Читать «THE SEA DEVIL S EYE (зксм-3)» онлайн - страница 37

"At what cost?" Azla demanded.

"Only that you bring it back when you're finished," Dehnee replied. "And I would ask a favor."

Azla's eyes narrowed. "What favor?"

"Not from you, Captain." Dehnee's eyes locked with Jherek's. "From this boy."

Glawinn interrupted before Azla could respond. "He is only a boy."

The diviner nodded. "And what he faces will make a man of him." She glanced at the paladin. "You know this as well as I. That's part of the reason you're here. I won't ask a favor of the boy. I will want a favor from the man."

"He's too young to know what you ask," Glawinn interrupted. "A promise from him-"

"Is all that I will settle for," Dehnee said. "Otherwise, you are on your own."

"You know of the portents and magic that surround the Sea of Fallen Stars," Azla said. "Some are saying that ancient prophecies are being fulfilled, that an old evil is descending upon us."

"That's not my concern." The diviner stared at Jherek and he felt the pull of her gaze. "What is your answer?"

"Young warrior," Glawinn said gently, "don't agree to these terms. Wait until a more proper time."

"Time is against us." Jherek spoke clearly, but his words sounded distant.

"There is much for you to learn," Glawinn persisted.

"It's only a favor," Jherek said. "I owe a debt to the temple of Lathander…"

"Do you accept?" Dehnee asked.

Dehnee took his hand back in hers, holding both of them again. "Swear to me that you will honor my request, and that you will never lift your hand against me."

In the periphery of his vision, Jherek saw Glawinn's stony face and knew that the paladin didn't approve.

"Lady," the young sailor said, "I swear that I will honor your request and will never lift a hand against you."

"Swear by your god."

Jherek's throat tightened. "Lady, I'm sorry. I recognize no gods. I am adrift in my beliefs and hold no anchor."

The diviner's eyes studied his face, searching.

"He speaks the truth," Glawinn stated coldly.

"I can see that. Yet he's no stranger to falsehood."

Shame burned Jherek's cheeks. The only things he'd never been completely forthright about concerned his heritage and his true name-and those he'd hidden primarily from Sabyna.

"Not in this matter," Glawinn said.

"It's strange to think of one such as him without strong beliefs."

"As may be, lady," the paladin said, "but so it is."

Dehnee tightened her grip on his hands and said, "Then name something you believe in, boy."

An incredible weight seemed to descend on Jherek's chest. It felt impossible to breathe. He had confessed to Glawinn that he believed in nothing. The paladin swore to teach him to believe again, but hadn't told the young sailor what he was supposed to believe in. Only now there was a huge gaping emptiness where his faith in the gods had once been.

"My eye and my sword arm," he croaked in a tight voice, remembering what Glawinn told him he would believe in first. "I believe in those."

"No," the diviner said. "Those things you trust in, but that is no real belief. Search yourself, boy, tell me what you believe in."