"Janet Morris - Kerrion Empire 03 - Earth Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morris Janet E)

"Choose your side most carefully, but choose a side
you must." Shebat, mouth dry, heard the words coming
of their own accord from her suddenly unwieldy lips. Of
all men, Jesse Thorne came here to face her with ques-
tions no one should have to answer, now when her hus-
band stood looking on? Jesse Thome of her adolescent
dreams and hopeless fantasies, whose whispery voice and
calm deadly eyes had long been acknowledged the single
voice of freedom and the only eyes keen enough to track
revolution among the dispirited peasants of the north-
east? In Bolen's town and wherever men gathered in sim-
ilar inns to plot desperate resistance against indomitable
masters, Jesse's name and exploits were invoked for
guidance, for inspiration. When he came to your town,
the hale boys left with him,and old men straightened
their backs and walked sprightly, an almost-forgotten
glitter in their eyes. When he had come to Bolen's town,
even Bolen gave food and drink and shelter to him and
his without even mention of feeтАФor the danger of har-
boring fugitives with such rewards upon their heads. The
part of Shebat which longed to recapture the simplicity
and comforting ignorance of her previous life here ex-
ulted, that he should seek her out. Her better half, which

10 JANET MORRIS

knew that time will not ever let us recoup the price we
pay to enter our own futures, saw in him a greater threat
to her marriage, to her bond with her cruiser, to her very
equilibrium, than any she had dreamed canny Earth
might mount. To break her train of thought, and the
spell his physical presence cast over her so that she
hardly had the strength to look away, she whirled side-
ways and pointed at an enchanter in the midst of others,
whose hair seemed as red as the eagle on his black cloak,
ablaze with sunset. "You have two heads on you, and
one will fall afoul of the other."
She turned back to the balance of them, some of whom
were softly urging their horses backward, into the dusk,
away from the seeress suddenly burning without flame in
the tricky light.

Then the militia's commander went down on one knee
and all his men followed suit.

A cough came from among the enchanters, but when
she lifted fiery eyes to them and raised an arm with finger
pointing straight at them, they held back smirks no
longer, but bent their knees as well.