"Julia Gray - Guardian 04 - The Red Glacier" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gray Julia)

what his next task would be. But although he'd hoped that this would begin
with his 'going to the other side of the mountains' - the first part of his
journey - he had subsequently been presented with an almost limitless
succession of choices, and had been given little or no guidance. He'd been
left to trust his own instincts — instincts he had begun to doubt more and
more as time passed — to decide where he should go next at each stage. It was
only recently that his goal had become clear, which was why he was now aboard
the Skua. Yet in his heart it was not Myvatan but another island, on the other
side of the world, that he longed for. Although Terrel was indeed a different
person from the boy he'd once been, he still sometimes felt like a homesick
child.
'You are a long way from home,' Kjolur commented, bringing Terrel back to the
present with a rush. 'What brings you to this part of the world?'
Once again Terrel wondered how to answer this most obvious of questions. If he
replied truthfully — that he came in search of a shadow-born entity that
possessed intelligence and strength but no physical body — he would be
dismissed as mad and would lose any prospect of being helped by a potential
ally. After some consideration, he chose to move one step closer to the truth
than he had done with Ostan.
'The seers of my homeland prophesied that I would make this journey. I swore
an oath to follow their guidance, wherever it led.' He paused, trying to
assess Kjolur's response, but the islander's expression was unreadable.
'Seeing into the future,' Kjolur said, nodding slowly. 'That's a useful
talent.'
Terrel couldn't tell whether the other man was being genuine or facetious —
and wasn't sure whether he agreed with what the islander had said. Prophecy
had been his travelling companion for seven years, but it had brought as many
pitfalls as triumphs.
'It is sometimes,' he said cautiously, 'but augury isn't an exact science.'
That was one of the seers' favourite axioms.
'I find that rather reassuring,' the merchant said. 'I wouldn't like to think
that everything was preordained.'
'Me neither,' Terrel agreed, remembering one particular vision in which he had
seen the moment of his own death.
'And yet you're sailing to Myvatan because of this prophecy?'
'Sometimes you can't argue with destiny,' Terrel replied, knowing it was a
feeble response. He was aware that his companion was studying him intently,
and guessed that Kjolur was a shrewd character. It was obvious that the
islander was not only weighing up his words but also the expressions on his
face. Was it possible that those pale eyes could somehow see beneath the
surface of their conversation? Could it even be that Kjolur was skilled in the
use of psinoma, and thus able to read Terrel's thoughts without him knowing
it? This was an unnerving idea, but the healer was able to convince himself
that it couldn't be true, that he would know if his mind was being probed.
'Those are old wounds?' Kjolur asked, indicating Terrel's misshapen limbs.
'Were they received in battle?'
The abrupt change of subject took Terrel by surprise.
'No,' he replied. 'I was born this way.'
In fact the injuries had been caused by a battle of sorts -but not the kind
Kjolur meant. Terrel had been in his mother's womb when he'd been crippled by