Only the Bold. Морган Райс

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СКАЧАТЬ circling above the boat, and in the distance, he thought he could make out the green speck of an island.

      “There,” he said. “There’s an island there!”

      The others seemed to take heart from that news, Mark correcting the boat’s course just a touch, Matilde and Neave waiting eagerly as the wind pushed their vessel on. Gwylim moved to the prow of the boat, the wolf-like creature standing there like a figurehead. Soon, it was possible to see the island in the distance even without Ember’s vision.

      It was small compared to the Seven Isles they’d left behind, but lush with grass and trees, so that it looked like a green jewel sticking out from the sea. It was fairly flat, the interior of the island disappearing in among the trees so that it was impossible to see much more from the boat. As they got closer, Royce could make out beaches of golden sand, brushing up against the woods like the white around a green eye.

      “Let’s just hope there aren’t any magic women or lizard people on this one,” Matilde said.

      Neave shrugged. “As I recall, you quite liked Lethe.”

      “This isn’t the time for a fight,” Royce said. “But you’re right, there could be dangers.”

      He sent Ember up over the beach, using the hawk to scout ahead, wanting to be sure he wasn’t leading his friends into yet another place of danger. He could have looked in the mirror, but that was a far more dangerous option; he needed to see what was, not what might be. Through her eyes, he saw that the trees formed a kind of outer ring around the interior of the island, while there was a broad inner circle of open ground there, covered in grass.

      On it, he saw a whole herd of white deer grazing, and it seemed that one stag looked up as Ember passed, antlers majestic as it tracked the flight of the passing bird. Now, Royce knew without a shadow of doubt that he was in the place that the mirror had promised. It also meant that he knew what he had to do next.

      “We’re in the right place,” he said. “I need to go ashore alone.”

      “Alone?” Mark said, the incredulity in his voice obvious. “After we’ve come all this way with you, you want to go alone?”

      “I have to,” Royce said. “I…” Again, he felt the tension of the futures threatening to shift. If he explained, he didn’t know how, but it would change everything that he had seen. “I can’t explain the reasons, but I have to go onto this island without any other people.”

      “Do you know how that sounds?” Matilde said.

      “It sounds like nonsense, I know,” Royce agreed.

      “No, Royce,” she replied. “It sounds as if you don’t trust us.”

      “I would trust you with my life,” Royce said, “and when I can, I will explain, but I can’t right now.”

      “And so you have to go onto an island alone, with only your obsidian sword to protect you?” Neave asked. It was clear that she disapproved as much as the others.

      “I think… I think I can take Gwylim and Ember with me,” Royce said. The shape of the potential future didn’t seem to be affected by the prospect of them being there. “Please, you’ve come this far trusting me. Just a little more.”

      “Okay,” Mark said, with a sigh, “but I don’t like it.”

      They brought the boat as close to the shore as they could without touching it, then dropped a small anchor to hold it in place. Royce checked that he had his sword and everything else he needed, while Gwylim moved to his side, the bhargir’s presence a sense of power and safety that Royce was grateful for. Ember flew overhead, circling the island and looking for danger. Royce set the mirror in its velvet bag at his side.

      “I will be back as soon as I can,” Royce promised.

      Royce stepped off the boat, into the water. It was shallow here, only up to his waist, but even so he trod carefully as he made his way in toward the land. There was still the risk of dangerous creatures being in the water, or hidden drops, or sharp coral. Royce heard the splash as Gwylim dove into the water, the bhargir paddling forward until he could walk beside Royce easily.

      They made their way up onto the beach, the waves lapping gently at the shore. Looking back, Royce could see his friends still in the boat, waiting but looking worried. He knew that he would have to be quick here; leave it too long, and they would come looking for him simply to make sure he was all right.

      He stepped into the cover of the trees with Ember flying above, glancing through her eyes every so often to make sure he was still going in the right direction. The canopy was thin enough that Royce could see himself in between the trees, looking down on himself and using Ember’s vision to guide him. Royce headed deeper into the interior of the island, heading for the spot where it opened out to flat ground.

      Within the trees, he could see many plants he recognized: fruits and edible roots that suggested someone could live on this island for as long as they wished without having to leave it. Royce could hear the sound of a nearby spring, and going to it he found water bubbling up from among moss-covered boulders. More than that, he saw the small, crudely made bucket that had been set beside it, obviously designed to catch water for someone. For his father?

      Royce dared to hope as he stepped from the trees out into the broad, grassy clearing. The grass was short, obviously kept that way by the efforts of the deer, while there were spots where there was none at all, because great slabs of rock sat there, marked with symbols and signs cut into their surface. Most of the deer there scattered, heading back into their woodland cover. Only one stood there: a stag larger than the others, its antlers magnificent, its white fur shining in the sun. It reared up, giving a snorting bellow, then headed back in the direction of the trees with the others. If Royce hadn’t known that he was in the right place before, he would have known it then.

      Now that he was out in the large clearing at the heart of the island, Royce could see the hut that had been built, sheltered in among the trees at one edge. It was simply built, but looked sturdy, constructed from fallen and cut tree trunks by hands that clearly knew what they were doing.

      Royce headed for that hut, reasoning that what he had come there to find could only be there. He stepped out over the ground of the clearing, past the stone slabs, and he found himself pausing, tracing the letters there. He found the words of the people who had gone before, and something about those words seemed to resonate deep inside him. Some remnant of the clarity he’d had from the mirror told him that these were stories in the old tongue about his ancestors, kings and queens for whom the stones had sung and whose kingdoms were filled with magic.

      Royce walked over to the hut. It was simple, but he could see that someone had started to whittle carvings into the wood, working with a long life or perhaps a carefully held axe. Royce stared at those carvings, which seemed to tell the story of a man who had crossed the sea, and stared into a mirror, and…

      Royce heard Gwylim growl behind him, and he spun just in time to see an axe heading toward his face. Royce threw himself aside, and the weapon embedded itself in the wood, tearing free as a large man with wild hair and a wilder beard pulled it clear.

      “Has Carris finally found me and sent an assassin?” the man demanded, aiming another swing of the axe.

      Royce leapt back, dodging it only with an effort. He drew the obsidian sword, parrying the next blow, finding the strength to keep it from his head only barely. To his side, Gwylim was growling, looking as though he might leap at any moment.

      “No, СКАЧАТЬ