"Russell, Sean - River Into Darkness 02 - Compass Of The Soul" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Sean)

and despite our haste, we stopped so that 1 might search for it. None of us
believed what I saw. Not even me…“
The story took some long time to tell, and Halsey nodded in wonder again and
again. When she spoke of the collapse of the cave and the murder of their
companions, he rose from his chair and paced off across the room, shaking his
head and raising his hand to stop her when she started to admit that he had been
right. And then he came and settled painfully back into his chair and motioned
for her to continue.
When the tale was finally told, they sat watching the flames inexorably consume
the logs, turning them first to glowing coals and then to ash.
“He is a monster,” Halsey said at last. “He…” but the old man did not finish.
“So he is,” Anna whispered.
“Have you the seed still? Did you preserve it?”
She produced the small bundle, unwrapping it with extreme care, and held it out
to him. In all the years that she had known Halsey, Anna had never seen him
react so. His always stiff, unreadable countenance seemed to dissolve, and his
eyes glistened suddenly. For a moment he sat unmoving, not even breathing, she
thought, and then he reached out slowly. But just as his hand was about to close
over the seed, he drew it back, and placed it tight to his heart.
“No. You keep it,” he said. “You risked everything to possess it. And the
others… they made the sacrifice so that you might have it. No, it is meant to be
yours.”
“But you have talent, as well. Talent and far more knowledge. Certainly we
should cultivate it and both attempt the transformation.”
He shook his head. “No. I am too old. Too old and no longer strong. It falls to
you, Anna. That is clear to me now.”
She sat quietly, trying to absorb what he was saying. Certainly this is why she
had taken the risk of coming here. To find an ally, and to have his council.
“There is something more,” she said. She went to the window and threw it open.
Making the noise one might make to attract a pet, she leaned out, searching the
shadows. “There! Do you see?”

Halsey came and stood beside her. “I can’t make it out. What is it?”
“A chough, I was told. Much like a rook or a crow. It greeted me as 1 left the
cave and has accompanied me ever since.”
Halsey stared out into the darkness. “A familiar,” he said. “Teller be praised.
Such a thing has not happened since the days of Alan Dubry.” He looked at her,
his eyes shining. “Perhaps your vision was not wrong. Skye opened a door, and
see what we have found?” He shook his head. “Who among us would not accept the
greatest sacrifice to make a mage? A mage at this point in history.”
She turned away from the window. “Don’t say such a thing. Everyone, even Banks…
No, I could not live with such a thought. That I had sacrificed them all to my
vision…”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “But you did no such thing, Anna. You could not
have known. But even so, no one would have hesitated. A mage. A mage who will
live beyond Eldrich. It is the dream we hardly dared to dream. You, Anna, will
preserve the arts. You will rediscover what has been lost.”
She moved away, perhaps unable to accept the responsibility.
“The cost was too great,” she whispered.
“It was great, yes, but all the more reason to seize this opportunity. Let no