"Elizabeth Moon - Those who Walk in Darkness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

distance, and a drunken voice singing. He moved around the
fountain, looking for a place out of the moving air.
He could still see the paladin in his mind, and he could see himself.
Why had he squealed like that, before they even hit him? Someone
had laughed, and others had joined them; he should have been

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Moon, Elizabeth - Lunar Activity SS 10- Those Who Walk in Darkness


silent. The paladin had been silent. When they first brought her in,
everyone was: he had been breathless, waiting for the high gods to
send a bolt of fire or something. And nothing had happened. He
almost believed the priests, that nothing could happen, that only the
Master had power. He believed it when they dragged him forward,
and when they beat him, and nothing happened. He believed it when
the paladinтАЩs torment went on and on, and nothing happened. He
believed it untilтАФhe frowned, thinking of itтАФuntil he had gone
forward himself, to spit on her and taste her blood, as the children
must. Then he saw gentle gray eyes, a tired face drawn by pain but
unafraid andтАФmost strange to himтАФnot angry. He had stared then,
forgetting what to do, but the priest had tapped his sore back and
reminded him. And so he had spit, and rubbed his finger along her
bloody sides and tasted it, and she had looked at him, without anger
or fear.
How could that be? They were all frightened, all the rest: he was,
and his father, and all the others in the hall, and the guards. Even the
priests. But she was not frightened. She had been hurtтАФhad cried
out with pain, as he hadтАФbut not frightened. Nothing changed her
mind. She had said, again and again, that the High Lord was real.
That Gird Strongarm was real. That the Master was nothing before
them. That thought made him twitch. It was dangerous. If he defied
the Master, if he didnтАЩt believe, then they would hurt him as they
hurt her. He curled into a ball, the taste of that blood filling his
mouth. He felt nausea burn his throat. He had to believe. He had to
obey, or elseтАФ But when he screwed his eyes shut, he saw her face.
He heard her voice, somehow steady and clear despite the torments.


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Moon, Elizabeth - Lunar Activity SS 10- Those Who Walk in Darkness


Those gray eyes seemed to watch him.
A booted foot tapped him sharply in the ribs, and he uncurled with a
gasp. A watch officer, with four guards behind him.
тАЬWhat are you doing here, boy?тАЭ
Selis fumbled for explanations. тАЬIтАФI was sittingтАФтАЭ
тАЬYou canтАЩt sleep here. Who are you?тАЭ
тАЬSelis Kemmrisson, sir.тАЭ It was permitted to be polite to the watch,