"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Black Throne 02 - The Black King" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

тАЬI think the surface always looks like that.тАЭ He had a deep voice and warmer eyes than
most of the Gull Riders. тАЬI felt no wind while I was between the Guardians, but the air
currents were unsteady. The weatherтАЩs not bad enough to make the chop anything out of
the ordinary. I think we trust our maps and go in.тАЭ
Gift nodded. Ace had proven himself over and over. Originally, Ace had served GiftтАЩs
uncle, Bridge. Then a Gull Rider from Blue Isle had arrived on BridgeтАЩs ship, near death.
Ace had taken her missionтАФto find and report to Gift about AriannaтАЩs troublesтАФand had
completed it in record time. He had found Gift shortly after Gift had arrived in Etanien, in
a place Skya insisted was impossible to locate.
тАЬI wonтАЩt go through chop and whirlpools with just a map for guidance,тАЭ Wave said.
тАЬOf course not,тАЭ Gift replied. тАЬWe use all the Sailors and Navigators, and if we donтАЩt
find a Ze, we donтАЩt go any farther.тАЭ
тАЬA Ze?тАЭ Ace asked.
тАЬItтАЩs a fish,тАЭ Gift said, тАЬand itтАЩs native to these waters. Sailors have found it to be a
useful guide through the currents around the Stone Guardians.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩd better find that Ze well away from those stones,тАЭ Uhgse said. тАЬWeтАЩre not going
to be able to anchor, and IтАЩm afraid the currentsтАЩll pull us into the rocks.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs my job to worry about that.тАЭ Wave gave her an odd look as he pushed past her.
тАЬIтАЩll get the Sailors working.тАЭ
тАЬGood,тАЭ Gift said.
Wave left the room.
тАЬIтАЩve gone through the Guardians before,тАЭ Gift said to the Riders, тАЬand the water was
as you described it. I suggest that you rest until we get into the currents, then Shift to
your Gull forms and fly above us. You might see some things that will help us through.тАЭ
тАЬAre you worried about this?тАЭ Abdal asked.
тАЬNo more than any sane man would be,тАЭ Gift said.
He left the room-and headed back toward the ladder. The ship was rocking more than
it had before, and he wondered if they were taking action too late. HeтАЩd heard that the
currents of the Stone Guardians began far out at sea. Perhaps he should have sent the
Riders out the day before.
He shivered once, then grabbed the ropes and pulled himself up. When he reached the
deckhouse, he found Xihu.
She was a Shaman who had defied the rest of her kind to travel with Gift. She felt the
Black Family needed a Shaman, and since they had none, she had volunteered. She was
younger than most Shaman, which put her in her nineties. Her face wasnтАЩt as lined as
most, although she had her share of wrinkles. Her white hair frizzed around her skull,
making her face look like the center of an explosion.
тАЬWhat is it?тАЭ he asked. He was taller than she was, a sign that he had more magic,
which always astonished him. He had been raised to believe that Shaman had the most
power.
тАЬA Vision,тАЭ she said softly.
And then he saw the evidence: the tear tracks that lined her eyes, the moisture beside
her mouth, the crease in her cheek where her face had rested against something.
He put a hand on her arm. She felt thinner than she had when they started this
journey over six months before.
тАЬAre you all right?тАЭ
She nodded, then led him out of the deckhouse.
 Sailors were standing near the rails, holding their hands out so that their fingers could
be pricked by the Navigator. Five Navigators would work with over twenty Sailors. The
link between them was established through blood. Then the Sailors would send their