"Sara Douglass - The Axis Trilogy 3 - StarMan" - читать интересную книгу автора (Douglass Sara)

Timozel stared, blinking in the salty breeze. As the dark shape came closer Timozel leapt to his feet.

"What?" he hissed.

The hump had resolved itself into the silhouette of a heavily cloaked man rowing a tiny boat. He was
making directly for Timozel.

Timozel's dull headache abruptly flared into white heat and he cried out, doubling over in agony. But
the pain died as quickly as it had erupted and after catching his breath Timozel slowly straightened out.
When he looked up again he saw that the man and his boat were almost to shore.

He shivered. The man was so tightly cloaked and hooded Timozel could not see his face, yet he knew
that this was no ordinary fisherman. But what disturbed him most was that although the man made every
appearance of rowing vigorously, the oars that dipped into the water never made a splash and the boat
itself sailed as smoothly and as calmly as if it were pushed by some powerful underwater hand.

Magic! Timozel took a step back as the boat slipped smoothly ashore.

The man shipped his oars and stood up, wrapping his cloak about him. Timozel couldfeel but notsee
a smile on the man's face.

"Ah, Timozel," he said in a deeply musical voice, stepping smoothly out of the boat and striding across
the sand that separated them. "How fortunate you should be waiting for me."

Sweat beaded in the palms of Timozel's hands and he had to force himself not to wipe them along his
cloak. For the first time in nine days thoughts of Gorgrael slipped completely from his mind. He stared at
the dark man who had halted some three or four paces in front of him.

"Timozel," the man said, and despite his fears Timozel relaxed slightly. How could a man with such a
gentle voice harbour foul intent?

"Timozel. It is late and I would appreciate a place beside the warmth of your campfire for the night."

Startled, Timozel looked over his shoulder at where the man pointed. A bright fire leaped cheerfully
into the darkness; a large rabbit sizzled on a spit and a pot steamed gently to one side of the coals.

"How...?" Tlmozel began, doubt and fear resurfacing in his mind.

"Timozel," the man said, his voice slipping into an even deeper timbre. "You must have lit the fire
earlier and, in your exhaustion, forgotten the deed."

"Yes." Timozel's shoulders slumped in relief. "Yes, that must be it. Yes, my mind is so hazy."

Beneath his hood the Dark Man's smile broadened. Poor, troubled Timozel. His mind had been
shadowed for so long that it was now an easy task to manipulate it.
 "The rabbit smells good," he said, taking Timozel's arm. Surprisingly, all traces of Timozel's headache
faded completely at the man's touch. "Shall we eat?"

An hour later Timozel sat before the fire, feeling more relaxed than he had in months. He no longer