"David Gemmel - Sipstrassi Tales 03 - Bloodstone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gemmel David)

daily, thanks to the discoveries of our medical teams.'
The Daniel Stones, you mean,' said Cade.
'You are well informed, sir. Yes, the fragments have been most helpful. We are still seeking larger
Stones.'
'Blood and death is all they'll bring,' Cade said. 'Just like before.'
'In the hands of the Godly all things are pure,' said Saul.
Excited as he had been earlier in the evening Nestor was now tired, and becoming bored. He was due at
the lumber site soon after dawn to collate the orders for timber, and issue working instructions to the men
at the sawmill. Uncle Joseph was not an easy man to serve, and one yawn from Nestor would earn an
hour's lecture at the end of the day.
'You knew the Jersualem Man, I understand,' remarked Saul to Cade. Instantly Nestor's weariness was
forgotten.
'I knew him,' grunted the old man. 'And I never heard him say a word of prophecy. I don't reckon he'd
be pleased to read what's said of him now.'
'He was a holy man,' said Saul, showing no sign of irritation, 'and the words he spoke have been carefully
gathered from sources all over the land. Men who knew him. Men who heard him. I regard it as a
personal tragedy that I never met him.'
Cade nodded solemnly. 'Well, I did, Saul. He was a lonely man, heartsick and bitter, seeking a city he
knew could not exist. As to his prophesying ... as I said, I never heard it. But it's true to say that he
brought you and the Deacon into this world, when he sent the Sword of God thundering through the
Gates of Time. We all know that's true.'
'The ways of the Lord are sometimes mystifying,' said Saul, with a tight smile. 'The world we left was a
cesspool, owned by the Devil. The world we found had the potential for Eden - if only men would return
to God. And by His grace we have conquered. Tell me, sir, why you have refused all invitations to travel
to Unity, and be honoured for your work in the Lord's name?'
'I don't need honours,' Cade told him. тАШI lived most of my life, after the Hellborn War, in Rivervale. Had
me a good woman and raised two tall sons. Both died in your Wars. Lisa was buried last Autumn and I
came here to wait for death. Honours? What are they worth?'
Saul shrugged. 'A worthy point, from a worthy man, Mr Cade. Now tell me, do you think Pilgrim's
Valley is a Godfearing community?'
There are good people here, Saul. Some better than others. I don't think you can judge a man merely
because three of his friends say he's a believer. We got farmers on the outskirts, newcomers who
wouldn't be able to raise three men who know them that well. It doesn't make 'em pagans.'
'You also had a church that welcomed Wolvers,' Saul pointed out, 'And a preacher who offered them the
word of God. That was an obscenity, Mr Cade. And it took outsiders to put an end to it. That does not
reflect well on the community.'
'What have you got against Wolvers?' Cade asked.
Saul's eyes narrowed. They are not true creations, Mr Cade. In the world I came from, animals were
being genetically engineered to resemble people. This was done for medical reasons; it was possible then
for a man with a diseased heart, or lungs, to have them removed and replaced. That was an abomination,
Mr Cade. Animals have no souls, not in the strictest sense of eternal life. These mutated creatures are like
plague germs, reminding us all of the dangers and disasters of the past. We must not repeat the errors
that led God to destroy the old world. Not ever. We are on the verge of a new Eden, Mr Cade. Nothing
must be allowed to halt our progress.'
'And we're going to find this new Eden by hounding people from their homes, by killing Wolvers and
anyone who doesn't agree with us?'
'Not the Deacon, nor any of his Apostles take any joy in killing, Mr Cade. But you know your Bible. The
Lord God does not tolerate evil in the midst of his people.'
Cade reached for his sticks and slowly, painfully, pushed himself to his feet. 'And the next war, Saul?
Who is that going to be with?'