"Lawrence Watt-Evans - Ethshar 5 - Taking Flight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watt-Evans Lawrence)

Prologue
The girl squirmed on her seat, and the old woman cast her a quick, angry
glance. She quieted, and the woman turned back to her customer.
Well, lad, she said, what would you have of me?
The boy hesitated.
I'm... I'm Kelder of Shulara, he said.
I know, she replied, nodding.
It was a lie, of course; she hadnt known anything of the sort. In fact, it
struck her suddenly that the name might be false, and instead of looking
omniscient she might look foolish if she believed it. Kelder of Shularawell,
really, that probablywas a lie! And not a very original one, at that.
Smoothly, so that the boy saw no pause, she winked at him and continued, in a
mysterious tone, I know all Ineed to know.
The lad looked suitably confused and impressed. Behind him, the little girl
rolled her eyes upward and mouthed somethingit looked like, Oh, comeon,
Grandma!
So, Kelder of Shulara, the woman went on, a bit hurriedly, you have come to
Zindr├й the Seer to learn your futureand I see it laid out before me, vast and
shining. There is too much to tell you all of it, my child, for your life will
be long and rich; you must ask me specific questions, and I shall answer them
all...
The girl cleared her throat. Her grandmother glared at her and continued,...at
the cost of merely three bits apiece.
Kelder, fortunately, didnt notice any of the byplay between Zindr├й and her
granddaughter; he was staring intently at the crystal bowl on the table before
him, as if he expected to see something in it himself.
Thatwas an uncomfortable thought; Zindr├й did not like the idea of a customer
who hadreal magic.
But surely the boy couldnt have any magic; he was just a peasant.
He cleared his own throat, and asked, Will Iever get out of Shulara?
That was an easy one. Oh, yes, Zindr├й said. You shall go, and you shall go
far, beyond the hills and into strange lands, and you shall return safely. He
probably wouldnt, but she knew what he wanted to hear.
Return? Ill come back?
Zindr├й suppressed a frown and silently cursed herself for not listening more
carefully to the boys tone and phrasing. Oh, yes, she said. You will return,
covered in glory, to tell those who remained behind of the wonders you saw.
To stay? Kelder asked; then something registered, and without waiting for an
answer he asked, Wonders? What wonders?
Many wonders, Zindr├й said quickly, hoping to distract the boy from the
question of exactly where he was going to wind up. Great cities and vast
plains, strange beasts and beautiful women, and much mighty magic. She usually
threw in something about mountains, rather than plains, but in a place as
hilly as Shulara she thought that plains would be more exotic and intriguing.
Magic? But what will I do? Where will I go?
Zindr├й gestured broadly and stared into the bowl before replying, The magic is
strange, of a kind I have never seen, and that neither wizards nor witches
know. It will both be yours and not be yours. You will roam free, unfettered,
and you will be a champion of the lost and forlorn, honored by the dead and
those yet unborn. That should sound vague and mysterious enough to suit