"Andre Norton - Merlin' s mirror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

was intent on Nyren and the uninvited guest. Lugaid drew


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back a little, his eyes closed, a look of deep concentration
on his bearded face.

Planet time meant nothing to the installations. The
flying things reported, memory banks sorted, classified,
worked to feed information to the more sophisticated final
judge of the project. A decision was made, twice tested.
Then the most delicate and complicated portion of the
space-carried equipment was prepared.

Once more one of the fliers spiraled out. It made a
wider swing, its distort on full. The farthest reach of that
swing carried it across another spur of rock reaching sky-
ward. The beacon which had summoned the installation
out of space and time had died. Only now, deep within
other rocks beneath, another signal woke to life. Undetect-
ed by the flier, it began to pulsate, its wavelength sweep-
ing higher and higher as its energy built and roared to
full power.

Outward into the high heavens sped a new beam., climb-
ing starward. It would take a long time, perhaps years
for that warning to be caught by those who patrolled
there. But it could not be quenched. Ancient battles might
begin, lesser in force now than of old, because both ad-
versaries were depleted to a thousandth, a millionth of
the power they once possessed. Time and exhaustion had
not, however, wearied their resolve. They were as implac-
able as ever. Though now they must face each other with
new and lesser strength, yet they would do it.

The flier wheeled, coasted through a fierce wind, flut-
tered along within its grasp as a leaf might. Yet it was not
powerless; it had a task it must do and nothing man or
nature could devise in this time could prevent it from ac-
complishing that act.

MERLIN'S MIRROR 13

Brigitta slept heavily, yet it seemed to her that in truth
she waked. The wooden wall of the kin house was no long-
er about her. She stood instead on a path she knew well,
the one which led to the spring of prophecy where the
goddess might bless with eternal good fortune someone