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

toward the sparse, dying forest beyond. He ignored the
sullen glares from the squatters themselves. If his
membership in the Cabal didn't protect him from starving
civilians, his own skills could. He was more alert for any
of the dangerous wild beasts that lurked on the edges of
this and every other settlement. Large predators were rare
this close to the well-lit city gates and its armed guards,
but the first thing the Cabal taught its members was to be
careful with the Cabal's equipment, which included their
own bodies.
He altered his course and scanned the path through the
marshy flats. Chainer moved along by choosing which parts
of the muddy path to avoid rather than which ones he wanted
to take. He grew lost in the rhythm and the repetition of
trekking through the flats, unaware and unconcerned about
how far he had traveled. He hiked until his shadow grew
long before him, until a soft, insistent whisper broke
through his reverie.
It wasn't a voice, but it called directly to him. It
wasn't a song, but the melody gave him chills. It wasn't an
alarm, but it commanded his attention with an urgency that
was soft but undeniable. He cupped a hand around his ear to
help pinpoint the sound. The remains of a residential
district sat to the southeast, and the sound was coming
from there.
Chainer listened for a moment, then started off toward
the largest house on the ruined block. Its immediate
neighbors had been bombed and burned flat. The ruined
mansion with the caved-in roof and exposed frame stood
tall, a broken but defiant veteran of a barely remembered
war.
Chainer paused at the bottom of the front porch steps.
Except for the beckoning sound, the mansion was completely
silent and still. Chainer expertly drew his knuckle dagger,
clenched it blade-down and ready at his hip, and went
carefully up the rickety porch. He doubted there was any
live danger inside the mansion, but then again, he didn't
want the Cabal's equipment to be damaged either.
The interior of the mansion was in worse shape than the
exterior. The main floor was more hole than floor, with the
basement level clearly visible from the front doorway. An
ornate metal banister led up to the second floor, but the
staircase itself was gone, a pile of broken wood and carpet
scraps in the basement below. Chainer looked closer and saw
what appeared to be bones among the wreckage of the
staircase. At least three complete humans, one of whom was
very small.
Chainer took one tentative step onto the threadbare
floor, but before he could put his full weight down the
ancient boards split and fell away. He stepped back onto