"Sharon Green - Terrillian 3 - Warrior Rearmed" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Sharon)

hard. His handsome face twisted as though he'd been stabbed with a knife and
his right hand went up in a feeble gesture, as though my mental onslaught
could be stopped by physical means. His mind resisted mine for no more than
seconds, and then he collapsed back on the ground at the same time that his
shield gave way. But his shield fell inward rather than fading, and the oddity
of that caught my attention enough so that I suddenly realized what I was
doing. I cut the projection an instant before it touched him, then discovered
that I was trembling all over, the infamous cold sweat covering me in a way
I'd always considered to be pure fiction. Close calls were supposed to bring
on that sort of reaction, along with the pale face and closed eyes that had
settled on Len. I took a shaky breath and put a weakened hand to my head,
wondering if I looked as bad as he did.

"Len, I'm sorry," I said after I'd wet my lips with a dry tongue. "I didn't
mean to-whatever it was I did. Are you all right?"

"I'll let you know as soon as my heart starts beating again," he gasped,
opening his eyes to struggle back to an upright position. Once he was sitting
again he ran both hands through his hair, then looked at me bleakly. "Do you
have any idea what that felt and looked like from my end? I don't believe I'm
still in one piece."

"I think I'm afraid to ask," I mumbled, paying a lot of attention to the pond
and the bushes and grass around it. My abilities were growing on Rimilia, but
not in a nice, slow, acceptable fashion. Anger and fear seemed to trigger that
growth, leaving me to find myself doing things I'd never even considered
doing-or thought that I could do-before it happened. Coping with the abilities
was turning out to be easier than coping with the surprises; deciding whether
or not I was pleased to have all of it was another matter entirely.

"It was like a-a giant, rushing storm," Len said, and a corner of the fear
he'd felt showed briefly in his eyes. "The lightning had substance and the
thunder had weight, and I knew that if it touched me I'd be crushed and
shattered, both at the same time. Terry, I don't know what you're feeling
because you're shielded again, but if that's what's behind the shield, you'd
better get it resolved fast, with or without help. The next time you might not
be able to pull back."

"Speaking of shields, let's discuss yours," I said, ignoring everything else
he'd said. If I'd tried thinking about any of it, especially the not being
able to stop part, I'd have gotten a lot more practice in hysteria.

"What about my shield?" Len asked, not really distracted. "I know it isn't as
strong as yours, but it's better than anything I thought I'd have. I never
even considered a shield until I saw yours.

"That's at least half our problem," I grumbled, feeling an uncomfortable
mixture of anger and frustration and disquiet. "We're conditioned into
thinking about our abilities only when we're Mediating, and not much even
then. Every time I find myself doing something new, it's a shock."