"Jody Lynn Nye - School Of Light" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nye Jody Lynn)

her new mentor, along the path that led past the playing field toward the cluster of buildings that was her
greatest desire in all the Dreamland: the School of Light.
Glowing with promise, the lofty white buildings beckoned her. Every window had a wink for her. Every
turret gleamed with appeal. Every brick and stone promised to whisper inspiration in her ear. Juele was so
excited that she was almost vibrating with happiness. She could hardly believe that she was here at last. An
aspiring illusion artist such as she would naturally desire to go to the best school in the land, be instructed by
the best teachers, and one day achieve great things, but the admission policy of the School board was
stringent. You could apply only once in your lifetime. You had to present three references, none of them
related to you, and you had to demonstrate marked talent in illusion. No one got in on mere charm.
Not that Juele had any illusions about her physical appearance. In most of the forms the Sleepers imposed
upon her, she tended to be on the short side of average, on the average side of beauty, and on the shy side of
extroversion. In her travel suitтАФa blue fitted jacket and skirt that were more comfortable than stylishтАФshe
knew she looked ordinary. Her hands were the only remarkable feature she had. They looked capable. Long
and thin, short and strong, dark-skinned, light-skinned, missing a finger or a fingernail, they still looked as if
they could do whatever the mind driving them wished to do. And, Juele thought, they nearly could. There
was plenty of talent locked up in their bones. So much that it surprised her, sometimes.
Her teachers had been full of hope when they sent her off to Mnemosyne. She had been creating illusions,
really realistic ones, since she was very young, and her more ordinarily talented teachers had guided her, to
the best of their abilities, as far as they could take her. Even though she wasnтАЩt quite sixteen, she had long
ago passed beyond the abilities of any other artist in the region. Now there was no more that they could show
her, yet Juele still had room to stretch her wings. Oh, she loved her teachers, but they didnтАЩt understand her
or her dreams. SheтАЩd heard that only in the School could she find the kind of tutoring she needed to train her
talent and become a world-class artist. Even the smallest student who wanted to change the look of the world
aspired to come here. The fees the School charged were exorbitant. Her parents had had to mortgage several
of their dearest dreams to send her here. She wanted them to be proud of her. As importantly, she wanted to
be proud of her, too. Oh, please, she begged the Sleepers silently as she approached nearer and nearer to the
gleaming pillars of the entrance, donтАЩt let this be a Futility Dream, with all my hopes out of reach!
Juele hadnтАЩt been idle while waiting to hear whether the School had accepted her. For almost two years
she had been seeking new directions in her art. She had no idea whether what she was doing was any good,
if it was original or even right to attempt. That was what she had come to find out. SheтАЩd packed her bags
full of the tools of the trade that she had amassed and stuffed in all the hope she had.
Rutaro, trotting on ahead, seemed to have no notion how much coming here meant to her. But, of course,
he must have been here for years already. He seemed so confident. Could he recall that first, precious
moment when he stepped through the gate, out of misunderstanding and into promise? It would be hard, but
she would succeedтАФshe had to! For confidence, she looked down at her hands, clenching the handles of her
suitcase and art box. They exuded capability, and that soothed her nerves. With their help, she could cope.
So, this was the School of Light! Juele thought. She stayed close on RutaroтАЩs heels as he led her under an
arch that passed through the base of a tower in the broad face of a building. So far, it lived well up to its
reputation. For a moment she put out a hand, hoping that she wouldnтАЩt find an invisible barrier. Her hand
touched the cool, cream-colored stone. It felt as if it was thrumming with power. Juele stroked it and let her
hand drop. Real. It was real, and she wasnтАЩt suffering an Isolation Dream that would keep her from getting
right into the middle of it all.
Ahead of them lay a square garden gleaming with sunshine. To either side of the corridor, doors opened
on bright, airy classrooms full of students. Although they were almost all adults, they wore the look of rapt
fascination one normally saw on the faces of children. What were they doing? What were they learning? She
wanted to be in there with them. Her curiosity distracted her so much that she forgot to listen to what Rutaro
was saying. Hastily, she brought her attention back to him, hoping he thought her inattention was forgivable.
Surely he should understand what it was like to come into a new place, particularly this one. Her curiosity
was on full alert.
A wave of influence swept through, changing everything in its path as the Sleeper dreaming the province