"Harrison, Harry - Eden 2 - Winter In Eden" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harrison Harry)

"We will go to the place you watched from before, close to the killing area," Kerrick said, taking up his bow while Nenne swung the leather bag to his shoulder.

The corpse of the deer was there, now buzzing with flies, beyond it the green wall studded with the dead creatures. Kerrick flexed his bow and selected an arrow while Nenne opened the bag.

Kerrick carefully tied the strip of cloth around his arrow, then dripped the charadis oil onto it from the skin container.

Nenne was hunched over to keep off the breeze while he scratched fire from the stones. He added dry twigs until small flames were crackling in the pit in the sand. Kerrick stood, half-drew his bow with the arrow he had prepared, bent and touched the oil-soaked rag to the flames. It caught fire, the flames invisible in the sunlight but the dark smoke clearly seen. Then he stood, drew the arrow far back, aimed high in the air-and released it.

It rose in a great arc and dropped into the green barrier. They could see it there, where it had impaled a leaf, smoking slightly. When the smoking died away Kerrick sent another burning arrow after the first, then another and another. The results each time were the same.

"They have learned," he said, his voice grim as death. "They know about fire now. We won't be able to burn them out a second time."

Nenne tapped his forehead with puzzlement. "None of this do I understand."

"I do. They have a base on land, one we cannot attack or burn."

"We can use arrows and spears; they will not be safe behind this barrier."

"This one, this size, I agree that they would not be safe. But if they grow a larger one they could retreat behind it at night-out of range."

"These murgu do strange things," Nenne said, spitting with distaste in the direction of the green wall.

"They do-because they do not think as we do. But I know them, I should be able to understand what they are doing. I must think hard about it. This has not been done without meaning-and I should be able to understand the reason for it being here. Let us get closer."

"That is certain death."

"For animals, yes. Just go carefully."

Kerrick found his legs trembling as he put one foot carefully in front of the other on the hard-packed sand. As they came close to the deer Nenne seized him by the arm, stopping him.

"The vine with thorns that has the deer by the leg, see how it arises from the sand. Just where the deer is standing, near the grass it was eating. Why did the deer not see it and avoid it?"

"I think I know." Kerrick bent and dug a half-buried clamshell from the sand, then threw it carefully underhand so that it dropped beside the corpse.

Sand flew aside as a green, thorn-tipped length lashed out of the sand and struck the shell.

"Lying just under the surface," Kerrick said. "They are released when there is pressure above."

"They could be growing anywhere here," Nenne said, stepping carefully backward, walking in the tracks they had just made. "This is a place of death where nothing can live."

"Not quite, look there, right at the base of the wall."

They stood, unmoving and scarcely breathing as the leaves rustled and parted. A mottled, orange and purple head appeared, bright eyes looked about, withdrew. It was back a moment later, further out this time, a lizard of some kind. With quick movements it darted across the sand-then stopped, frozen. Only its eyes moved as it looked about. An ugly creature with a flat, thick tail, with swollen bulges on its back, shining in the sun as though it were wet. Then it moved on again leaving a trail of slime in its path, stopping at a clump of grass. It began to chew this with sideways motions of its jaw. Kerrick reached slowly into his quiver when it looked away, nocked an arrow, drew it back.

Released it.

"Good," Nenne said, nodding approval as he looked at the impaled creature that kicked out sporadically then lay still. They retreated in a long circle and approached it from the ocean side, walking in the edge of the surf, bent over and looked at it.

"Ugly," Nenne said. "See it drips with slime like a slug."