"Gray, Julia - Guardian 01 - The Dark Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gray Julia)

Well, you should both know better, she scolded them. It's not a monster.
'What is it, then?' Terrel asked.
Alyssa did not reply, and the piglet got up and began rooting round next to one of the tree trunks. At the same time the spectral images began to fade.
Come back! Muzeni ordered.
All right, young lady, Shahan added more calmly. You've made your point.
Elam just laughed.
The ghosts were almost invisible when the piglet finally lifted its head from a pile of leaf mould and snorted to clear the debris from its snout, then looked round at the others. Terrel, who had realized that the piglet had been just an animal again for a few moments, knew that Alyssa had returned - and his intuition was confirmed when she spoke.
Narrow minds lead to narrow sight.
This statement seemed rather obtuse, even for her, and Muzeni - who did not know her conversational foibles as well as Terrel or Elam - sought to challenge her.
My dear, I hope you 're not implying-
Tunnel vision means there aren't any corners, Alyssa went on, overriding the old man easily. We all need to see round corners. And what if there's only darkness at the end of the tunnel? What then?
No one was brave enough to venture a reply to this vaguely ominous question. Terrel remembered her saying that, for him, ghosts would always be around the next corner, and he knew that unless she was there to guide them to him, he would not be able to see or hear them. But he could make neither head nor tail of her talk of darkness and tunnels.
Even as a pig you 're still barmy, Elam declared eventually. We'd be better off turning you into sausages.
His companions all glanced at him in horror, then at Alyssa to see what her reaction would be.
Or perhaps we should stick an apple in your mouth and roast you whole, Elam went on, warming to his theme.
The piglet squealed. It was impossible to tell whether this was in rage or amusement, but then Terrel realized that he could hear Alyssa's laughter in his head.
I don't know why I'm bothering with you, she told Elam. Even if they're rude, at least the other two have some brains and know a thing or two.
I know. All I'm good for is pointing out the absurdities of life - or death - whatever you want to call it, Elam agreed amiably. I've no idea what I'm doing here either.
'You were - you are - my friend,' Terrel pointed out. 'We're going to have some adventures, remember?'
That must be it. Wake me up when these two have stopped waffling and the adventures are about to begin. Elam lay back and closed his eyes.
Terrel smiled, but he knew that what the old men had been telling him was important.
'Well, what is it about this . . . this . . .' he began. It's not a monster, Alyssa repeated. Of course it's not, Muzeni said placatingly. Even assuming the rumours are exaggerated, no mere creature could be responsible for what has happened.
The miners have clearly disturbed some kind of elemental force, Shahan added. I'm sorry if my flippant remark upset you. The seer did not sound very sorry, and the piglet continued to glare at him balefully.
Gossips always look for the worst in everything, Muzeni went on. And, given the circumstances, it's not surprising that some tall tales are being bandied about. After all, you may feel some connection with this force, but you've no more idea than we have about what it really is.
Shahan seemed about to argue with this statement, but Terrel - who had been bewildered by their exchange -grasped the one idea he could readily understand, and interrupted.
'You have a link with this force?' he asked Alyssa. Yes. That's why . . . I can't explain it properly. She sounded frustrated now. But I don't think it's evil.
But it's easy to see why people believe it is, Shahan pointed out. It has killed people.
So do bears and wolves, she countered. That doesn't make them evil.
'Yes, but I wouldn't particularly want to come face to face with a bear or a pack of wolves,' Terrel said. 'Why do you want me to go there?'
First of all, because it might be more important than anyone in your world recognizes, Shahan told him. So far they've only been paying it any attention because it's disrupted the mining operations - and all they've thought about is how to counteract it.
Destroy it, you mean, Alyssa amended bitterly.
Whereas we want you to study it, learn from it, Muzeni said, ignoring the interruption.
Great, Terrel thought. I get to be taught by a man-eating bear! The piglet glared at him, and he wondered if Alyssa could 'hear' his private thoughts.
'What makes it so important?' he asked aloud.
It emerged at the same time as the Dark Moon's first aberration, Shahan replied. That might just be a coincidence, of course.
'But you doubt it?'
I do. No one knows where it sprang from, and subsequent events have confirmed that it's no ordinary force of nature.
'I thought it was just a rumour,' Terrel said. 'Something the miners made up.'
Oh no. It's real enough, Muzeni told him. And if only a fraction of the things that are supposed to have happened are true, then this is power beyond our imagining.
'You mean making people disappear?' Terrel asked, remembering Jehar's report of marketplace gossip.
That sort of thing, the heretic agreed. But there's something else too. The axis around which the islands are now spinning is at Betancuria.
'Are you saying this force is responsible for that?' Terrel exclaimed, unable to hide his astonishment.
It might be.
There are many unseen forces that control the worlds we live in, Terrel, Shahan said, taking up the story. It's possible this is one that's unknown to our science, one that has lain dormant until something . . . roused it - whether it was the mining operations or the Dark Moon. We don't know what it is, but we can measure its effects. Apart from being at the centre of the rotation, Betancuria has also been the epicentre of several recent earthquakes. That's one too many coincidences for me. 'But why do I have to study it? Why don't you go and see what it is for yourselves?'
They can't, Alyssa replied flatly. The force is affecting their world too. Do you remember how Sevin and the other ghosts at the haven felt an earthquake that one time? That made no sense till I realized what had caused it. None of us understands it, but no ghost can get within twenty miles of Betancuria.
We tried, believe me, Muzeni assured Terrel. It seems you need some . . . well, substance, Shahan added. And we don't have much of that here, Elam completed for him.
I thought you were asleep, Alyssa remarked. Someone has to keep you lot in order, he replied, his eyes still closed.
I'd really like to see this phenomenon for myself, Muzeni said, but for us it's like trying to walk into a hurricane that gets stronger all the time. It's simply impossible.
'So I'm going to have to do the last part alone,' Terrel said. The task already sounded daunting enough, but this made it seem much worse. There would be no one to tell him what to do.
Not necessarily, Alyssa replied. I should be able to come with you - as long as I'm in an animal's body.