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

worn it as a joke, it had soon become the precious link that helped her to
find him wherever he was. Seeing it always made him think of Havenmoon, his
home for the first fourteen years of his life — the asylum where Alyssa's
comatose body still lay.
You're quite safe, he reassured her, sensing her unreasoning terror.
Why aren 't you back in the palace? she asked. That would be safe, not this. I
won't be able to stand this for long.
Was there something you wanted to tell me? he asked quickly. The cat hissed
again as the Skua rose with the swell. This time I'm not even going to try to
sing, Alyssa declared, looking around wildly.
The irrelevance of this remark made it clear to Terrel that she was more than
usually deranged, and he wondered whether he'd get any sense from her at all.
You don't have to, he said. Just give me your message and you can go. Much as
he wanted her company, he couldn't bear to see her suffering.
What message? She sounded bewildered. / thought—
Oh, that! she interrupted. All the windows are closed. What?
Muzeni says . . . She paused, apparently trying to remember something elusive.
Muzeni says .. . the crystal's broken, isn 't it? Smashed.
What does that mean? he asked, desperate now. Be careful where you choose to
follow, she stated tone-lessly, as if she were reciting the words from memory.
Don't fight the wrong war. And don't trust your instincts.
More confused than ever now, Terrel was about to speak again, but Alyssa
overrode him.
I'm sick, she announced. And if you think I'm coming up on deck, you 're
crazy.
Sick? Terrel queried, his heart sinking. Let me help you.
I have no need of your healing, she replied, sounding a little calmer at last.
Just your love.
You have that always, he told her.
But there are others in your path who are in terrible pain, Alyssa added. Look
ahead. Even the sky is at war.
And then she was gone. Terrel caught a last glimpse of the ring as it faded
away — and then the cat was just a cat again. Dranga wandered off, with a
puzzled 'miaow'. Terrel remained where he was, too stunned to do anything.
Whatever message Alyssa had intended to bring had been garbled by her terror.
Her utterances were often obscure, but under normal circumstances Terrel could
usually interpret the meaning beneath the words. This time he was completely
at a loss.
The one instruction that had a potentially relevant interpretation was the
last. Look ahead. Coupled with Alyssa's apparently pointless refusal to even
consider going up on deck, it did at least give Terrel something to do.
Leaving the long cabin he shared with several of the crew — all of whom had
been quite unaware of the silent conversation — he climbed up the steep wooden
steps to the foredeck. As soon as he emerged, he knew instantly that the
windswept night was lit by more than normal moonlight, but he was not prepared
for the sight that greeted him.
Ahead of the ship, the sky was filled with a shimmering arch of greenish-white
luminescence, stretching from horizon to horizon. Along its upper rim, even
brighter beads of light moved at incredible speeds, leaving behind them
glittering silver trails that trembled like the strings of a star-born lute.