"A.C.H. Smith - Labyrinth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith A.C.H)

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(Novel authored by A.C.H. Smith, novel text transcribed by Stephanie Massick.)

--
Chapter One
The White Owl

Nobody saw the owl, white in the moonlight, black against the stars,
nobody heard him as he glided over on silent wings of velvet. The owl
saw and heard everything.

He settled in a tree, his claws hooked on a branch, and he stared at
the girl in the glade below. The wind moaned, rocking the branch,
scudding low clouds across the evening sky. It lifted the hair of the
girl. The owl was watching her, with his round, dark eyes.

The girl moved slowly from the trees toward the middle of the glade,
where a pool glimmered. She was concentrating. Each deliberate step
took her nearer to her purpose. Her hands were open, and held
slightly in front of her. The wind sighed again in the trees. It blew
her cloak tightly against her slender figure, and rustled her hair
around her wide-eyed face. Her lips were parted.

"Give me the child," Sarah said, in a voice that was low, but firm
with the courage her quest needed. She halted, her hands still held
out. "Give me the child," she repeated. "Through dangers untold and
hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond
the Goblin City, to take back the child you have stolen." She bit her
lip and continued, "For my will is as strong as yours ... and my
kingdom as great ..."

She closed her eyes tightly. Thunder rumbled. The owl blinked, once.

"My will is as strong as yours." Sarah spoke with even more intensity
now. "And my kingdom as great ..." She frowned, and her shoulders
dropped.

"Oh, damn," she muttered.

Reaching under her cloak, she brought out a book. Its title was The
Labyrinth. Holding the book up before her, she read aloud from it. In
the fading light, it was not easy to make out the words. "You have no
power over me ..."