"Andre Norton - Brother To Shadows" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

By salt and bread, water and wine,

By steel and rope, hand and footтАФmind,

By the ancients and the elders, Masters, and men,

Thus do I swear."

He repeated the oathing of the assha, even as he would have done had he been sent with
the rest to another Lair.

And he followed, even as he would have had the long gone Master of Qaw-en-itter stood
on the rubble-strewn steps gesturing him in.

But it was not to the dark that the staff led him. As he reached the top step, the staff
swung in his hand, slipping fast to thud butt hard on the worn stone. He looked down.

That butt was near to touching a patch of darkness, a patch of black which seemed to
have aтАФ Jofre went down on one knee and held out his hand, his fingers cupped over the
blotch. There was a spark, as if he had used his flint against steel for fire lighting. Almost
against his will those fingers closed.

WarmthтАФeven as had been in the shaft when it had driven him into this action. He raised
his hand, bringing what he had picked up to eye level. It was an oval perhaps the size of
his palm, smoothed like a gem for setting. Black, so black that it might have been cut
from the darkest of shadows. But as he cupped it in his flesh it gave forthтАФ

Assha glow! But noтАФit could not be! When a Master's stone died did it leave a ghost of
itself? No legend he had heard had told of that. However, had anyone ever lingered in a
cursed lair to make sure? He wanted to hurl it from him, his clutch was only the tighter.
What he had found was a thing of power, that he knew. Only he was not one who might
wield itтАФ

"No!" His voice sounded through the night and the snow. "No!" But there was a bonding;
he could feel it; this was fast becoming a part of him. He strove to raise his own inner
power to repudiate his find. There was no useтАФ he could not hurl it away. Instead his
hand, as if under the orders of a Master, went to his wide girdle and those busy ringers
were working the stone into safe hiding there.

Jofre wavered as he stood. ThisтАФhe could not summon any explanation for what had
happenedтАФbut it would seem some power had fastened upon him.

He turned to make his way back to his camping place. Through the snow from above
came a flying thing. He breathed a whiff of musty stench and ducked as it seemed to
strike directly at his head. An ill omen indeed.

Jofre struck out in turn at the wheeling half shadow. It screeched, arose and was gone into
the night. Nor did it appear again. He settled into his shelter. Twice he tried to reach for
the stone that he might examine it better in the faintish light of his pocket-sized fire. But