"Huff, Tanya - Wizard 1 - Child Of The Grove 1.1 Txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

CHILD OF THE GROVE 89
and still. No leaf rustled, for no breeze dared to intrude. "Can They hope to succeed?" the centaur asked at
last.
Doan shrugged. "I don't see why not. This, " he waved a hand about the Grove, "is the oldest magic in the world and They've woven themselves into it. Sacrificed Themselves to do it. They've succeeded, C'Tal, that tree holds a life as real as any in this place. But after... "
"So much rests on the Mother's youngest children. " C'Tal folded his arms across his massive chest, the black beard flowing like silk over them. "And the Mother's youngest children have never been strong. "
"Strong enough to begin this mess, " Doan snorted. His gaze dropped to the lichen covered mound the young birch grew from, all that remained of Milthra's tree. "Strong enough to draw out the Eldest and take
her from us. "
"True, " murmured the centaur and the trees around them stirred and moaned. "But you must never forget, she chose her path. "
"Forget!" Doan whirled and his eyes blazed red, not with power but pain. "As if I could!" He turned again to the sapling. "I could end this, here and now. " He grabbed a tender leaf and ripped it free. The small tree shuddered. "They've risked it all on this one toss, and if I destroy Their vessel it's over. "
"Perhaps for us as well. "
Doan's arched eyebrows invited C'Tal to continue.
"He has no checks on his power this time. Who is to say when he is done with the mortals he will not turn at last to the Elder Races?"
"So that's why you finally stuck your noses in. " Doan's laugh was bitter. "Fear. "
"Unlike other races, we do not become involved in that which does not concern the centaurs. " C'Tal's voice remained calm, but the points of his ears lay back against his head and for an instant great slabs of teeth showed startlingly white against the black of his





















90 Tanya Huff
beard. "Nor, given the evidence, is it unreasonable
for us to fear what he may do and wish to stop him. "
Doan looked thoughtful. He rubbed another leaf between thumb and forefinger, but this time the action was almost a caress. "I could end it now, " he murmured, his voice unusually gentle.
"But you will not. " A huge black hand reached down and engulfed the dwarf's shoulder.
"No. " He pulled himself out of the other's grasp and stood flexing the shoulder the centaur had held. "And you needn't snap bones to convince me either, " he added peevishly. "For the little of her that's woven here and greater part of her yet to come, I'll let Them try to right the wrong Their brothers did. "
"You must do more than that. " C'Tal ignored both glare and clenched fists and continued. "As you infer. They cannot protect themselves now; if you can destroy Them, so too could another. Until the seed is sown, They must have a protector. "
"Go on. " Doan's voice was the rasp of moving rock.
C'Tal looked surprised. "You have been protector once before. "
"And I don't choose to be again. I am needed in the caverns. "
"Your brothers can guard what the caverns hold. You are needed here. "
"No. " A muscle jumped in his cheek; the Lady lost to love, her son to Mortal time and he could protect them from neither. "Do it yourself. " Moving jerkily, stamping indentations into the velvet grass, Doan pushed past the centaur and out of the Grove.
C'Tal stood quietly, an ebony monument, framed by green and gold. He did not appear distressed by the refusal of his chosen guardian. He merely waited.
"All right. " The pain was safely masked by irritation. "But only until the seed is sown. I've raised one child and I don't care to repeat it. "