"Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon - Mage Wars 01 - The Black Gryphon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

that could come later, but her gradual relaxation at least opened a doorway toward a cure.
A candlemark must have passed since her arrival before she spoke again. It was a time in which her
kestra'chern held her and scratched her ear-tufts, all the while carefully touching her mind and soaking in
the feelings she unknowingly projected into him. He could not help thinking that it was a good thing she
had chosen him, rather than a kestra'chern with no Empathic or Healing abilities. Anyone else would have
had to send for her Trondi'irn—and an apprentice would have been as terrified and traumatized as she.
"Zhaneel," he said urgently, "you must tell me why I distressed you so. I had no intention of hurting
you."
She shivered all over. "You... kessstra'cherrrn. Think I am mmmisssborrrn, too. No desssirrre,
neverrr...." She hunched her shoulders and hung her head, deep in purest misery. "Should have died," she
cried softly. "Not worth raisssing, ssshould have died. Trried."
Amberdrake didn't hesitate a moment; strange how, after waiting in silence for so long, a moment's
delay in a reply could cause damage. "No, lovely child, you misunderstood me entirely! You're far from
misborn, Zhaneel. You were made by Urtho as his proudest creation. And you are lovely to me."
She uncoiled some more, and nervously looked at him with one eye. "But you sssaid—no lover.
Physssically. Not even you want me—"
He rubbed his cheek against hers, as a gryphon-sib would do, and replied quickly. "Zhaneel, no,
little one! I said I can not, not that I would not if I could. I am only a human. Thin skin, and smaller than
you. We wouldn't fit, you and I, our sizes and bodies are too different. And you'd tear me up trying." He
allowed a small chuckle. "Dearheart, believe me, if I were a gryphon, you and I would be in the sky
together the moment after I saw you."
She opened both eyes and blinked, twice, as if the dry observation that humans were perhaps a
third the size of a gryphon—in every salient way—hadn't even occurred to her.
Some people think a kestra'chern can do anything!
"Never learned how mating goes. Parents died. Left me, left me alone." Zhaneel slumped down, her
beak touching the floor. "Misborn, wings too long and pointy, too long for body, head too big, too round,
no ear-tufts at all!" she cried out, shivering. "That's why they left me, why they flew and died. I was
misborn, and they were ashamed."
Amberdrake scratched her head, fingers disappearing into the deep, soft down-feathers, and
projected more calm into her, soothing her, lest she ball herself up again and never uncurl. "I just can't
believe that, Zhaneel. You are lovely and strong. Your parents must surely have treasured you and
looked forward to seeing you fly."
Apparently, a floodgate had been released when she had first started speaking. She continued to
pour out her feelings. "Not enough talon to hurt even mites—"
Amberdrake surveyed the outstretched forefoot dubiously. The talons looked plenty long to him.
"—freakish, misborn, should have died," she whispered hoarsely. "No one wants Zhaneel in wing.
No one. No one wants Zhaneel as mate. Worthless."
Amberdrake lifted her head up, a more difficult task than he tried to make it appear, and caressed
her briefly around the nares, then held up the forgotten reward-square.
"If you're so worthless, then how did you earn this? They don't give these away for digging latrines,
sky-lady. Only the bravest receive this kind of reward."
His left arm was complaining bitterly about supporting the weight of her head when she finally lifted it
herself and blinked. Then she looked down.
"Not brave," she insisted faintly.
Amberdrake smiled gently. "Why don't you tell me how you earned it, and let me be the judge of
that? I would sincerely like to hear, Zhaneel. Join me. I'll make you a fine strong tea." He stood up
creakily and gestured for her to come with him; she rose, took three hesitant steps toward his bed, and
then sat beside it.
"No one would accept me into their wing. But I wanted to fly for Urtho. So I—I just moved into a
wing. Kelreesha Trondaar's wing."