"Dreamsnake" - читать интересную книгу автора (McIntyre Vonda N)

УSheТs alive, Merideth. The accident came so close to killing herЧisnТt it enough to be grateful for, that sheТs alive?Ф

УTo me, yes, it is.Ф The words had begun to slur. УBut you donТt know Jesse. Where sheТs from, why sheТs hereЧФ Merideth stared groggily at Snake, hesitating, then plunging ahead. УSheТs here because she canТt stand to be trapped. Before we were together, she was rich and powerful and safe. But her whole life and all her work were planned out for her. She would have been one of the rulers of CenterЧФ

УThe city!Ф

УYes, it was all hers, if she wanted it. But she didnТt want to live under a stone sky. She came outside with nothing. To make her own destiny. To be free. NowЧ the things she enjoys most will be beyond her. How can I tell her to be glad sheТs alive, when she knows sheТll never walk on the desert again, or find me a diamond for some patronТs earring, never gentle another horse, never make love?Ф

УI donТt know,Ф Snake said. УBut if you and Alex see her life as a tragedy, thatТs what it will be.Ф



Just before dawn the heat eased slightly, but as soon as it grew light the temperature rose again. The camp was in deep shade, but even in the protection of the rock walls the heat was like a pressure.

Alex snored and Merideth slept peacefully near him, oblivious to the sound, one strong hand curled over AlexТs back. Snake lay on the tent floor, facedown, arms outstretched. The fine fibers in the pile of the rug prickled softly against her cheek, damp with her sweat. Her hand throbbed but she could not sleep, and she did not have the energy to rouse herself.

She drifted into a dream in which Arevin appeared. She could see him more clearly than she could remember him when she was awake. It was a curious dream, childishly chaste. She barely touched ArevinТs fingertips, and then he began to fade away. Snake reached for him desperately. She woke up throbbing with sexual tension, her heart racing.

Jesse stirred. For a moment Snake did not move, then, reluctantly, she raised herself. She glanced at the other two partners. Alex slept soundly with the momentary forgetfulness of youth, but sheer weariness lined MeridethТs face and sweat plastered down the shiny, black curls. Snake left Merideth and Alex alone and knelt by Jesse, who lay face down as they last had turned her, her cheek resting on one hand, her other hand shielding her eyes.

SheТs feigning sleep, Snake thought, for the line of her arm, the curl of her fingers, showed not relaxation but tension. Or wishing it, like me. Both of us would like to sleep, sleep and ignore reality.

УJesse,Ф she said softly, and again, УJesse, please.Ф

Jesse sighed and let her hand fall to the sheet.

УThereТs broth here when you feel strong enough to drink it. And wine, if youТd like.Ф

A barely perceptible shake of the head, though JesseТs lips were dry. Snake would not allow her to become dehydrated, but she did not want to have to argue her into eating, either.

УItТs no good,Ф Jesse said.

УJesseЧФ

Jesse reached out and laid her hand over SnakeТs. УNo, itТs all right. IТve thought about whatТs happened. IТve dreamed about it.Ф Snake noticed that her dark brown eyes were flecked with gold. The pupils were very small. УI canТt live like this. Neither can they. TheyТd tryЧtheyТd destroy themselves trying. HealerЧФ

УPleaseЕФ Snake whispered, afraid again, more afraid than she had ever been in her life. УPlease donТtЧФ

УCanТt you help me?Ф

УNot to die,Ф Snake said. УDonТt ask me to help you die!Ф

She bolted to her feet and outside. The heat slammed against her, but there was nowhere to go to escape it. The canyon walls and tumbled piles of broken rock rose up around her.

Head down, trembling, with sweat stinging her eyes, Snake stopped and collected herself. She had acted foolishly and she was ashamed of her panic. She must have frightened Jesse, but she could not yet make herself return and face her. She walked farther from the tent, not toward the desert where the sun and sand would waver like a fantasy, but toward a pocket in the canyon wall that was fenced off as a corral.

It seemed to Snake hardly necessary to pen the horses at all, for they stood in a motionless group, heads down, dusty, lop-eared. They did not even flick their tails; no insects existed in the black desert. Snake wondered where MeridethТs handsome bay mare was. These are a sorry lot of beasts, she thought. Hanging on the fence or lying in careless heaps, their tack shone with precious metal and jewels. Snake put her hands on one of the roped wooden stakes and rested her chin on her fists.

At the sound of falling water she turned, startled. At the other side of the corral, Merideth filled a leather trough held up by a wooden frame. The horses came alive, raising their heads, pricking their ears. They started across the sand, trotting, then cantering, all in a turmoil, squealing and nipping and kicking up their heels at each other. They were transformed. They were beautiful.