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

This was not the harmless and occasionally benevolent lunacy of someone like
Alyssa. This was violent, furious, unreasoning and yet malicious. Evil. What
was even more disconcerting, it seemed to be coming from the island itself. It
was as if the whole place was insane.
The initial onslaught was so savage that Terrel instinctively clutched at his
head, then staggered and almost fell back into the sea. He recovered just in
time, tried desperately to shield his mind, and went on. As he clambered over
the barnacle-encrusted rocks, taking himself further from one peril at least,
he heard yells of encouragement from Kahl and the other oarsmen who had
brought him ashore. He couldn't pick out their words, but knew they
were glad both that he had survived the first stage of his journey and that
their part in his escapade was over. They were pulling away again now,
returning to the Skua.
Catching his breath once he was no longer in any immediate danger of being
sucked back into the icy water, Terrel watched the skiff's retreat. Doubts
assailed him. He'd been so sure that coming ashore at Whale Ness was the right
thing to do, and yet now his decision seemed incredibly rash. Even without the
all-pervading sense of madness, this was a bleak and forbidding place, where
any number of dangers might await him. Even if he succeeded in climbing up to
the island proper, there was nothing to suggest he'd be able to survive long
enough to achieve his purpose there — whatever that was. He could die of cold
or starvation. Even a minor injury could prove fatal.
That's all irrelevant, he told himself. You're here now. There's no going
back, so you just have to make the best of it.
Readjusting his pack, which contained his few belongings and the food he'd
been given, Terrel got to his feet and moved further inland. His first
intention was to get well out of reach of the waves, even if the wind
freshened, and then to try to find some shelter. It was already growing dark
and he had no intention of attempting to scale the cliffs that night. He
concentrated on each footstep, on making sure his boots did not slip, and
tried to focus on his immediate practical problems. But no matter how hard he
tried, he couldn't dismiss the atmosphere of insanity from his mind. As a
healer he felt it as a sickness, an unnatural state, but treating such a
disease was clearly beyond him. The best he could hope for was to ignore it
-and to ignore the implications for his own mission. This was easier said than
done.
'Don't you believe in first impressions?' Kjolur had asked. Terrel was
beginning to wish he didn't.
It had been late afternoon by the time the Skua had dropped anchor off Whale
Ness, but Ostan hadn't given his passenger the choice of waiting until
morning. The captain's words had been succinct. 'It's now or never, Terrel.
Make up your mind.' One of the reasons for his haste had been the fear of
encountering local naval vessels. Sea raids apparently played a major part in
the war, and Ostan hadn't been willing to linger near a forbidden zone and
risk being discovered by military forces. And he and all his crew had also
been anxious to reach Akranes and complete their trading so they could sail
for home as quickly as possible. The detour had already cost them several
hours, and any further delay was out of the question.
The little Terrel had seen of Myvatan had not been encouraging. He'd already
known it was very different from Vadanis. For a start, it was much bigger and