"Laura Resnick - A Fleeting Wisp of Glory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Laura)

"You forgot the important part," Jackie says.
"What part?"
"Why didn't Kennedy want Khrushchev to rule in this kingdom?" Jonah
asks. I know the answer, but for some reason I don't want to tell him. I don't
really know what it means, and I think it should be left out of the story.




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 "Bobby?" Seeing that I won't say anything, Jonah sighs and says, "He
wanted us to be free. You must remember that."
"Maybe he just wanted to keep the kingdom for himself."
"No!" Jonah looks agitated. "No, you mustn't say that. You mustn't
doubt."
"Finish the story," Jackie says. "I have to go back soon." She's
starting to look pretty tired.
I try to remember what comes next. "Armageddon," I repeat. "The end of
the world. The end of Camelot."
I wonder, for the first time, if Kennedy knew about the Sickness when
he started the war. Did he know the sky would burn like the heart of a fire?
Did Merlin warn him that there would be nothing left when it was over, nothing
to eat or drink, no place to live or sleep? Did he know that all the wonders
they had in Camelot would be gone forever?
"No one can make water flow now, no one has a white palace..."
"You're skipping a lot," Jackie says, sounding upset.
"The sky burned, the air exploded, the sea boiled... You know all
that," I say. "Everyone died."
"But -- "
"Everyone died, except for a few people who were... in good places.
Like this place."
"And Kennedy?" Jonah prods.
I've heard this story a hundred times. I shouldn't feel so bad tonight.
I don't want to finish it, but I can see that it's very important to Jonah
that I do. "The king died and was carried off to Avalon, a secret place, where
a magic spell was cast upon him. On the third day he arose and ascended into
heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again,
to judge the living and the dead."
"And so we wait for him," Jackie whispers.
"His sword, Excalibur, rests at the bottom of the lake, and when he
returns, he'll claim it and... Which lake?"
"What?" Jonah says.
"Which lake is the sword in?"
There's a long silence. Finally he says, "The lake near Avalon." I know
he's lying. And because he's bothered to lie, I believe for the first time
that some part of the story must be true. But which part?
"And he will use his sword to enforce right with might and to protect
the meek," I say, finishing quickly, wanting to go back over the story and
find out what's true and what's not.
"Well told, Bobby," Jonah says, crawling to his feet. "It's rough in a