"Karin Lowachee - Warchild" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowachee Karin)

He expected you to eat so you sat up, pushed down the
blankets, and opened the bag of crackers. You werenтАЩt hungry
but you popped the can and set it precariously on the mattress
after a few sips. The too-sweet taste made your sick feeling
worse but he was still looking at you so you ate more crackers.
тАЬYou didnтАЩt sleep,тАЭ he said.
тАЬNo.тАЭ
тАЬWell, you better learn. IтАЩm going to want you alert.тАЭ
You filled your mouth with crackers so you wouldnтАЩt have to
talk.
 тАЬYouтАЩre going to have to start speaking. But not too much.
Just enough to impress.тАЭ
You found yourself chewing harder than needed. Impress
who?
тАЬIтАЩm going to teach you. And youтАЩre going to learn. Copy
that, Jos? Because if I donтАЩt think youтАЩre learning then I have
no use for you and IтАЩll sell you to some ship that wonтАЩt treat
you as nice. Copy that, Jos?тАЭ
тАЬYes.тАЭ Was this nice?
тАЬSmile. You know, youтАЩre cute. Smile.тАЭ
It meant nothing. It was muscles in your face. It was
staying alive. You smiled, only your mouth.
He laughed. тАЬYou merchant kids are so smart.тАЭ
You thought about that knife in his boot, about the first of
them youтАЩd shot and killed.
He came over to the bed and sat. Without thinking you
pulled your feet away under the blankets and grabbed the can
before it fell over, but he didnтАЩt seem to notice. He leaned a
hand behind your back, on the bed, and ruffled your hair with
his other hand.
You sat very still. He smelled strongly of soap, but not like
the kind Daddy used.
Falcone said Daddy was dead.
You bit the inside of your cheek, or else you were going to
cry.
тАЬJos,тАЭ Falcone said, in a heavy voice, like a teacher. тАЬWar is
a horrible thing, isnтАЩt it?тАЭ
You glanced up at him, but couldnтАЩt look for long. He was
too close. His breath tickled the top of your hair.
тАЬIn this war,тАЭ he said, тАЬthere are things we do that other
people might not think appropriate or right. Do you know
what I mean?тАЭ
Your mind raced. You shook your head, because you didnтАЩt
think it smart to fake understanding. Your teachers on
Mukudori would frown, but this man might hit.
тАЬWell,тАЭ he said, тАЬtake opportunists, for example. Do you
know what an opportunist is?тАЭ
It sounded like a trick. He kept looking at you, waiting.
So you said, тАЬNo.тАЭ
тАЬYou should.тАЭ He tugged your hair playfully. You flinched.