The Redemption of Althalus. David Eddings

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      He could read the Book fairly well by now, and he found it more and more interesting. One thing did sort of bother him, though. Late one spring afternoon, he laid his hand on the Book and glanced at Emerald, who appeared to be sleeping with her chin resting on her paws as she lay on the table beside the Book. ‘What’s his real name?’ he asked her.

      Her green eyes were sleepy when she opened them. ‘Whose name?’ she asked.

      ‘The one who wrote the Book. He never comes right out and identifies himself.’

      ‘He’s God, Althalus.’

      ‘Yes, I know, but which one? Every land I’ve ever visited has its own god – or its own set of gods – and they all have different names. Was it Kherdhos – the god of the Wekti and Plakands? Or maybe Apwos, the god of Equero? What is his name?’

      ‘Deiwos, of course.’

      ‘Deiwos? The god of the Medyos?’

      ‘Of course.’

      ‘The Medyos are the silliest people in the world, Emerald.’

      ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

      ‘You’d think that the people who worshiped the real true God would have better sense.’

      She sighed. ‘It’s all the same God, Althalus. Haven’t you realized that by now? The Wekti and Plakands call him Kherdhos because they’re interested in their herds of sheep or cows. The Equeros call him Apwos, because they concentrate most of their attention on the lakes. The Medyos are the oldest people in this part of the world, and they brought the name with them when they first came here.’

      ‘Where did they come from?’

      ‘Off to the south – after they learned how to herd sheep and plant grains. After they’d lived in Medyo for a while, they expanded out into those other places, and the people in the new places changed God’s name.’ She rose to her feet and stretched and yawned. ‘Let’s have fish for dinner tonight,’ she suggested.

      ‘We had fish last night – and the night before.’

      ‘So? I like fish, don’t you?’

      ‘Oh, fish is all right, I suppose, but I get a little tired of it after we’ve eaten it three times a day for three straight weeks.’

      ‘Fix your own supper,’ she flared.

      ‘You know perfectly well that I don’t know how to do that yet.’

      ‘Then you’ll just have to take whatever I put on the table, won’t you?’

      He sighed. ‘Fish?’ he asked with a certain resignation.

      ‘What a wonderful idea, Althalus! I’m so glad you thought of it’

      There were many concepts in the Book that Althalus couldn’t understand, and he and Emerald spent many contented evenings talking about them. They also spent quite a bit of time playing. Emerald was a cat, after all, and cats like to play. There was a kind of studied seriousness about her when she played that made her absolutely adorable, and she filled up most of the empty places in his life. Every so often she’d do something while she was playing that was so totally silly that it seemed almost human. Althalus thought about that, and he came to realize that only humans could be silly. Animals generally took themselves far too seriously to even suspect that they were being ridiculous.

      Once, when he was concentrating very hard on the Book, he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and realized that she was creeping up on him. He hadn’t really been paying much attention to her, and she’d only let that go on for just so long before she’d assert herself. She came creeping across the polished floor one furtive step at a time, but he knew that she was coming, so he was ready for her when she pounced, and half-turning, he caught her in mid-air with both hands. There was the usual mock tussle, and then he pulled her to his face and held her tightly against it. ‘Oh, I do love you, Emmy!’ he said.

      She jerked her face back from his. ‘Emmy?’ she hissed. ‘EMMY!?!’

      ‘I’ve noticed that people do that,’ he tried to explain. ‘After they’ve been together for a while, they come up with pet names for each other.’

      ‘Put me down!’

      ‘Oh, don’t get all huffy.’

      ‘Emmy indeed! You put me down, or I’ll claw off one of your ears!’

      He was fairly sure she wouldn’t, but he put her down and gave her a little pat on the head.

      She turned sort of sideways, her fur bristling and her ears laid back. Then she hissed at him.

      ‘Why, Emmy,’ he said in mock surprise, ‘what a thing to say. I’m shocked at you. Shocked.’

      Then she swore at him, and that really surprised him. ‘You’re actually angry, aren’t you?’

      She hissed again, and he laughed at her. ‘Oh, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy,’ he said fondly.

      ‘Yes, Althie, Althie, Althie?’ she replied in a spiteful tone.

      Althie?’

      ‘In your ear!’ she said. Then she went off to the bed to sulk.

      He didn’t get any supper that night, but he sort of felt that it might have been worth it. He now had a way to respond when she started acting superior. One ‘Emmy’ would immediately erase the haughty look on her face and reduce her to near-inarticulate fury. Althalus carefully tucked that one up his sleeve for future use.

      They declared peace on each other the next day, and life returned to normal. She fed him a near-banquet that evening. He understood that it was a peace-making gesture, so he complimented her after about every other bite.

      Then, after they’d gone to bed, she washed his face for quite some time. ‘Did you really mean what you said yesterday?’ she purred.

      ‘Which particular thing I said were you thinking of?’ he asked.

      Her ears went back immediately. ‘You said you loved me. Did you mean it?’

      ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘that. Of course I meant it. You shouldn’t even have to ask.’

      ‘Don’t you lie to me.’

      ‘Would I do that?’

      ‘Of course you would. You’re the greatest liar in the whole world.’

      ‘Why, thank you, dear.’

      ‘Don’t make me cross, Althalus,’ she warned. ‘I’ve got all four paws wrapped around your head right now, so be very nice to me – unless you’d like to have your face on the back of your head instead of the front.’

      ‘I’ll be good,’ he promised.

      ‘Say СКАЧАТЬ