"Brooks - Heritage 1 - The Scions of Shannara" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

nonsense long ago." . ., , .,_,,,,- ...
The shade seemed t° nse anu broaden suddenly before him,

and he felt himself li^d free ofme earth- He soared skyward,

4 The Scions of Shannara

far into the night. He did not struggle, but held himself firm,
though he could feel the other's anger rushing through him like
a black river. The shade's voice was the sound of bones grating.

—Watch—

The Four Lands appeared, spread out before him, a panorama
of grasslands, mountains, hills, lakes, forests, and rivers, bright
swatches of earth colored by sunlight. He caught his breath to
see it so clearly and from so far up in the sky, even knowing that
it was only a vision. But the sunlight began to fade almost at
once, the color to wash. Darkness closed about, filled with dull
gray mist and sulfiirous ash that rose from burned-out craters.
The land lost its character and became barren and lifeless. He
felt himself drift closer, repulsed as he descended by the sights
and smells of it. Humans wandered the devastation in packs,
more animals than men. They rent and tore at each other; they
howled and shrieked. Dark shapes flitted among them, shadows
that lacked substance yet had eyes of fire. The shadows moved
through the humans, joining with them, becoming them, leaving
them again. They moved in a dance that was macabre, yet pur-
poseful. The shadows were devouring the humans, he saw. The
shadows were feeding on them.

—Watch—

The vision shifted. He saw himself then, a skeletal, ragged
beggar facing a cauldron of strange white fire that bubbled and
swirled and whispered his name. Vapors lifted from the caul-
dron and snaked their way down to where he stood, wrapping
about him, caressing him as if he were their child. Shadows
flitted all about, passing by at first, then entering him as if he
were a hollow casing in which they might play as they chose.
He could feel their touch; he wanted to scream.

—Watch-

The vision shifted once more. There was a huge forest and
in the middle of the forest a great mountain. Atop the mountain
sat a castle, old and weathered, towers and parapets rising up
against the dark of the land. Paranor, he thought! It was Paranor
come again! He felt something bright and hopeful well up within
him, and he wanted to shout his elation. But the vapors were