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

He hesitated only a moment, then grasped Mist behind the head. Snake ran, slipping in the deep sand, from the edge of the circle of tents to a place where bushes still grew. She broke off dry thorny branches that tore her scarred hands. Peripherally she noticed a mass of horned vipers, so ugly they seemed deformed, nesting beneath the clump of dessicated vegetation. They hissed at her; she ignored them. She found a thin hollow stem and carried it back. Her hands bled from deep scratches.

Kneeling by MistТs head, she forced open the cobraТs mouth and pushed the tube deep into her throat, through the air passage at the base of the tongue. She bent close, took the tube in her mouth, and breathed gently into MistТs lungs.

She noticed: the young manТs hands, holding the cobra as she had asked; his breathing, first a sharp gasp of surprise, then ragged; the sand scraping her elbows where she leaned; the cloying smell of the fluid seeping from MistТs fangs; her own dizziness, she thought from exhaustion, which she forced away by necessity and will.

Snake breathed, and breathed again, paused, and repeated, until Mist caught the rhythm and continued it unaided.

Snake sat back on her heels. УI think sheТll be all right,Ф she said. УI hope she will.Ф She brushed the back of her hand across her forehead. The touch sparked pain: she jerked her hand down and agony slid along her bones, up her arm, across her shoulder, through her chest, enveloping her heart. Her balance turned on its edge. She fell, tried to catch herself but moved too slowly, fought nausea and vertigo and almost succeeded, until the pull of the earth seemed to slip away and she was lost in darkness with nothing to take a bearing by.

She felt sand where it had scraped her cheek and her palms, but it was soft. УSnake, can I let go?Ф She thought the question must be for someone else, while at the same time she knew there was no one else to answer it, no one else to reply to her name. She felt hands on her, and they were gentle; she wanted to respond to them, but she was too tired. She needed sleep more, so she pushed them away. But they held her head and put dry leather to her lips and poured water into her throat. She coughed and choked and spat it out.

She pushed herself up on one elbow. As her sight cleared, she realized she was shaking. She felt the way she had the first time she was snake-bit, before her immunities had completely developed. The young man knelt over her, his water flask in his hand. Mist, beyond him, crawled toward the darkness. Snake forgot the throbbing pain. УMist!Ф She slapped the ground.

The young man flinched and turned, frightened; the serpent reared up, swaying over them, watching, angry, ready to strike, her hood spread. She formed a wavering white line against black. Snake forced herself to rise, feeling as though she was fumbling with the control of some unfamiliar body. She almost fell again, but held herself steady, facing the cobra, whose eyes were on a level with her own. УThou must not go to hunt now,Ф she said. УThere is work for thee to do.Ф She held out her right hand to the side, a decoy, to draw Mist if she struck. Her hand was heavy with pain. Snake feared, not being bitten, but the loss of the contents of MistТs poison sacs. УCome here,Ф she said. УCome here, and stay thy anger.Ф She noticed blood flowing down between her fingers, and the fear she felt for Stavin intensified. УDidst thou bite me already, creature?Ф But the pain was wrong: poison would numb her, and the new serum only stingЕ

УNo,Ф the young man whispered from behind her.

Mist struck. The reflexes of long training took over: SnakeТs right hand jerked away, her left grabbed Mist as the serpent brought her head back. The cobra writhed a moment, and relaxed. УDevious beast,Ф Snake said. УFor shame.Ф She turned and let Mist crawl up her arm and over her shoulder, where she lay like the outline of an invisible cape and dragged her tail like the edge of a train.

УShe didnТt bite me?Ф

УNo,Ф the young man said. His contained voice was touched with awe. УYou should be dying. You should be curled around the agony, and your arm swollen purple. When you came backЧФ He gestured toward her hand. УIt must have been a sand viper.Ф

Snake remembered the coil of reptiles beneath the branches, and touched the blood on her hand. She wiped it away, revealing the double puncture of a bite among the scratches of the thorns. The wound was slightly swollen. УIt needs cleaning,Ф she said. УI shame myself by falling to it.Ф The pain of it washed in gentle waves up her arm, burning no longer. She stood looking at the young man, looking around her, watching the landscape shift and change as her tired eyes tried to cope with the low light of setting moon and false dawn. УYou held Mist well, and bravely,Ф she said to the young man. УI thank you.Ф

He lowered his gaze, almost bowing to her. He rose and approached her. Snake put her hand on MistТs neck so she would not be alarmed.

УI would be honored,Ф the young man said, Уif you would call me Arevin.Ф

УI would be pleased to.Ф

Snake knelt down and held the winding white loops as Mist crawled slowly into her compartment. In a little while, when Mist had stabilized, by dawn, they could go to Stavin.

The tip of MistТs white tail slid out of sight. Snake closed the case and would have risen, but she could not stand. She had not quite shaken off the effects of the new venom. The flesh around the wound was red and tender, but the hemorrhaging would not spread. She stayed where she was, slumped, staring at her hand, creeping slowly in her mind toward what she needed to do, this time for herself.

УLet me help you. Please.Ф

He touched her shoulder and helped her stand. УIТm sorry,Ф she said. УIТm so in need of restЕФ

УLet me wash your hand,Ф Arevin said. УAnd then you can sleep. Tell me when to awaken youЧФ

УI canТt sleep yet.Ф She collected herself, straightened, tossed the damp curls of her short hair off her forehead. УIТm all right now. Have you any water?Ф

Arevin loosened his outer robe. Beneath it he wore a loincloth and a leather belt that carried several leather flasks and pouches. His body was lean and well built, his legs long and muscular. The color of his skin was slightly lighter than the sun-darkened brown of his face. He brought out his water flask and reached for SnakeТs hand.

УNo, Arevin. If the poison gets in any small scratch you might have, it could infect.Ф

She sat down and sluiced lukewarm water over her hand. The water dripped pink to the ground and disappeared, leaving not even a damp spot visible. The wound bled a little more, but now it only ached. The poison was almost inactivated.