"Simon R. Green - Deathstalker - 5 - Deathstalker Destiny" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

lost to him, like the words of an old song he could no longer quite recall. Sometimes, in the long endless
hours of the night, it seemed to him that something was stirring deep within him, but it never surfaced,
and when morning finally came, it found him still just a man.
So he spent his days working alongside the more able-bodied lepers, raising the high wall again segment
by segment, and in its way the work comforted him, working as a man among men again, a part of
Humanity instead of someone thrust outside it. To be just a part of a group, instead of its leader. It felt
good to lose himself in mindless, repetitious work, and to have achieved something definite by the end of
the day. But most of the real work was coming to an end. A few more days, and the Mission would be
complete again, and all that would be left was scrabbling about on the sloping roof fixing leaks, and other
small stuff. Owen didn't know what he'd do then.
He drank the wine the leper had brought him, too tired even to grimace at the bitter taste. They'd been
putting strychnine in it again, to give it a bit more bite.
"She could be anywhere," he said quietly, knowing he was tormenting himself, but unable to stop.
"Anywhere in the Obeah Systems. I've never been there. Don't know anyone who has. I don't even know
which planet they've got her on. They could be doing anything to her. Everyone knows the Blood
Runners' reputation. They've made an art of suffering and a science of slaughter. She could be dying, right
now, and there's nothing the great and almighty Owen Deathstalker can do to save her."
"This isn't doing you any good, Owen," said Oz. "She's dead. She must be, by now. Grieve, and let her
goтАФ"
"I can't."
"Then be patient. A ship will come, eventually."
"I love her, Oz. I would have died, to save her from them."
"Of course you would have."
"Oh, GodтАж"
"Hush, Owen. Hush."
Sudden screams jerked Owen's head up, and he was up and on his feet in a moment, casting the wine cup
aside, as he saw one section of the newly erected wall break free from its ties and lean ponderously
forward, over the dozen or so lepers beneath it. The segment weighed several tons, and the safety ropes


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 Simon R. Green - Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

that should have stopped or slowed its fall were snapping one after the other, like a series of firecrackers.
The lepers turned to run, but it was obvious they weren't going to make it out from under the wall before
the segment came crashing down like a hammer.
Owen subvocalized his old code word boost, and new strength and speed burned in his muscles as he
raced toward the falling wall. Everything else seemed to be moving in slow motion as the gengineered
gift of the Deathstalker Clan kicked in, making Owen briefly superhuman again. He reached the falling
wall in seconds, and grasped the last intact safety rope with both hands. His fingers closed like steel
clamps around the thick cable and held it firmly as it snapped taut. The lepers ran slowly past Owen as he
held the rope, snarling furiously as the rough hemp tore slowly through his grasp, ripping away the flesh
of his palms and fingers. Blood ran down his wrists. And then the rope snapped, like all the others.
Owen could have jumped back and saved himself. Most of the lepers were out. But some were still caught
in the wall's growing shadow. Owen looked around and spotted a half tree-trunk lying on its side, waiting
to be trimmed into planks. It had to weigh at least half a ton, but Owen lifted it off the ground with one
explosive grunt, swung it around and moved steadily forward to block the end against the falling wall
segment. The weight hit the trunk hard, splitting it halfway down its length, but the improvised wedge
held, and the wall segment stopped. Its weight pressed on, driving the tree trunk into the soft earth of the
compound floor, and the split lengthened inch by inch. Owen threw his arms around the tree trunk and