"Mercedes Lackey - Owl Mage 2 - Owlsight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

excitement had given Keisha a pounding headache; she felt as if all her nerves were scraped raw and
someone was pouring saltwater on them. Her stomach was so sour she probably wouldnтАЩt be able to eat
any supper. But Shandi was the baby - my baby sister, the one I looked after and picked up after -
and if I didn тАШt have to help calm Mum down, IтАЩd probably be the one bawling like a bereft calf
right now. I canтАЩt do that, and make sure Mum gets through this and starts to look on the bright
side -
But right now, given the least sign that her mother was getting over her hysterics - or at least that
some of her motherтАЩs friends were going to come help console her - Keisha would be only too happy to
get out of the house and go somewhere - anywhere - else.
Evidently she had been good enough and patient enough that for once her unspoken prayers
were answered. As if the thought had been a summons, relief came bursting through the kitchen door at
that very moment.
тАЬSidonie! Ayver!тАЭ Three of the neighbor women came bursting into the kitchen like a force of
nature, all three of them managing to squeeze in at the same time, not waiting to be invited inside. тАЬIs it
true? A Herald? A Healer and a Herald in the same family, how proud you must be!тАЭ
A Healer and a Herald! she thought, startled for a moment by the phrasing. Oh, my - bless
them for noticing!
Like the people in the market, they were all talking at once, but since there were only three of
them, they didnтАЩt step all over each otherтАЩs sentences so much that it all turned into a confused gabble.
They surrounded Sidonie and Ayver, faces flushed with excitement at being so close to the great event.
тАЬOh, Sidonie, just think! Our little Shandi is going to be so important!тАЭ
Sidonie took her face out of her husbandтАЩs shoulder, and though it was tear-streaked and red
with weeping, it seemed that the arrival of her friends pulled her the last few steps out of hysteria. She
wiped her face with her apron, and began to look more like her normal self.
Keisha deemed it practical at that point to remove herself.
But she hadnтАЩt gotten more than a single step out the door - in fact, she was still standing on the
threshold - before she ran into another of the Fellowship women, one whom she knew well. Alys was in
charge of the health of all of the herds, and as such, she and Keisha had spent plenty of time together
dosing the animals for a variety of illnesses and other problems. This afternoon Alys looked hesitant as
she approached the house, and great relief spread over her blunt features when she saw that Keisha was
just leaving.
тАЬOh, Keisha - IтАЩm sure this is a bad time, but that chirra I was worried about has definitely got
wet-tail - тАЭ she began; Keisha didnтАЩt give her a chance to say more. She took AlysтАЩs elbow and pointed
her toward the workshop, just as she spotted four more women bustling in their direction, heading for the
Alder house.
тАЬItтАЩs always a bad time when a beast gets sick, you ought to know that!тАЭ she said, making a joke
out of it. тАЬThey never choose reasonable times to have problems! No worry, IтАЩm going to be the last
creature Mum thinks about for a while. Not only will I not be missed, I can make you up what you need
in no time; youтАЩve caught it early, so you should have a cure by tomorrow.тАЭ
The more distance she got between herself and the house, the better she felt, and chatting with
Alys about the beasts of her herds was such a commonplace matter it could not have been a better
antidote for the hysteria sheтАЩd just endured. Alys was a calming person to be around anyway; she had to
be, as the animals she worked with were quick to sense agitation and become upset themselves. She was
older than Sidonie by a year or two, sturdy, brown, and square, with a friendly face and open manner.
Like all the women of the Fellowship, her workday clothing was fairly drab, not unlike KeishaтАЩs, except
that the tunic and breeches were of a better fit and not hand-me-downs.
The two of them entered the workshop, and Keisha began pulling down the boxes of herbs she
needed as Alys went on about the most recent births. The sharp and pungent scents of herbs filled the air
as Keisha worked, and the cool of the workshop allowed her headache to ease. It occurred to Keisha
that AlysтАЩ arrival provided not one, but two excellent excuses for staying away from home for a while.