"Nicola Griffith - Yaguara" - читать интересную книгу автора (Griffith Nicola)

got drunk, pulled the wall on top of you, broke your arm, and
probably took a bang on your head. Ixbalum fixed you up. You
disappear at night and come back looking like hell, with a
pseudo-scientific explanation that basically boils down to this: you
canтАЩt remember and youтАЩre not responsible. All the evidence points
not to the fact that youтАЩve discovered some mystical Mayan rite,
but that something is wrong in your head, and getting worse.тАЭ She
put the leaf down carefully on the table. тАЬLook at it. Look at it
hard. ItтАЩs just a leaf.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩve read the dates on the stelae, Jane. Kuchil Balum, Place
of the Jaguar, was occupied up until the sixteenth century.тАЭ
тАЬWhat has that got to do withтАФтАЭ
тАЬThink!тАЭ CleisтАЩs voice was thin and hard, bright as wire. тАЬThe
lowland Mayan culture began to die more than a millennium ago:
population pressure, some say, and crop failures, but IтАЩm fairly sure
it was more to do with a loss of faith. But not here. Here the power
of the gods was tangible. Young girls from every family were sent
to the purdah house at puberty. They were ritually wounded,
infected. Some changed, most did not.тАЭ She searched JaneтАЩs face.
тАЬEvery family had the opportunity, the chance to join the elite.
That welded the community together in ways we canтАЩt even begin
to comprehend.тАЭ
A moth fluttered frantically against the window screen.
тАЬBut even jaguar gods canтАЩt stand against guns and
missionaries,тАЭ Cleis continued. тАЬSo they pulled down their
beautiful stone buildings and built themselves a village that appears
unremarkable. They hid, but theyтАЩve kept their culture, the only
Mayans who have, because they have people like Ixbalum.тАЭ
They sat for a moment in silence. Jane stood up. тАЬIтАЩll make
some more tea.тАЭ
She busied herself with the kettle and teapot. There had to be
a way to get Cleis to see past this delusion, some way she could
persuade Cleis to pack her bags and leave with her and have her
head X-rayed. She did not know what to say, but she knew it was
important to keep the dialogue open, to keep Cleis anchored as
much as possible in the real world.
The kettle boiled. Jane brought the pot to the table. тАЬItтАЩs not
the same without milk,тАЭ she said.
Cleis smiled faintly. тАЬBeing an ignorant American, I donтАЩt
think itтАЩs the same without ice.тАЭ
She seemed so normalтАж Jane asked sharply, тАЬWhen you change,
how do you think it affects your child?тАЭ
Cleis looked thoughtful. тАЬI donтАЩt know.тАЭ She leaned forward.
Jane could feel CleisтАЩs breath on her face. She wanted to strain
across the table, feel that breath hot on her throat, her neck. тАЬYou
havenтАЩt asked me how it feels to change. DonтАЩt you want to know?тАЭ
 Jane did. She wanted to know everything about Cleis. She
nodded.
тАЬItтАЩs like walking through a dream, but youтАЩre never scared,
never being chased, because youтАЩre the one whoтАЩs dangerous. IтАЩm