"J. Robert King - Invasion Cycle 01 - Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (King Robert J)

fear.
Gerrard drew a deep breath and listened for the sound
of hull-staving bolts. No such traumas came from beyond,
but from within ... a great blast from the engine room sent
a jet of fire out of the manifolds.
Folk in the marketplace below shouted. A single
anxious quarrel leaped up. It cracked off the rail beside
Gerrard and tumbled away. It was the only shot fired. The
other archers held their attacks, and the white-garbed
civilians in the marketplace held their breaths.


36
 J. Robert King

Weatherlight had found her haven, uneasy though it was.
Landing spines jutted from her hull and reached for the
cobbled courtyard. She cast a deep shadow over the stones.
An apple seller scrambled to wheel her cart out of the way.
Apples hopped off the shuddering conveyance like children
leaping from a hay wagon.
The courtyard, once thronging with buyers and sellers,
was now empty of everyone except a single, wizened
madman. Shabby in gray robes, he had been proclaiming
death from the skies. The great, smoky airship nicely
fulfilled his prophecies. That was not why he remained.
Eyes wrapped in a kerchief, the blind man simply did not
realize Weatherlight was about to settle atop him.
From beneath a broad-brimmed hat, the man continued
his lament, "... monsters more hideous than creatures in a
child's nightmare. Ancient, evil, twisted, bent on
destroying all that is fair and beautiful. They think this
world is theirs. They think we are the usurpers. They want
to kill us, every last one. They think they save us, but they
will kill the weakest and enslave the strongest and change
us into monsters. They will change you! And you! And
you!" The blind man pointed accusingly. His gnarled
fingers failed to indicate anyone in the empty courtyard.
"Arm yourselves, Benalia! Arm yourselves! Each of us shall
have to fight, even the aged, the blind, the madтАФand I am
all three!" He laughed dryly, the sound ending in a hacking
cough.
Only then did the blind man notice the huge ship,
hissing as it settled on its landing spines. He didn't seem to
hear it but rather to feel the sudden shade it cast on his
shoulders. A look of puzzlement puckered his old lips. The
hull gently shoved his back. He staggered forward as the
ship stopped just short of crushing him.