"Madeline L' Engle - Time Quartet 04 - Many Waters" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Engle Madeleine)

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"HigтАФ"Japheth urged.

': The mammoth turned and faced the horizon. A faint
^. shimmering glimmered on the sand in front of him. Slowly
i it took the shape of a unicorn, transparent but recogniz-
able. Beside it, another unicorn began to shimmer.

26 "s^ MANY WATERS

"Please, unicorns," Dennys begged. "Be real."

Slowly the transparency of both creatures began to solid-
ify, until there were two unicorns standing on the sand,
with silvery-grey flanks, silver manes and beards. Silver
hooves, and horns of brilliant light. They looked at the
twins and docilely folded their legs under to lie down.

"Ohi" japhech exclaimed. "It's a good thing you're both
so young. For the moment, I'd forgotten that unicorns will
not let themselves be touched by anyone who is not a
virgin."

The twins glanced at each other. "Well, we don't even
have our driver's licenses yet." Dennys said.

"Get up on them before they decide they aren't needed,"
Japheth ordered.

The twins climbed each onto the back of one of the
silver creatures, both feeling that this was a dream from
which they could not wake up. But, without the unicorns,
they would never make it to the oasis.

The unicorns flew across the desert, their hooves barely
touching the surface. Occasionally, where the sand had
been blown clear and there was rock, a silver hoof struck
with a clang like a bell, and sparks flew upward. Small
desert creatures watched them fly by. Sandy noticed, but
did not mention, some scattered bones bleached by sun
and wind.

"Hold on!" Japheth cried in warning. "Don't fall offi"

But there was a sense, in riding the unicorns, of un-