"Pierce, Tamora - The Circle Opens 01 - Magic Steps" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pierce Tamora)

and they hung, and they hung.
"Pasco, what did you do?" breathed Reha, who was earthbound. "That was you,
wasn't it?"
"No," he said quickly.
The three hanging Acalons flailed without shifting their bodies an inch. "Let me
down!" yelled Vani. "Right now, you puling, puking little rat turd!"
Pasco licked his lips. Time. He needed time to think "Promise you won't beat me
up," he retorted, his voice squeaking.
УI'll mince you is what I'll do! Get me down!" Reha left the courtyard and
returned with a tall stool. She thrust it under Haiday, as if she just needed a
step down Haiday struggled, but the air held her fast. Reha tried the stool on
the other two, without result.
Vani kicked it over when she put it under him. "Pasco, get me down, or you're
hog food!"'
"Promise," whispered Pasco, mind racing like a pan icked mouse, All he could
think was that Vani would need, to hurry to beat Mama to killing him.
A sharp voice demanded, "What is going on out here? You children know very well
Great-grandmother rests at this hour!" Gran'ther Edoar walked out of his quarter
of the house, as cross as a bear. Leaning on his walking stick, the tall old man
went up to the three hanging Acalons and tugged Haiday's leg. She remained in
the air.
Pasco fell to his knees with a whimper.
Gran'ther walked around the three, looking them over, pulling first an arm, then
a leg. Pasco's mind had stopped running, frozen around the thought that he would
never be allowed out of the house again.
Once his inspection was complete, Gran'ther halted and looked at the cousins who
stood on the ground. "How did this come about?" he inquired mildly. "Surely you
have not learned to fly, or someone would have men tioned it at supper."
"It's all Pasco's fault!" snapped Vani. He thrashed as if he thought he could
swim through the air to claw at his young cousin. "He did this!"
Gran'ther's tufted eyebrows rose. "Did he indeed?"
"I didn't mean it," babbled Pasco. "IЧI was scared, and he's going to beat me up
againЧ,"
"Beat you up?" Gran'ther looked at Vani and then at Pasco. "Again?"
"He's lying to get himself out of trouble," growled Vani, but the girls were
shaking their heads.
"He's beaten Pasco before," Gran'ther repeated, to confirm it.
"Yes, sir," replied Haiday, shamefaced. "And you, future harriers all, you said
nothing? You allowed him to do it?" Gran'ther asked it as if he were simply
confirming a report. Now all of the cousins but Vani and Pasco nodded, staring
at their feet.
"Well," the old man said at last. "Once we have solved the matter at hand, we
must talk about this. We cannot turn a bully harrier loose on the people of
Summersea. They deserve better care." To Pasco he said, "Can you bring them
down?"
Pasco looked at the three captives. Raising, then lowering his arms, he tried to
feel magical. Nothing hap pened. He then hummed the tune, and raised and lowered
his arms. That didn't work, either. He was afraid to try dancingЧhe'd probably
just make it worse.
"There'sЧI have toЕ" he stammered. Gran'ther scowled, and Pasco tried to get his