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

and that while his sons had posts with the army here, his wife and all his relatives were back there.
There, where Skandranon had gone. He and Gesten did not know why, or for what reason; Amberdrake
only knew that he had gone off without a farewell.
"No," Amberdrake repeated, taking the General's outflung hand before Corani could reclaim it, and
massaging the palm and fingers carefully. The muscles felt cramped and tight; Corani's hand was cold.
"How could I be that stupid? You are human and mortal; we are the sum of our weak moments and our
strong. Everyone has a moment at which he must break; this one was yours. It is no shame to need help
and know it."
Somewhere, deep inside, he wondered if it was also his. There was pressure building inside him that
threatened to break free at any moment. He was not so self-confident that he thought he could do
without help. The question was, would there be any there for him? Too many battered spirits to
mend—too many bruised bodies to comfort—the resources of Healers and kestra'chern alike were
stretched and overstretched. That he was near the end of his reserves made little difference.
Far too many of his clients had gone out to battle and had not returned. And Skan had been due
back this morning; it had been near sunset when the aide left him in Corani's quarters. Skan was never
overdue.
But for now, this moment, he must put his own strain aside. None of that must show—he shouldn't
let it break his concentration or his focus. Corani came first; Corani must be comforted enough, given
enough reinforcing, as if he were a crumbling wall, that he could function and come to heal. Something
had gone wrong, terribly wrong, at Stelvi Pass. Corani had not told him what, but Amberdrake knew
with dreadful certainty. Stelvi Pass had been overrun; Laisfaar, and Corani's family with it, was no more.
It would be better for them to be dead than in Ma'ar's hands unless they'd hidden their identities and
vanished into the general population. And that was unlikely.
Corani accepted this, as wise generals accepted all facts. Corani had accepted Amberdrake's
comforting as well. For the moment, anyway. That was another of Amberdrake's abilities; it bought time.
Time to bring distance, time to heal. "My sons—"
"I think that Urtho has seen to them as well," Amberdrake replied quickly. Urtho would have seen to
everything; it was his way.
Skan—
Quickly, he suppressed the thought and the anguish it caused.
The drugs in the General's tea took effect; in the dim light, Corani struggled to keep his eyes open,
eyes still red and swollen from weeping. The General had fought those tears, fought to keep them
properly held inside with the determination that had made him the leader he was. Amberdrake had fought
his determination with a will of his own that was no less stubborn. "It's time to sleep," Amberdrake said
quietly.
Corani blinked, but held him with an assessing gaze. "I'm not certain what I expected when I saw
you here," he said, finally. "Based on Riannon—"
"What Riannon gave you was what you needed then," Amberdrake replied, gently touching the
general's shoulder. "What I do is what you need now. Sometimes neither is what the recipient expects."
He laid a soothing hand on Corani's forehead. "That is what a kestra'chern does, after all; gives you what
you need."
"And not necessarily what I want," Corani said quickly.
Amberdrake shook his head. "No, General. Not necessarily what you think you want. Your heart
knows what you want, but often your head has some other idea. It is the task of the kestra'chern to ask
your heart, and not your head, what you need and answer that need."
Corani nodded, his eyelids drooping.
"You are a strong man and a good leader, General Corani," Amberdrake continued. "But no man
can be in two places at the same time. You could not be here and there as well. You cannot anticipate
everything the enemy will do, nor where he will strike. The War thinks its own way. You are not
answerable for the entire army. You did what you could, and you did it well."