"Tanya Huff - When The Student Is Ready" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

All at once, he was clean—hair, clothes, probably breath if she wanted to get that close, which she didn't.

"How did you do that?"

"Godfry!"

"What?"

Ignoring her, Fred headed for the terrace door and tried to push it open. On the other side, a big crow
hopped from foot to foot and shouted, "Pull, you idiot." When he finally pulled the door open and went
through, the crow fluttered up to the top of a rattan chair.

"Well?" it croaked. "Did you tell her?"



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"He said he's here to teach me," Isabel answered before Fred had the chance. "That there'll be a test. He
said I'm the youngest wizard and the nasty thing with red eyes is after my power—which rather
redefined the rather shaky definition of normal I'd been working with. He didn't tell me what he is, it is,
or you are."

"Him?" The crow turned to glare at her. "He's one of the nine—same as you."

"Nine?"

"Nine wizards. There's always nine. Don't ask why, I don't know. When one finally pops—and one
popped early last year—the power finds a new conduit—that's you. It's been gathering in you since Beth
Aswith died, which is why you're taking this so well in case you're thinking it has anything to do with
you as a person."

Isabel curled her lip, but die bird ignored her, swiveling his head to face Fred.

"Him, he's an old conduit."

"I'm a piece of O-pipe."

"Sure you are." And back to Isabel. "My name's Godfry, I'm with him. The big thing with red eyes is a
bad guy— sort of an and-wizard. You've got no control right now, so you're lit up like a Christmas tree.
The bad guys want your power—well, they want everyone's power, but you're the only one they can
find."

"Great." She picked savagely at a thread on her blazer for a moment. The crow's explanation, although it
covered the main points, had been a little light on details. First things first. "So, if there's seven other
wizards, how come I rate the dumpster diver?"

This time, Fred answered for himself. "No one else would come in time. A wizard with an apprentice