"Reichert, Mickey - Renshai 1 - Last Of The Renshai" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

Shadimar remained unmoving, recalling how his near-immortality had muddled his time sense, making him fear that his contribution to the line of Eastern Wizards would be insanity. But, drawing on the memories of his predecessors, he discovered that nearly all of them had experienced a similar period of adjustment. Over the years, as he became more comfortable with his position as Wizard, Shadimar had grown accustomed to the leaps and pauses in time. He had learned to focus instead on the functions of the current Eastern and Western Wizards: to fulfill a handful of prophecies, to keep the mortal populaces believing in the gods and Wizards without violating Odin's laws of noninterference, and spreading the cause of neutrality by mediating between the Northern and Southern Wizards, who championed good and evil respectively.

The Southern Wizard, Carcophan, ceased his pacing and slammed a meaty fist on the tabletop. "Enough of this waiting. He's not coming back. I say your man has failed the Tasks."

Startled from his reverie, Shadimar jerked erect in his chair, riveting his steely gaze on the keeper and sower of the world's evil.

In the seat directly across the empty table, Tokar, the Western Wizard, remained still. His gray mane of hair and beard framed creased features and knowing, dark eyes that remained distantly fixed. Only a brief downward twitch of his lips revealed that the oldest of the Cardinal Wizards noticed Carcophan's interruption.

To Shadimar's right, the Northern Sorceress, Trilless, scowled with a revulsion aimed more at her impatient opposite than his sudden, violent gesture. She wore layers of silky white robes that frothed and folded around her slender frame, emphasizing her fair, Northern features and snowy hair. Pale from head to toe, she looked the epitome of the goodness she championed, almost to the point of caricature. Though the wait involved Tokar's

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apprentice, it was Trilless who answered the Southern Wizard's challenge. "Be patient, Carcophan." She cut off the words abruptly, as if to stay a natural urge to address the Evil One with an insult. It would accomplish nothing, except to make her seem the pettier of the two. Odin's laws forbade the Wizards from harming one another, especially on such impartial territory as the Meeting Isle, but the enmity between the Northern and Southern Wizards had grown beyond all proportion. "I'm more than twice your age, yet I still remember when I underwent the Seven Tasks. The gods never made them easy. Don't begrudge Tokar's apprentice the time he needs to think.''

Shadimar nodded absently at the wisdom in Trilless' words. As intermediaries between the gods and men, it fell to the Wizards to select their apprentices, to choose not only for power and dedication to their god-assigned causes, but for stability and strength of character as well. To aid in the judgment, Odin had designed a series of seven god-mediated tasks to assess the worth and surviv-ability of apprentices. Failure at any one resulted in death. According to Shadimar's predecessors, more than half of those sent to the Tasks did not return, yet Tokar's chosen, Haim, was the first to be tested since Shadimar himself. The Eastern Wizard was not quite certain what to expect, but patience seemed crucial.

Lost in his thoughts, Shadimar did not notice that Carcophan had come up beside him until the Southern Wizard stood only a hand's breadth from Shadimar and spoke into his face.

"And we wouldn't have to sit here in dark ignorance if you had placed the Pica Stone in capable hands." The Southern Wizard's yellow-green eyes seemed to bore through his companion's gray ones. "Through it, we could see every move that he makes, hear every syllable."

Rage suffused Shadimar, the tragedy of Myrcide still raw enough to incite anger in him. Before the Eastern Wizard had chosen him as successor, he had lived among his people, a reclusive race of priests, oracles, and minor magicians. During his apprenticeship, a Northern tribe of warriors, called Renshai, had rampaged through the Westlands, devastating the Myrcidians and leaving the

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world with no wizards except the Cardinal four and a handful of charlatans and fakes. He had left the clairsen-tient Pica Stone in the hands of his people, believing it safe there. The Renshai had plundered the huge sapphire, and it would violate Wizards' vows for Shadimar to take it back by force. He gathered breath to barrage Carcophan for his insensitivity.

Before Shadimar could speak, a presence touched his mind. Though calm and peaceful, it startled him into silence. Only the Wizards could communicate in this fashion, and then only with other Wizards. Yet it was considered disrespectful to the point of assault to enter another's mind without invitation.

Tokar did not probe or search. His voice filled only a tiny, shallow portion of Shadimar's mind. "Best not to imitate the Evil One's weaknesses. You are above that." Then the presence disappeared.

Shock shattered Shadimar's anger. Though Tokar had phrased his warning carefully, it still came as a surprise. It made sense for the oldest and wisest of the Wizards to advise the youngest and weakest, especially since the Eastern and Western Wizards shared the burden of balancing good and evil and protecting the peoples of the area known as the Westlands. Yet Tokar, like the Western Wizards before him, was the most powerful and aloof of the four. He had never previously chosen to communicate with Shadimar in this manner. The Eastern Wizard could only guess that the tension of discovering whether his chosen successor had passed the task touched Tokar more than his quiet exterior revealed.

Subdued and forgotten on the floor, Davrin strummed a string of chords on his mandolin, the sound barely audible in the silence that followed Carcophan's accusation. A square-cut shroud of gray-flecked brown hair hid the bard's dark eyes and placid features. He had no purpose in the ceremony except to observe and record like his mother before him and her father before her.

Put off by Shadimar's lack of response, Carcophan whirled toward Trilless, with a suddenness that sent his salt-and-pepper hair whipping into a wild tangle.

The Sorceress remained still, not sparing the Southern Wizard so much as a glance.

Carcophan edged toward her, presumably to agitate.

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But before he could take a second step, a door that had not existed a moment before opened in the far wall, and Tokar's apprentice appeared through it. Haim's normally rosy Pudarian features looked a waxy yellow. Though only in his mid-twenties, he now had white hairs hanging conspicuously among his dark curls. He seemed to have aged a century since the combined Wizards' magics had sent him to the Tasks earlier that same day. He tottered forward, eyes moist and features shaken.

Shadimar recalled his own success with the Tasks of Wizardry, remembered feeling triumphant, confident, and revitalized at the conclusion, despite the difficulty of the challenge. Scanning the memories of his predecessors, Shadimar found the same remembrance of their own trials. Concerned by Haim's weakness, Shadimar frowned, glancing at his colleagues questioningly.

Tokar and Trilless had raised icy lack of expression to an art form. Reading nothing on their faces, Shadimar turned his attention to the least patient Wizard. He glanced at Carcophan just in time to see the keeper of evil draw a dagger from the folds of his cloak. Carcophan lunged at the returning apprentice.