"Frank Herbert - Soul Catcher" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

He felt the words take effect, removed his hand from the boy's mouth. Tension subsided.
Katsuk went into the hallway. Presently, the boy joined him, a thin figure whose shorts
gleamed whitely in the gloom. Katsuk thrust the clothing into his hands, led the way outside,
waiting for the boy at the door, then closing it softly.
Grandfather, I do this for you!
Fragment of a note by Charles Hobuhet found at Cedar Cabin:
Hoquat, I give you what you prayed for, this good arrow made clean and straight by my
hands. When I give you this arrow, please hold it in your body with pride. Let this arrow
take you to the land of Alkuntam. Our brothers will welcome you there, saying: 'What a
beautiful youth has come to us! What a beautiful hoquat!' They will say to one another: 'How
strong he is, this beautiful hoquat who carries the arrow of Katsuk in his flesh.' And you will
be proud when you hear them speak of your greatness and your beauty. Do not run away,
hoquat. Come toward my good arrow. Accept it. Our brothers will sing of this. I will cover
your body with white feathers from the breasts of ducks. Our maidens will sing your beauty.
This is what you have prayed for from one end of the world to the other every day of your
life. I, Katsuk, give you your wish because I have become Soul Catcher.
David, his mind still drugged with sleep, came wide awake as he stepped out the door
into the cold night. Shivering, he stared at the man who had awakened him -- the Chief.
'What is it, Chief?'
'Shhhh.' Katsuk touched the roll of clothing. 'Get dressed.'
 More from the cold than any other reason, David obeyed. Tree branches whipped in the
wind above the cabin, filled the night with fearful shapes.
'Is it an initiation, Chief?'
'Shhh, be very quiet.'
'Why?'
'We were photographed together. We must become spirit brothers. There is a ceremony.'
'What about the other guys?'
'You have been chosen.'
Katsuk fought down sudden pity for this boy, this Innocent. Why pity anyone? He realised
the moonlight had cut at his heart. For some reason, it made him think of the Shaker
Church where his relatives had taken him as a child -- hoquat church! He heard the voices
chanting in his memory: 'Begat, begat, begat ... '
David whispered: 'I don't understand. What're we doing?'
The stars staring down at him, the wind in the trees, all carried forboding. He felt
frightened. A gap in the trees beyond the porch revealed a great bush of stars standing out
against the night. David stared into the shadows of the porch. Why wasn't the Chief
answering?
David tightened his belt, felt the knife in its sheath at his waist. If the Chief were planning
something bad, he'd have removed the knife. That was a real weapon. Daniel Boone had
killed a bear with a blade no bigger than this one. 'What're we going to do?' David pressed.
'A ceremony of spirit brotherhood,' Katsuk said. He felt the truth in his words. There
would be a ceremony and a joining, a shape that occurred out of darkness, a mark on the
earth and an incantation to the real spirits.
David still hesitated, thinking this was an Indian. They were strange people. He thought
of Mrs Parma. Different Indian, but both mysterious.
David pulled his jacket close around him. The cold air had raised goose pimples on his
skin. He felt both frightened and excited. An Indian.
He said: 'You're not dressed.'
'I am dressed for the ceremony.'
Silently, Katsuk prayed: 'O Life Giver, now that you have seen the way a part of your all-