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

popping up out of the whale like a child's jack-in-the-box -could have brought
such a dramatic end to the fighting, but he couldn't think of any other
explanation.
He could see that the remaining soldiers, who were now drawing close to the
sculpture as if pulled by some mysterious force, wore gold flashes on the
shoulders of their uniforms. Now that he thought about it, those who had run
away had worn similarly placed black patches. Their allegiance to their
quarter - and their moon - was evidently signified by the colour of these
badges, but unlike
Kjolar's hidden epaulet, theirs were worn in the open. In the confusion of
battle, such markings must be a convenient way of distinguishing between
friend and foe.
Exposed as he was, there was nowhere for Terrel to hide, and he felt
desperately vulnerable. But the soldiers showed no sign of aggressive intent.
Rather than enmity, their regard seemed to be tinged with awe, even reverence,
and he realized that — for the time being at least — he had no need to hide.
One of the soldiers laughed nervously, and for some reason it made him think
of Jax. He heard his brother's mocking laugh, and then his voice sounded
inside Terrel's head. Now this looks like fun! Then he was gone, and
forgotten.
An impulse Terrel could not explain made him glance to his right and look out
over the sea. He spotted several black shapes amid the surging waves and
sensed, rather than heard, their mournful song. As if in response - or perhaps
as a repeated summons — the stone whale called again. The ethereal whistling
flowed over the headland, then faded into the noise of the wind.
This time Terrel knew what the strange music presaged and, as another loud
thump shook the cliffs below, he stepped carefully to one side, distancing
himself from the blowhole. Without a human presence blocking its path, the
seawater shot into the sky in a single stream which was eventually bent and
split apart by the gale, sending spray in a wide arc over the headland and
beyond the cliffs on the far side. For a moment, a shaft of sunlight created a
small rainbow within the fountain before that too was blown away on the wind.
As the last droplets pattered down, Terrel returned his attention to the
soldiers. One of them, a bloodied sword still hanging limply from his hand,
gazed back.
'What do you want us to do?'

Terrel had not known what sort of greeting to expect -if any — but he could
not have anticipated this. Moreover, he had no idea how to answer. As he stood
there, shivering, with icicles forming in his hair and at the bottom of his
sleeves, he recalled the legend which said that anyone splashed by water from
Savik's Whale would be granted a vision of the future. As far as the soldiers
were concerned, he had not only been doused but had actually emerged in the
midst of the eruption. He still didn't understand why this should make him an
object of awe, but a more calculating part of his mind decided that he should
try to take advantage of the situation. They clearly thought he was someone —
or something — that he wasn't, and this presented him with both an opportunity
and a problem. He could try to exercise his supposed power, and perhaps be
obeyed at first, but sooner or later they would find out the truth. So what
was he supposed to do?