"Mercedes Lackey - Brightly Burning" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

heтАЩd waited for a group of the underdogs to arrive for classes, and ducked into their midst. With so many
available targets, no one person got excessive abuse. At least, that was the case so far.
But the whole situation made him so angry he sometimes thought he was going to choke. It didnтАЩt
help that he always turned a brilliant scarlet with suppressed rage whenever one of the bullies so much as
looked at him. They seemed to find that terribly amusing, and went out of their way to put him in that
state.
This very morning he had arrived at his desk with his face still flaming, his skin feeling slightly
sunburned and tender-and all from his own anger.
тАЬYou looked like you were going to have an apoplectic fit this morning, Scr-I mean, Lavan,тАЭ
Owyn whispered as they took their seats for the first class of the morning.
тАЬIs that why you got between me and Loathsome?тАЭ he whispered back. Owyn had begun to
warm up to him, since he had never once called him by the hated name of тАЬOwlyтАЭ-and since the one
piece of cleverness he had managed was to come up with names of his own for their tormentors.
тАЬLoathsomeтАЭ for Loman Strecker, тАЬTyrantтАЭ for Tyron Jelnack (that was really too easy), тАЬDimwitтАЭ for
Derwit, and so forth. It gave the younger students a crumb of comfort to have contemptuous titles for
their persecutors, though they took care that the Sixth Formers never heard those names.
Owyn nodded solemnly. тАЬYou went purple, almost, and your eyes had a funny look to them, like
you werenтАЩt there anymore.тАЭ
Lan didnтАЩt have to reply to that, because just then the teacher entered the room and all discussion
stopped. That was just as well, because he realized that he didnтАЩt actually remember Owyn getting
between him and his tormentor. He just didnтАЩt remember anything from the time that Loathsome had
started shoving him repeatedly into the wall, and then to his partner, Dimwit-only that someone had taken
his arm and was pulling him out of harmтАЩs way while Owyn distracted the Sixth Former with some
questions about the work heтАЩd been ordered to do. Between the moment that Loathsome and Dimwit
began shoving him back and forth between them and the moment that he found his feet on the stair, there
was a blank.
Or, not precisely a blank, but a passage of time filled with such fiery rage that he couldnтАЩt even
see or hear, much less think. Whatever had come over him, had turned him briefly into something less
than an animal, into pure anger and hatred.
Not that it made any difference, except that he suffered for it for half the morning with an aching
head and irritated eyes, though the sensitivity of his skin faded as the morning passed.
And for once at lunch the attention of the Sixth Form was off him. One of the Fifth Formers had
failed to obtain Golden Beauty apples for TyronтАЩs luncheon pleasure as heтАЩd been ordered; this wasnтАЩt a
trivial task, as Golden Beauty apples were just going out of season. Tyron wouldnтАЩt hear any excuses,
nor was he placated by the offer of a basket of Complin apples instead. Two of his henchmen seized the
unfortunate by his arms and hustled him away.
Lan was now welcome to sit with Owyn and his friends, and he turned his head just enough that
he could whisper to the younger boy, тАЬWhere are they going with him?тАЭ
OwynтАЩs eyes were as big and round as those of his namesake, and his face was pale. тАЬTheyтАЩre
going to flog him.тАЭ
Lan felt his own face and hands grow cold. When Tyron threatened him with flogging that first
day, he hadnтАЩt really thought they would actually do such a thing! It was one thing for the teachers to flog
a disobedient pupil, but this!
тАЬThey canтАЩt do that, can they?тАЭ he whispered back desperately, hoping that something or
someone might intervene.
Owyn just shook his head. тАЬYou ought to know by now they can do anything they want.тАЭ
Lan lost his appetite, all at once, and as soon as he thought he could slip away unnoticed, he
retreated to the classroom and buried his nose in his book. He stared at the same page without bothering
to turn it, since there was no one there to see him.
What he wanted, with the purest desperation he had ever yet felt, was to be out of this place, to