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

Two horses were standing close by. Shannow strode to the first and vaulted to the saddle. A man reared
up from the undergrowth. Shannow shot him twice; then kicking the animal into a run, he headed east,
reloading his pistols as the horse thundered across the plain. Anger was strong upon him now, a deep,
boiling rage that threatened to engulf him. He did nothing to quell it.
Always it was the same, the evil strong preying on the weak, violence and death, lust and destruction.
When will it end, he wondered? Dear God, when will it end?
The full moon bathed the land in silver, and in the distance the red of fire could be seen as one of the
wagons blazed. The firing was sporadic now, but at least it suggested that some of the Wanderers were
still fighting.
Closer still he came, and saw five men kneeling behind a group of boulders; one of them had long white
hair. A rifleman rose up, aiming at the wagons. Shannow loosed a shot which missed the man but
ricocheted from the boulder, making the rifleman jerk back. The white-haired Oath Taker swung round,
saw Shannow and began to run. Ignoring him, Shannow trained his guns on the riflemen.
'Put down your weapons,' he ordered them. 'Do it now - or die!'
Three of the four remaining men did exactly as they were told, then raised their hands, but the last - the
thick-set man he had spoken to earlier - suddenly swung his rifle to bear. Shannow put a bullet into his
brain.
'Jeremiah! It's me, Shannow,' shouted the Jerusalem Man. 'Can you hear me?'
'He's been shot,' came the answering call. 'We've wounded here -three dead, two badly hit.'
Gesturing to the captured men, Shannow ordered them towards the wagons. Once inside he gazed
around. The pregnant Clara was dead, half her head blown away. A burly man named Chalmers was
lying beside her. By Jeremiah's wagon lay the body of a child in a faded blue dress: one of Clara's two
daughters. Shannow dismounted and moved to where Dr Meredith was kneeling beside the wounded
Jeremiah. The old man had taken two shots, one to the upper chest and a second to the thigh. His face
was grey in the moonlight.
тАШIтАЩll live,' the old man whispered.
The wagons had been formed into a rough circle, and several of the horses were down. Isis and two of
the men were battling to put out a fire in the last wagon. Guns in hand, Shannow strode back to the
captured men, who were standing together at the centre of the camp.
'The bellows are burned, the land is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain, for the wicked are
not plucked away.' His guns levelled and he eased back the hammers.
'Shannow, no!' screamed Jeremiah. 'Let them be! Christ, man, there's been enough killing already.'
Shannow took a deep, slow breath, 'Help put out the fire,' he ordered the men. They obeyed him
instantly, and without another word he walked to his horse and stepped into the saddle.
'Where are you going?' called Dr Meredith.
Shannow did not answer.
*
Aaron Crane and the survivors of the raid galloped into Purity and drew up before the long stone
meeting-hall. Crane, dust-covered and dishevelled, dismounted and ran inside. The hall was crowded,
the prayer meeting under way. On the dais Padlock Wheeler was reaching the midpoint in his sermon',
concerning the path of the righteous. He stopped as he saw Crane and inwardly he groaned, but it was
not wise to incur the wrath of the Oath Taker. The black-bearded minister fell silent for a moment, then
forced a smile.
'You seem distraught, brother,' he said. Heads turned then, among them Captain Seth Wheeler and the
twelve men of Purity's Crusaders. Crane drew himself up and ran a slender hand through his long white
hair.
The forces of the Devil have been turned against us,' he said. 'The Lord's riders have been cut down.'
There was a gasp from the congregation and several of the women began to shout out questions
concerning the fate of their husbands, brothers, or sons.
'Silence!' thundered Padlock Wheeler. 'Let the Oath Taker speak.'