"Simon R. Green - Haven 06 - Bones of Haven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

actually there."

"Good idea," said Fisher. "Hawk, just pop in and check it out, would you?"

Hawk looked at her. "You pop in and check it out. Do I look crazy?"

"Good point."

"I'll do it," said Barber.

"No you won't," said Winter quickly. "No one's going into that cell. I can't afford to lose any of you.
Barber, hand me an incendiary."

Barber smiled briefly, and reached into a leather pouch at his belt. He brought out a small smooth stone
that glowed a dull, sullen red in the gloom, like a coal that had been left too long in the fire, and
handed it carefully to Winter. She hefted it briefly, and then tossed it casually from hand to hand while
staring into the apparently empty cell. Barber winced. Winter turned to Hawk and Fisher, and gestured
with the glowing stone.

"I don't suppose you've seen one of these before. It's something new the Guard sorcerers came up with.
We're field-testing them. Each incendiary is a moment taken out of time from an exploding volcano; an
instant of appalling heat and violence fixed in time like an insect trapped in amber. All I have to do is
say the right Word, throw the damn thing as far as I can, and a few seconds later the spell collapses,
releasing all that heat and violence. Which is pretty unfortunate for anything that happens to be in the
vicinity at the time. If Who Knows is in that cell, it's about to get a very nasty surprise. Stand ready,
people. As soon as I throw this thing, I want that door slammed shut fast and everyone out of the way
of the blast."

"What kind of range does it cover?" said Hawk.
"That's one of the things we're testing."

"I had a suspicion you were going to say something like that."

Winter lifted the stone to her mouth, whispered something, and then tossed the incendiary into the cell.
She stepped quickly back and to one side. Hawk and Barber slammed the cell door shut and put their
backs to the wall on either side of it. A moment later, the door was blown clean off its hinges by a blast
of superheated air and hurled into the corridor. Hawk put up an arm to protect his face from the
sudden, intense heat, and a glaring crimson light filled the corridor. The wooden door frame burst into
flames, and the cobwebs on the corridor wall opposite scorched and blackened in an instant. In the
heart of the leaping flames that filled the cell something dark and shapeless thrashed and screamed and
was finally still. The temperature in the corridor grew intolerably hot, and Hawk backed away down
the corridor, mopping at the sweat that ran down his face. The others moved with him, and he was
about to suggest they all run like hell for the gateway, when the flames suddenly died away. The
crimson glare disappeared, and the temperature dropped as quickly as it had risen. There was a vile
smell on the smoky air, but the only sound was the quiet crackling of the flames as they consumed the
door frame. Hawk moved slowly forward and peered cautiously into the cell. The walls were
blackened with soot, and smoke hung heavily on the still air, but there was no sign of the cell's
occupant, dead or alive.

"Think we got it?" asked Fisher, just behind him.