well, dear Beith. But I have a safe place for him."
'No," said Beith. "Lionkeep is a safe place for him." A sympathetic expression lingered on the stranger's face. "If only that were so," she sighed. "Your child is not like others. He may not be safe here in the castle, or anywhere in L№ria. But I know a place where all like him are safe. I can take him there."
was bright and warmed the room. Beith considered what a fine day it would be.
'Oooh, you're a hungry little scholar this morning, aren't you?" she asked.
Gilwyn kept feeding. For some reason, seeing his earnest face reminded Beith of a story she had heard when she was younger. She puzzled over the memory, trying to recall it clearly, deciding to entertain herself with the tale.
'There's a story my mother told me once," she began. She then proceeded to tell Gilwyn about Grimhold, a place where monsters live, led by a witch who steals children.
for some reason was concerned about her little boy. She reached out for the amulet around her neck, but the little woman pulled gently away.
'What is that you wear?" asked Beith.
The woman smiled down at her amulet. "This is Inai ka Vala," she replied. "You would call it the Eye of God."
'God? What god?"
'You are full of questions, Beith." The tiny woman studied her. "I think your son will be like youЧinquisitive."
Talking to the woman was like floating in a dream or on a gentle lake of calm water. All the fear had left Beith now, so that there were only questions.
'Will you tell me your name?" she asked.
'Minikin," replied the woman.
'Minikin?" Beith chuckled. "Your name is Minikin? That's funny."
'Yes," said the woman. "The people who named me that thought so, too." She turned from the window, heading for the door. "Follow me."
Once again Beith obeyed, following the woman out of her bed chamber and into the main room where Gilwyn's white crib rested in the moonlight. The woman hovered over Gilwyn, her thoughts unfathomable.
'Very well," she said. "I will trust your new king to help this child." Then she bent over the crib, giving Gilwyn a kiss and speaking a single remarkable word.
"Grimhold."
W men Beith awoke the next morning, she remembered nothing of the strange intrusion or of her remarkable conversation with the midget woman. She felt refreshed and hungry, and that was all. She rose from bed at her usual hour and saw at once to Gilwyn's feeding, sitting down at her chair near the window and putting the baby to her breast. Still feeling wonderful over Akee-la's acceptance of her child, she laughed as her son fed, loving the communion of nursing. Gilwyn fed hungrily but gently, latching on without discomfort to his mother. The morning sun gossips. Worse, he had been too close to Cassandra. Since Akeela''sdeparture, the princess had occupied his every thought, and his proximity to her was irksome. Because he was her bodyguard, he was never very far from her, accompanying her to knitting sessions and tea with her sisters and other mind-deadening activities, all the while trying to avert his eyes from her flawless face and figure. Cassandra had remained aloof, mostly, yet she had insisted that he perform his duties as her protector, making sure he was always nearby. From the moment Akeela had gone, they had shared Castle Hes like two uneasy house guests.
But now they were no longer in Castle Hes. They were in Glain, the seaside estate of Earl Linuk. Princess Cassandra, evidently a spoiled brat, had wanted a last holiday. She had left behind her overprotective father for the watchful eyes of Linuk, whom Lukien quickly discovered was something of an adopted uncle to the girl. Linuk doted on Cassandra, opening his house to her and her handmaidens and providing them with all the splendor of Glain in springtime. Of course, Lukien had been given no choice in accompanying Cassandra to Glain. Earl Linuk had made it clear they were all going to spend a week at his estate, and Lukien's protests had fallen on the earl's deaf ears. So he had relented, and now sat in warm sunshine as Cassandra indulged herself with a picnic and Linuk's musicians entertained them. It would have been a good day for Lukien if they were in Koth, if Trager was somewhere else, and the music was L№rian. If Cassandra wasn't so near.
Lukien lifted his gaze from the pond. On the other side of the water, past the narrow bridge that spanned it, Cassandra was with her friend Jancis. The princess had set up an easel and was painting, enjoying the light of the sun. She seemed to be hard at work, occasionally stepping back from her masterpiece and cocking her head, then lifting her brush again to make corrections. She wore a white dress that caught the sun and contrasted with her raven hair. She had dressed well for their picnic and that surprised Lukien, and occasionally she stole glances across the pond. He watched her for a long moment, and when she discovered him staring at her, the princess frowned. Quickly she returned to her painting.
-L,'ukien sat at the end of a pond, absently tossing stones into the water. The sky was bright but his mood was heavy, and as the ripples disappeared he watched them pensively, his mind a hundred miles from his halcyon surroundings. Not far away, Trager sat on a blanket on the green grass, sipping a drink and picnicking on the pheasant Earl Linuk had provided. With him were Durwin and Benn, two Royal Chargers who, like Lukien and Trager, had been left behind in Reec to look after Princess Cassandra. Both men wore broad smiles and greasy smudges on their shirts. Trager was talking and laughing too loudly. The lieutenant had been over-enjoying his wine; Lukien had seen him empty more than one bottle over the course of the afternoon. The Bronze Knight suppressed a sigh and flicked another stone into the lake.