"Paul Thompson - [Elven Nations Trilogy 1] - Firstborn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Paul B)

"You are to take me to your camp," he said firmly. тАЬI will need to
learn everything you know about living in the woods."
"That I will gladly teach you,тАЭ Mackeli said. He shivered with
excitement. "In all my life, I have never seen the Forestmaster! There were
times I sensed her passing, but never have I been so close!" He grasped
Kith-Kanan's hand. "Come! Let's hurry. I can't wait to tell Ny about this!"
Kith-Kanan glanced at the spot where the Forestmaster had stood.
Flowers had burst up where her hooves had touched the ground. Before he
could react, Mackeli had jerked him into motion. At breakneck speed, the
sure-footed boy drew Kith-Kanan deeper into the forest. The undergrowth
got thicker, the trees larger and closer together, yet Mackeli never faltered.
At times he and Kith-Kanan had to wriggle through gaps in the trees so
tight and low they had to go on hands and knees.
Just before sunset, when the crickets had begun to sing, Mackeli
reached a large clearing and stopped.
тАЬWe are home," said the boy.
Kith-Kanan went to the center of the open space, more than forty
paces across, and turned a circle on one heel. тАЬWhat home?" he asked.
Mackeli grinned, the effect weirdly emphasized by the red lines of
paint dabbed on his cheeks. Jauntily he walked forward to the base of a
truly massive oak. He grasped at a patch of relatively smooth bark and
pulled. A door opened in the trunk of the tree, a door made from a curving
section of oak bark. Beyond the open door was a dark space. Mackeli
waved to Kith-Kanan.
"Come in. This is home," the boy said as he stepped into the hollow
tree.
Kith-Kanan had to duck to clear the low opening. It smelled like
wood and spice inside, pleasant but strange to his city-bred nose. It was so
black he could barely make out the dim curve of the wooden walls. Of
Mackeli he could see nothing.
And then the boy's hand touched his, and Kith-Kanan flinched like a
frightened child. "Light a candle or a lamp, will you?" he said,
embarrassed.
"Do what?тАЭ
тАЬLight aяГзnever mind. Can you make a fire, Mackeli? I can't see a
thing in here."
"Only Ny can make fire."
"Is Ny here?"
тАЬNo. Gone hunting, I think."
Kith-Kanan groped his way along the wall. 'Where does Ny build his
fires?" he asked.
тАЬHere.тАЭ Mackeli led him to the center of the room. Kith-Kanan'sfoot
bumped a low hearth made of rocks plastered together with mud. He
squatted down and felt the ashes. Stone cold. No one had used it in quite a
while.
"If you get me some kindling, I'll make a fire," he offered.
"Only Ny can make fire," Mackeli repeated doubtfully.
"Well, I may not be the stealthiest tracker or the best forester, but, by
Astarin, I can make fire!"
They went back out and gathered armfuls of windblown twigs and