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

Mist nicked out her tongue to taste the child.

The younger man made a small, cut-off, frightened sound. Stavin flinched at it, and Mist drew back, opening her mouth, exposing her fangs, audibly thrusting her breath through her throat. Snake sat back on her heels, letting out her own breath. Sometimes, in other places, the kinfolk could stay while she worked.

УYou must leave,Ф she said gently. УItТs dangerous to frighten Mist.Ф

УI wonТtЧФ

УIТm sorry. You must wait outside.Ф

Perhaps the fair-haired youngest partner, perhaps even StavinТs mother, would have made the indefensible objections and asked the answerable questions, but the white-haired man turned them and took their hands and led them away.

УI need a small animal,Ф Snake said as he lifted the tent flap. УIt must have fur, and it must be alive.Ф

УOne will be found,Ф he said, and the three parents went into the glowing night. Snake could hear their footsteps in the sand outside.

Snake supported Mist in her lap and soothed her. The cobra wrapped herself around SnakeТs waist, taking in her warmth. Hunger made the cobra even more nervous than usual, and she was hungry, as was Snake. Coming across the black-sand desert, they had found sufficient water, but SnakeТs traps had been unsuccessful. The season was summer, the weather was hot, and many of the furry tidbits Sand and Mist preferred were estivating. Since she had brought them into the desert, away from home, Snake had begun a fast as well.

She saw with regret that Stavin was more frightened now. УIТm sorry to send your parents away,Ф she said. УThey can come back soon.Ф

His eyes glistened, but he held back the tears. УThey said to do what you told me.Ф

УI would have you cry, if you are able,Ф Snake said. УIt isnТt such a terrible thing.Ф But Stavin seemed not to understand, and Snake did not press him; she thought his people must teach themselves to resist a difficult land by refusing to cry, refusing to mourn, refusing to laugh. They denied themselves grief, and allowed themselves little joy, but they survived.

Mist had calmed to sullenness. Snake unwrapped her from her waist and placed the serpent on the pallet next to Stavin. As the cobra moved, Snake guided her head, feeling the tension of the striking-muscles. УShe will touch you with her tongue,Ф she told Stavin. УIt might tickle, but it will not hurt. She smells with it, as you do with your nose.Ф

УWith her tongue?Ф

Snake nodded, smiling, and Mist flicked out her tongue to caress StavinТs cheek. Stavin did not flinch; he watched, his childТs delight in knowledge briefly overcoming pain. He lay perfectly still as MistТs long tongue brushed his cheeks, his eyes, his mouth. УShe tastes the sickness,Ф Snake said. Mist stopped fighting the restraint of her grasp, and drew back her head. Snake sat on her heels and released the cobra, who spiraled up her arm and laid herself across her shoulders.

УGo to sleep, Stavin,Ф Snake said. УTry to trust me, and try not to fear the morning.Ф

Stavin gazed at her for a few seconds, searching for truth in SnakeТs pale eyes. УWill Grass watch?Ф

She was startled by the question, or, rather, by the acceptance behind the question. She brushed his hair from his forehead and smiled a smile that was tears just beneath the surface. УOf course.Ф She picked Grass up. УWatch this child, and guard him.Ф The dreamsnake lay quiet in her hand, and his eyes glittered black. She laid him gently on StavinТs pillow.

УNow sleep.Ф

Stavin closed his eyes, and the life seemed to flow out of him. The alteration was so great that Snake reached out to touch him, then saw that he was breathing, slowly, shallowly. She tucked a blanket around him and stood up. The abrupt change in position dizzied her; she staggered and caught herself. Across her shoulder, Mist tensed.

SnakeТs eyes stung and her vision was oversharp, fever-clear. The sound she imagined she heard swooped in closer. She steadied herself against hunger and exhaustion, bent slowly, and picked up the leather case. Mist touched her cheek with the tip of her tongue.

She pushed aside the tent flap and felt relief that it was still night. She could stand the daytime heat, but the brightness of the sun curled through her, burning. The moon must be full; though the clouds obscured everything, they diffused the light so the sky appeared gray from horizon to horizon. Beyond the tents, groups of formless shadows projected from the ground. Here, near the edge of the desert, enough water existed so clumps and patches of bush grew, providing shelter and sustenance for all manner of creatures. The black sand, which sparkled and blinded in the sunlight, at night was like a layer of soft soot. Snake stepped out of the tent, and the illusion of softness disappeared; her boots slid crunching into the sharp hard grains.

StavinТs family waited, sitting close together between the dark tents that clustered in a patch of sand from which the bushes had been ripped and burned. They looked at her silently, hoping with their eyes, showing no expression in their faces. A woman somewhat younger than StavinТs mother sat with them. She was dressed, as they were, in long loose desert robes, but she wore the only adornment Snake had seen among these people: a leaderТs circle, hanging around her neck on a leather thong. She and StavinТs eldest parent were marked close kin by their similarities: sharp-cut planes of face, high cheekbones, his hair white and hers graying early from deep black, their eyes the dark brown best suited for survival in the sun. On the ground by their feet a small black animal jerked sporadically against a net, and infrequently gave a shrill weak cry.

УStavin is asleep,Ф Snake said. УDo not disturb him, but go to him if he wakes.Ф

StavinТs mother and the youngest partner rose and went inside, but the older man stopped before her. УCan you help him?Ф