"Tim Lebbon - Dusk 02 - Dawn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lebbon Tim)

She looked through a knothole and saw the dark space beneath illuminated by the new blue fire.
Shadows danced, and they seemed to be growing closer, rising quickly from whatever depths they had
been banished to.

Alishia sat up and stared at the strange figure.How dare you! she said.

It shrugged. And then it threw the book.

The flaming tome of blank pages struck the book stacks and exploded. Each page drifted somewhere
different, the fire writing its own fiery truth on the stark white blankness. The conflagration suddenly
turned from cold blue to blazing orange. Books erupted into flame, fire licked its way between covers
and into the dark spaces between pages, and old truths went up in smoke, casting ash into the air and
disintegrating when her panicked gaze fell upon them.

No,she thought.This canтАЩt be happening. I wonтАЩt letit happen again! This is my library, and thereтАЩs
so much more to knowтАж

A wall of books tumbled and spilled toward her, and the figure laughed as it ran away. The books struck
her, but the impact did not hurt. Fire roared from their dry interiors and caressed her face, but there was
no pain, and she walked through the flames to the space between stacks. She ran from the flames and
they reached after her, though they had no effect.

As the librarian of this place, Alishia was after all still just an idea.




AS SHE BEGANto wake up, Alishia could smell the mysterious scent of Kang Kang on the breeze.
Floating somewhere between dream and reality she sensed the acidic tang, turned left and fell into a wall
of shelving. She closed her fist around a spine and pulled out the book. It thrummed in her hand, begging
to be opened, and she knew that its insides were crawling with the mysteries of that mountainous place.
She was afraid of Kang Kang. She did not want to open the book. The smell hinted at memories that
would come flushing back, but they were not her own. They were the memories of the land.

тАЬGot to keep them closed,тАЭ she whispered.

тАЬOpen your Mage-shitting eyes!тАЭ a voice said. Alishia looked around, ducking low to avoid the smoke
that was rapidly filling the library.

тАЬKang Kang,тАЭ she said, squeezing the book in her hand.

тАЬAlmost,тАЭ the other voice said. тАЬI can smell its wrongness from here.тАЭ

The fire suddenly retreated, the smoke cleared from her lungs and Alishia sat up and opened her eyes.

тАЬAhh,тАЭ the second voice said. тАЬThe sleeper awakes.тАЭ
тАЬHope,тАЭ Alishia said.

The witch was sitting beside her, wild hair pointing at the dusky sky as if berating it. тАЬI just know IтАЩll
grow to hate the irony of that name.тАЭ