"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Black Throne 01 - The Black Queen" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

тАЬThen why did you allow me to come here?тАЭ he asked.
тАЬWe almost didnтАЩt,тАЭ Madot said.
тАЬWho denies the true Black King of the Fey?тАЭ Pelo asked.
тАЬI am not the Black King.тАЭ Gift spit out the words. тАЬI am not and I will not be.тАЭ
Pelo acted as if the words meant nothing to him. He turned to Madot, moving so that
Gift was cut out of the conversation. тАЬDo not take the boy any farther.тАЭ
тАЬI will not take him to the heart.тАЭ
тАЬThen why have you brought him?тАЭ
тАЬCome with us and see.тАЭ
тАЬI cannot leave my post.тАЭ
тАЬThen you will find out after the boy does.тАЭ She held out a small wizened hand to Gift.
тАЬLetтАЩs go.тАЭ
He didnтАЩt take her hand. He stood for a moment, looking at PeloтАЩs thin back, at the staff
which guided his protective powers, and at the shimmer beyond. The entrance to this
Place of Power was plain. The Fey had left it unadorned, so that it looked like a common
cave to the untrainedтАФor nonmagicalтАФeye.
тАЬGift,тАЭ she said.
He looked at her. If he went with her, he was doing something many of the Shaman did
not approve of. If he stood up to her, he was acting like a member of the Black Family.
And if he left Protectors Village, he gave up all his dreams. He could not be a true
apprentice; he knew that now. He had always thought the ShamanтАЩs hesitation reflected
their attitude toward him. He hadnтАЩt realized it was also because of his own talents, his
wild magic.
тАЬGift,тАЭ she said, and he recognized the tone. This was the last time she would ask him.
He put his hand in hers. Pelo grunted and turned away.
The shimmer was bright. Gift had seen the entrance to the other Place of Power as a
living blackness, not as a silvery light. That seemed odd to him. Still it pulled him forward.
But Madot did not walk toward the entrance. Instead, she went to the side of the
platform. Hidden there, between two boulders, were more stairs. They twisted among the
rocks, descending out of sight. These stairs were not as clean as the others. No one had
maintained them in a long time.
тАЬWhat is this?тАЭ he asked.
She placed one hand on the nearest boulder. тАЬIs it customary among your peopleтАФтАЭ
and whenever she used that phrase in such a sneering way she was referring to the
IslandersтАФтАЬto ask unnecessary questions?тАЭ
тАЬI was raised among Fey,тАЭ he said again, knowing she knew that. Knowing she knew
everything about him.
тАЬYou were raised among Failures.тАЭ
The harshness of the word took his breath away. No one spoke of that. No one ever
mentioned how all the Fey who had come to Blue Isle in the first invasion force were later
killed by the Black King for failing in their mission. He had lost his adoptive parents in that
slaughter and to this day he had not forgiven himself for being too far away to save them.
тАЬThey were Fey,тАЭ he said softly.
тАЬThere are holes in you, Gift,тАЭ she said. Her body blocked the stairs. тАЬAnd a darkness
that worries me.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩve been telling me all day why I am not suited to this place. You used to be my
greatest supporter. Why did the Warning change that?тАЭ
Instead of answering, she started down the stairs.
тАЬDodging my questions isnтАЩt the best procedure,тАЭ he said.
тАЬI am still in charge of your program here,тАЭ she said as she turned the sharp corner. тАЬI