"Rachel Pollack - Immortal Snake" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pollack Rachel)

uncle knew the secret of turning blood into life. It made no difference, she
said. Quickly he bared his neck, and she bit him, and they were bound
together.

The tale went on to tell of the kingтАЩs rage, the loversтАЩ flight, how they
found themselves, after years of hiding in caves, in a lost sanctuary known
as the Garden of the Two Trees. Once, in the early days of the world, this
garden had been a sheltered place, but now the roots of the Trees had
withered, and all the leaves had turned to stone. Here they would die, they
said, for above them they could see the kingтАЩs ravens and knew he would
be upon them in days. They had reached the end, and no longer wanted to
run.

Long ago, the Living World had sent an angel with a flaming sword to
guard the entrance to the Garden. As the Trees withered, however, the
angel had fallen asleep, and now when the king arrived, he found the sword
lying on the ground. He picked it up and raised it over his head, eager to
destroy his traitorous nephew and the woman who had turned down
immortality for the life of a fugitive. The two made no attempt to hide, but
only sat in peace, ready for the blow.

As the king lifted the sword, however, it struck a stone wall, and
sparks of fire scattered on the ground. The sparks burned a hole into the
earth and out of it came the ghosts of all the women whom the king had
killed. In moments the ghosts surrounded him and pulled him down into the
Land of the Dead, where he still remains, the only living being among the
shadows of Death.

The nephew and the lover were free. When he kissed her, then bit her
neck, two drops of blood fell onto the roots of the great Trees. They heard
a sigh, and then, slowly, the roots filled out, fresh leaves grew on the
branches, and light and fragrance filled the air.

When the story ended everyone had fallen asleep but the SnakeтАЩs
two companions. Broken by Heaven walked through the scattered bodies,
never looking down, never missing a step, drawn to Tribute of Angels like a
shooting star pulled down to Earth. The storyteller stood with his body tilted
toward her, then stepped toward her so that they were both moving at the
moment they met, like butterflies mating in the air.
 They kissed until the end of the world, until the Readers all died out
and their observatory crumbled, until her brother and all the Immortal
Snakes had wandered off into caves to meditate and dream, until the Moon
and Sun merged together. So it seemed, but when she finally let go and
opened her eyes she saw it was still night, and her brother and all his
guests and servants and slaves still sat in their chairs, or lay on the carpets,
or stood propped against pillars of marble and onyxтАФand every one of
them asleep.

Tribute of Angels said, тАЬI have no place.тАЭ