"John Meaney - Sanctification" - читать интересную книгу автора (Meaney John)

Lucinda was hunched over, trembling with shock. Two of her friends came
over to comfort her, but they cast fearful glances at Zenshara all the
while.
The monitors were two boys who rushed into the room, but then stopped and
held back as they saw that the incident was no longer in progress. The
elder and larger of the two took control, lifting up Lucinda and carrying
her from the room.
As they left, the younger of the two boys turned to Zenshara and gave her
an impudent wink. Zenshara was astounded.
She spent the rest of the nights, after lights out, sitting in the lotus
position on her bed, relaxed yet alert for any attack. There were none.
Nobody in the monastery ever saw Lucinda again.

Several nights later, Zenshara crept through the corridors of the
monastery after dark. She knew the security systems were observing her,
but she had a feel now for the way the Teachers and Administrators handled
acolyte relationships. The policy was one of minimal interference. This
seemed strange to her, since so much of the training was geared towards
self-control and discipline of the mind... but it was, nonetheless, their
approach.
She went past the boys' dormitory to the smaller individual rooms where
the monitors slept. She knocked at the farthest door. When it slid open,
the large boy who had helped Lucinda was standing there, blinking in the
half-brightness of his night-light and running a hand through his tousled
hair. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped.
"Can I come in?" asked Zenshara.
"I don't think so." His voice was not unkind. He understood immediately:
she had no friends among the girls, and never would. She was destined to
be a loner, a pariah in their midst. So she had come to him for some
companionship.
"I'm sorry," he added. "I need my sleep. But if you knock on Zhiang's door
- that's his, next door along - you'll probably find the little bugger
awake, playing games on his terminal." He smiled: a kind, gentle smile.
"OK. You're Mark, aren't you?"
"You've accessed personnel files? Well done, Zenshara. You're a girl after
Zhiang's heart. Don't keep him awake all night, now."
He waited until he saw her knock on Zhiang's door, before he retired.
Zhiang, as expected, was the short impudent boy with spiky cropped hair
who had winked at her, at the very moment when she was most sure that she
would be banished from the monastery forever.
"You shouldn't be bothering Mark." Zhiang led her into his room. How had
he known? Zenshara didn't think the walls were that thin.
"I didn't mean to-"
"Oh, he'll be a good friend. But he's on the verge of Sainthood: a real
golden boy. It's best he keep a little distance."
Zenshara had not realized, had not even thought that there might be people
close to actually achieving Sainthood in the monastery right now.
It transpired that Zhiang was thirteen, though he was smaller and looked
younger than Zenshara. They talked and played competitive games on a
terminal until the early morning. When they grew too tired, they