"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Renshai 02 - The Western Wizard" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

Trilless wrestled with the problem. She knew there were only two ways to discover the fate of the
Western Wizard, and both seemed frighteningly dangerous and difficult. The first involved trying to link
minds with the missing Wizard. This had its practical difficulties. Although the Wizards could touch
thoughts, to do so uninvited was considered a rudeness bordering on attack; and it required knowledge
of the other Wizard's location. That could only be achieved by physical means, and Tokar had not
deigned to answer the messages she had sent him. The second means of gaining knowledge involved
summoning. The idea sent a shiver of dread through her. Several Cardinal Wizards, including some of the
Northern Wizards, had called forth creatures called demons from the magical plane of Odin's banished
Chaos. But Trilless had never done so.



Trilless looked out over the Amirannak Sea, her legs braced and her focus distant. Clearly she had no
choice. Given his recent defeat, Carcophan could not afford the risk of a summoning. Weak and
burdened with the tasks of two Wizards, Shadimar could hardly be expected to accept the peril either.
Of the three Cardinal Wizards who had been killed unexpectedly, two of them had been slaughtered by
demons, and both slain in such a manner had been Eastern Wizards. Though knowledge of the Western
Wizard would serve Shadimar best, Trilless could understand his hesitation. Still, this ignorance could not
continue. Someone had to determine the fate of the Western Wizard. Clearly that someone would have
to be Trilless.



The memories of the previous Northern Wizards fluttered, some in agreement and a few in opposition to
the decision. Then, as Trilless came to her conclusion, the suggestions disappeared beneath a rush of
unified support. Those few who had summoned demons came to the forefront with solid advice and the
words of the necessary incantation.



Trilless closed her eyes, blanking her mind except for the guidance of her predecessors. Slowly, cautious
to the point of paranoia with every syllable, she began the incantation that would call the weakest of
demons to her.



Gradually, a dark shape formed above the glass-still waters. Horror shivered through Trilless from a
source unlike any she had known before. The familiar tingle of magic strengthened to a stabbing rumble
that tore through her like pain. Space and time upended, physical concepts that lost all meaning. She
gritted her teeth, not daring to cry out and lose the steady, unwavering cadence of her incantation. She
grounded her reason on the constancy of Odin's world and the necessary constraints of his laws. The
collective consciousness of her predecessors began a low, changeless chant that gave her focus.
 As the creature's presence strengthened, Trilless shifted her spell, weaving tangles of enchantment about
the hazy shadow. She worked with methodical efficiency, winding webs that shimmered white against the
shapeless, sable bulk of the demon she had summoned.



"Lady." The demon's voice made the threatening hiss of a viper seem benign. "You called me to your