"Newman, Kim - The McCarthy Witch Hunt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Newman Kim)

Finlay wrestled with his rifle, wondering if now was the time he'd have to
use it.
Lilith concentrated, shutting her violet eyes. Then she pointed to a
building. It had been an apartment block, but now it was sheared off above
the first storey, teethlike timber-stumps exposed.
Finlay relayed her information to Stoner. The soldiers opened fire, and
fire was returned. There was only one gun up there, but it was enough to
keep them pinned down for hours.
Lilith muttered something to herself and stood up. Finlay tried to
protest. She scurried over to the Lorelei and, with a bayonet from her
belt, cut off the dead woman's hand. She did it as if she were cutting
meat, pressing the blade down until it grit into the stone, wrestling
through bone and gristle.
A shot zinged past the witch, raising dust. Stoner shouted at her to get
back. Instead, she stood up and faced the sniper's nest, holding up the
hand.
A ball of fire came from somewhere and touched the hand, darting five
times until all four fingers and the thumb were alight. Lilith held the
burning hand, incanting in a language Finlay didn't know, and tossed it at
the building.
There was a silent explosion, flash-burning into Finlay's eyes. A flame, a
dozen feet long, swarmed up the side of the building, melting through the
wall. It was man-shaped, but also a thin hand, puppet-walking, the thumb
its head, the fingers its arms and legs. It hurt to look at, like the
naked sun.
They all heard screaming. And the tinier explosion that was the sniper's
ammunition going off all at once.
They waited a full minute, watching the flameshape dart through broken
windows and gaps in the masonry. Then Stoner signalled Carnovski and
Hanlon to check out the place. The GIs kicked in the door and clattered
around inside.
Lilith was unsteady on her feet and Finlay had to hold her up. It was as
if the strength had been sucked out of her. Her knees gave and Finlay
helped her sit down. He thought her hair grayer now than it had been
before the business with the hand.
'That was a calculated risk,' she said. 'To make a Hand of Glory, you need
a murderer. I thought it likely anyone in that uniform was one.'
Finlay shook his head. This was not the war he had expected when he was
drafted.
'Strange allies?' she commented.
Stone signalled a move before he could reply.
'It's all right,' Lilith said, 'I can walk now.'
The witch got up and walked over to the building, Finlay trailing her.
'We found the sniper,' Carnovski was saying to Stoner, 'just some kid with
an old gun.'
Stoner was unimpressed.
'Too bad.'
'The cellar was boarded up. I think there's people hiding down there.
Women and kids, most likely.'
'What about the pikadon?' Lilith asked. 'It must be dispelled.'