"Chalker, Jack L. - Soul Rider 01 - Spirits of Flux and Anchor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Chalker Jack L)

some man, even a desirable man, by those Cassie's
age and older. But he was not a normal man with
a normal background, and it was clear to any who
looked upon him that this was so. There was just
something about him, something you couldn't put
your finger on, that radiated a fearsome chill to all
he passed. His face was worn and aged well beyond
his years, his skin seemed tough as leather, and his
eyes, a weirdly washed-out blue, radiated contempt
for World and its offerings- He was dressed in
black denim, including black boots, gloves, and a
wide-brimmed black hat that had one side of its
wide brim tied up in stringer fashion, and a black
leather jacket lined with weathered sheepskin that
must have once been white.
Weathered.... That was a good word for him.
His boots, his clothes, even his sawed-off shotgun
with the fancy carved handle that hung from his
silver-decorated belt in a special holsterЧthey all
were weathered almost beyond belief.
He rode slowly, imperiously, right past Cassie,
but those cold, distant eyes took no notice whatsoever
of the thin, slightly built girl nor of much of
anyone or anything else, either. She shivered a bit,
then turned and began walking back towards the
communal farm where she had been bom and
raised.
The farm lay at the end of a winding, rutted dirt
road, about a kilometer back from the main highway,
and on either side of the girl stretched broad
fields of grass dotted with grazing cows. She knew
every rut in that road by heart, and every cow as
well, but somehow, today, they seemed more distant
and remote than anything ever had.
It was a bright, cloudless day, and the Holy
Mother was in all Her divine glory in the sky,
filling Anchor Logh with her brightness and slightly
coloring the landscape with subtle and different
shadmgs. It was a glorious sight, yet She was al-
SOUL RIDER: SPIRITS OF FLUX AND ANCHOR 9
ways there when the clouds parted, and Her visage
was so omnipresent, so taken for granted, not just
by Cassie but by all those on World, that the Holy
Mother was rarely paid attention to except when
one was prayingЧor sinning.
Today, though, the Holy Mother seemed particularly
close and needed, and Cassie stopped and
looked up at Her reverently, seeking some comfort
and inspiration. The sparkling bands of gold,
orange, deep red and emerald green that gave the