"Stephen Lawhead - Pendragon Cycle 05 - Grail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

'Rhys,' I said softly. 'Fear for nothing, man. It is Gwalchavad beside you
now.'
After a time, he said, 'I knelt to drink. I remember stretching forth my
hand to touch the water...'
'Yes? And then?'
He raised his eyes and the fear leapt out in his glance. 'I do not know!' He
stood abruptly. 'I reached towards the water and I - when I looked again, it
was night and the moon was shining in the pool.'
'Night comes quickly to these glens,' I offered halfheartedly. 'It must have
been later than you knew.'
'Am I a babe in arms to know nothing of day or night?' he shouted.
'Calm yourself, brother. I only meant -'
'I remember nothing of what happened in the grove. One moment it was
bright day, and the next I knew, it was night -and that far gone.'
I gazed at his anguished expression and tried to soothe him. 'Perhaps you
fell asleep. It was hot and you had ridden long. You were tired, and it was
cool in the shade. Overcome by your fatigue, you fell asleep, and why not?
A little nap is no bad thing. The men with you, did any of them remember
falling asleep?'
'No - they remember no more than I,' he said, his voice tense with the
effort of holding it steady. 'All I know is that the sun shone as I knelt, and
when I stood again, the sky was bright with stars and night was far
advanced. We returned at once.'
'It is disturbing, perhaps,' I granted, 'but nothing to worry over. No doubt
you make more of it than there is.'
Rhys glared defiantly. 'It is sorcery!' he growled. 'Mark me, something evil
lurks there.'
I slept ill, rising at dawn to ride with Rhys to the enchanted pool. As he
had said, it was no great distance away, lying in a narrow valley just a hill
or two away from camp. A grove of beech trees stood at one end of the
glen, dark in the shadow of the hillside. There were six men with us,
leading the wagons, for I was determined to have that water, enchantment
or no.
We dismounted at the edge of the grove and stood for a moment gazing
into its dark-shadowed heart, as into a cave or tomb. It was quiet, but not
unnaturally so.
'Do you hear?" Rhys whispered.
'It seems peaceful enough.'
'Aye, too peaceful.' He arched an eyebrow knowingly. 'There are no birds.'
'Well, it may be they have gone - ' I began.
'And this the only water nearby?' he challenged. 'The dell should be alive
with birds.'
'Stop whispering!' I told him sharply. 'If there is anyone here, they will
have seen us long ago. Come.' I started into the grove. 'Let us examine the
pond.'
Night's chill hung in the shaded depths of the grove - as if the sun's
warming rays had no power to penetrate beyond the outer branches of the
trees. We passed between the leaning boles and ducked under low-hanging
limbs, and after a few steps came to the water. My eyes gradually adjusted
to the dim light, and I saw that though the pool was not large, it was set in