"Peter W. Prellwitz - The Angel of St. Thomas vs. The Galactic Good Guys" - читать интересную книгу автора (Prellwitz Peter W)

A storeroom. Good. Nice and quiet. I almost landed then, but decided not to. It was risky to stay in the
airтАФespecially if this guy knew anything about me. But if I landed, I wouldn't be able to go airborne
again while in the building. Staying aloft offered more choices for me and more chances for the girl.

It was very dark. I increased the amount of sparkles that were a side effect of my flying. The room
brightened, and I waited. Sooner or later one of us would make a sound, and I wanted it to be him.

It wasn't him. It was Liza, the little girl. I heard a stirring noise, followed by a small whimper of fear. The
burn of anger flared inside me but I reined it in.
"Quiet down!тАЭ He had a hissing, desperate voice. This was bad. There was almost no chance of talking
our way out of this. I continued listening, but floated slowly toward the door and into the hallway. The
voices were coming from downstairs.

"Are you going to let me go?тАЭ she asked in a trembling voice that made me want to race down there and
protect her. тАЬPlease!тАЭ she pleaded. тАЬLet me go!тАЭ I located the stairs and drifted down them, into a neatly
kept repair shop that smelled of oil and fresh tires.

"Shut up!тАЭ he growled. тАЬYou're not getting out of here unless I do. You better hope they let me go, too.
Whatever happens to me, it'll be worse for you."

"There is nothing worse than what's going to happen to you,тАЭ I said in a haunting voice. I'd practiced that
for a long time. I didn't have the voice to sound intimidating, so I tried to spook them. тАЬRelease her and
you'll have mercy.тАЭ I flew into a shaft of moonlight coming from a window, flying upright about three feet
above the floor and trailing a shower of sparkles.

"The Angel!тАЭ Liza gasped. She was in her jammies and was tightly clutching her doll. But her eyes lit up
even in the dim garage when she saw me. I smiled gently at her.

"Hello, Liza,тАЭ I said in a voice very different than the one I'd just used. тАЬDon't worry, little one. The police
are outside and I'm here with you."

I glanced back at the kidnapper, giving him a very different kind of look, the kind that freezes the soul.
He was of medium height but very thin. His emaciated looks told many stories about the drugs he used.
Sad stories all, but no excuse for this.

"If you want to be a free man before you're an old man, let me have the girl now. I'll take her outside and
tell the police you let her go. They'll be a lot nicer to you that way."

He had been staring at the space between my feet and the ground. He wasn't from the islands, or he'd
know me. That could work for us or against us.

"Wh ... What are you?тАЭ he stuttered.

"She's the Angel of St. Thomas,тАЭ Liza told him in the matter-of-fact tone children have about what they
believe in. Much of her fear was gone. тАЬAnтАЩ you gotta do what she says or you'll be very very sad you
didn't do it."

"I'm a messenger, come to give you one chance,тАЭ I said, keeping a ghostly lilt in my voice. It might still
work without violence. тАЬBut one chance only."