"Tanya Huff - Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

"And I make my own diamonds in the refrigerator at home."

Ducking his head away from her smile, the young man decided he had
enough on his plate, he didn't need a crazy, too. He kept moving,
both hands shoved deep in the torn pockets of his jean jacket.

Rebecca shrugged, and went back to studying the trays of rings. She
loved pretty things and every afternoon on the way home from the
government building where she worked, she lingered in front of the
window displays.

Behind her, the bells of Saint James Cathedral began to call the
hour.
"Time to go," she told her reflection in the glass and smiled when it
nodded in agreement. As she walked north, Saint James handed her over
to Saint Michael's. The bells, like the cathedrals, had frightened
her when she'd first heard them, but now they were old friends. The
bells, that is, not the cathedrals.

Such huge imposing buildings, so solemn and so brooding, she felt
couldn't be friends with anyone. Mostly, they made her sad.
Rebecca hurried along the east side of Church Street, carefully not
seeing or hearing the crowds and the traffic. Mrs. Ruth had taught
her that, how to go inside herself where it was quiet, so all the
bits and pieces swirling around didn't make her into bits and pieces,
too. She wished she could feel something besides sidewalk through the
rubber soles of her thongs.
At Dundas Street, while waiting for the light, a bit of black,
fluttering along a windowsill on the third floor of the Sears
building, caught her eye.
"No, careful wait!" she yelled, scrambling the sentence in her
excitement.
Most of the other people at the intersection ignored her. A few
looked up, following her gaze, but seeing only what appeared to be a
piece of carbon paper blowing in the wind, they lost interest. One or
two tapped their heads knowingly.
When the light changed, Rebecca bounded forward, ignoring the horn of
a low-slung, red car that was running the end of the yellow light.
"Don't!"
Too late. The black bit dove off the window ledge, twisted once in
the air, became a very small squirrel, and just managed to get its
legs under it before it hit the ground. It remained still for only a
second, then darted to the curb. A truck roared by. It flipped over
and started back to the building, was almost stepped on and turned
again to the curb, blind panic obvious in every motion. It tried to
climb a hydro pole, but its claws could get no purchase on the smooth
cement.
"Hey." Rebecca knelt and held out her hand.
The squirrel, cowering up against the base of the pole, sniffed the
offered fingers.