"Ann Durand - Flight of the Gryphon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Durand Ann)

Her head bumped lightly into another rock wall. She stood and felt her way down the length of it. The
light behind her grew brighter. She could hear footsteps. Frantically, her hands traveled over the rough
stone surface, searching.

Too soon, the light rounded a corner and flooded the cavern. She spun around to face the intruder.
Under his chin, he held a lanadik, the light-without-fire carried by the Kastaks. From the dark shadow
outlining his face, she recognized the silver man with the golden hair. She glanced around the room to get
her bearings. A large wooden table, rough-hewn, lay against the far wall. Another wooden structure
resembling a chest lay next to it. More furniture lined the wall next to the pad on the floor. Someone lived
here. Her gaze turned back to the man behind the light.
"Well, I see you're up," he said. At the sound of his voice, her Lan Ma Ke erupted in a blaze of warmth.
No, she realized, as her tension dissolved, she need not fear this stranger in the ulli suit.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"The last time you asked me that question, you were writhing in the mud." He crossed the floor and stuck
the lanadik inside a sconce mounted on the cave wall. "Are you sure you want to ask again?" He laughed
and turned to her. In a soft voice, he added, "There were words screaming in your head, right?"

Katera nodded. She'd forgotten about the Voice. She hadn't heard it since she'd awakened ten minutes
ago. Again, she touched the bandage on her forehead.

"What…what happened?"

The silver man laughed. "That evil voice inside your head is gone. That's what happened."

"How? I mean…who are you?"

"Okay, that's the third time you've asked." He smiled. "I guess you deserve an explanation. My name
is…well, just call me Mikolen. I have lived in these caves for ten years."

"That's how long Askinadon has been on Kan Mountain. You're not…you don't keep his company, do
you?"

The smile fell off his face. "No, I do not."

"Yet, you wear the ulli."

Mikolen pinched the sleeve of the strange silver fabric. "The ulli. Yes, that's what your people call our lab
suit. I wear the ulli, because I hail from the same place as Askinadon, but I do not…keep his company."
Mikolen dropped his hand, paused. "Why were you headed down river? I didn't see you struggling to get
out."

"I did not want to leave the river. I wanted to go over the edge."

"To your death."

He stated this as if Katera was not aware. "Yes."