"II - Chainer's Torment" - читать интересную книгу автора (McGough Scott)

Robbed of any vital impetus, its blood gave in to gravity
and began to pool in its torso. Its muscles drained and
deflated, its body temperature dropped, and its joints
started to stiffen. Chainer took hold of the energy being
released by the bird's transition from life to death and
channeled it up and into his chain.
"The Cabal is here," he whispered, and then he cried
out as a jolting rush of energy leaped up the chain and
into his own body. He felt his consciousness expand, he
felt his arms and legs grow stronger and more responsive,
he felt his thoughts clarify. He stood and jerked the chain
free from Callda's skull. He began to twirl it around his
head, letting out more and more of it as it spun. Chainer
was ferocious in his joy. This was going better than he
could have imagined. Perhaps he wouldn't need Skellum's
help after all.
"Keep your distance, Bunkus," he said to the foot
soldier, and he could hear the confidence in his voice as
it echoed off the street's paving stones. Charged by the
death of Callda, Chainer was flush with the arcane darkness
that was the source of the Cabal's power. He felt
immovable, invincible. With the barest thought, he
magically added another six feet to his chain and created
another sharpened weight for the end in his hand. Soon he
had two lethal missiles dancing a complicated minuet around
every inch of his body. The chain automatically increased
or decreased in length as it flew, according to its
master's will. Young as he was, Chainer was an expert with
the long chain, and he even dared to mock Teroh from the
safety of its whirling radius.
"Your move, Major," he called. "There's a hot meal and
a safe bed waiting for me at the Cabal, too. If you let me
pass, maybe we'll both sleep well tonight."
Teroh's eyes were wild, and his voice was tight in his
throat. With a visible effort of will, he swallowed his
fury and barked, "Reseda!"
Chainer heard a buzz and saw a blur. A sudden impact on
his chest knocked him backward so hard that Roup's door
rattled on its hinges. His chain snarled and tangled around
him clumsily, and one of the weighted ends gashed painfully
into his shin. Dazed, he looked up.
The mantis-man stood over him, chittering in its
incomprehensible insect language. It jammed one of its
pointed forelimbs into the solid stone beside Chainer's
head and hissed at him. There was another buzz, another
blur, and the mantis disappeared back into the alley behind
Major Teroh.
"Reseda hates this city," Teroh said, "but he hates
that thing in your satchel even more."
Chainer coughed and tasted blood. He had bitten his