"Brooks - Heritage 4 - The Talismans of Shannara" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

The others were no serious threat—not even the leader of
the free-bom and the Highlander. They could do nothing with-
out the Ohmsford heirs. If the Dark Uncle was imprisoned in
his Keep and the Elf Queen's brief reign ended, the Druid
shade's carefully constructed plans would collapse about him.
Allanon would sink back into the Hadeshorn with the rest of
his ghost kin, consigned to the past where he belonged.

Yes, the others were insignificant.

But he would deal with them anyway.

And even if all his efforts failed, even if he could do noth-
ing more than chase them about, harry them as a dog would its
prey, still that would be sufficient if in the end Par Ohmsford's
soul fell to him. He needed only that to put an end to all of the
hopes of his enemies. Only that. It was a short walk to the
precipice, and the Valeman was already moving toward it. His
brother would be the staked goat that would bring him, that
would draw him like a wolf at hunt. Coil Ohmsford was deep
under the spell of the Mirrorshroud by now, a slave to the
magic from which the cloak was formed. He had stolen it to
disguise himself, never guessing that Rimmer Dall had in-
tended as much, never suspecting that it was a deadly snare to
turn him to the First Seeker's own grim purpose. Coil
Ohmsford would hunt his brother down and force a confronta-
tion. He would do so because the cloak would let him do noth-
ing less, settling a madness within him that only his brother's
death could assuage. Par would be forced to fight. And be-
cause he lacked the magic of the Sword of Shannara, because
his conventional weapons would not be enough to stop the
Shadowen-kind his brother had become, and because he would

The Talismans of Shannara 5

be terrified that this was yet another trick, he would use the
wishsong's magic.

Perhaps he would kill his own brother, but this time kill him
in truth, and then discover—when it was too late to change
things back—what he had done.

And perhaps not. Perhaps he would let his brother escape—
and be led to his doom.

The First Seeker shrugged. Either way, the result would be
the same. Either way the Valeman was finished. Use of the
magic and the series of shocks that would surely result from
doing so would unbalance him. It would free the magic from