"Elliott,.Kate.-.Crown.Of.Stars.3.-.Burning.Stone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elliott Kate)

and this fire shone from within the crown. He knew then it was
no Quman campsiteЧthey were far too superstitious to
venture into such a haunted place.

He crept closer on his hands and knees. Grass pricked his
hands. The moon set as the first faint wash of light spread
along the eastern horizon. The fire blazed higher and yet
higher until his eyes stung from its glare. When he came to
the nearest stone, he hid behind its bulk and peeked around.

That harsh glare was no campfire.

Within the ring of stones stood a smaller upright stone, no
taller or thicker than a man. And it burned.

Stone could not burn.

Reflexively, he touched the wooden Circle of Unity he still
wore. He would have prayed, but the Quman had taken his
faith together with so much else.

A woman crouched beside . She had the well-rounded curves
of a creature that eats as much as it wants, and the sleek
power of a predator, muscular and quick. Her hair had the
same color as the height of flame that cast a net of fire into
the empty air. Her skin, too, wore a golden-bronze gilding, a
sheen of flame, and she wore necklaces that glittered and
sparked under the light of that unearthly fire.

Witchfire.

She swayed, rocking from heel to heel as she chanted in a
low voice.

The stone flared so brightly that his eyes teared, but he could
not look away. He saw through as through a gateway, saw
another country, heard it, a place more shadow than real, as
faint as the spirit world his ancient grandmother had told tales
about but with the sudden gleam of color, bright feathers,
white shells, a trail of dun-colored earth, a sharp whistle like
that of a bird.

Then the vision vanished, and the stone snuffed out as though
a blanket of earth thrown on the fire had smothered it.

Stone and fire both were utterly gone.

A moment later the lick and spit of everyday flame flowered
into life. The woman fed a common campfire with dried dung
and twigs. As soon as it burned briskly, she made a clucking