"Pearls In The Sand (Veronica Robinson)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Veronica)

the thud she was hoping for, She dropped to her knees and groped until she
found the jagged rock she had kicked. Dusque began to saw her bindings
against the stone.
"I'll be right there," she shouted. She realized that, in the midst of
the swirling sand that bit her face, she had no idea where Tendau was. She
was momentarily confused. It took only a-little effort to"cut through the
leather thong that the Zabrak had used to bind her. Now she had the daunting
task of finding Tendau.
'Tendau!" she shouted above the howl. She turned about wildly and tried
to remember which direction she had taken when she had begun searching for
the rock. She tried to slow her breathing and calm her hear!, realizing that
she was verging on panic.
As she decided which direction to take, she noticed the sandstorm was
weakening. She remembered, now that she had regained some composure, that
these storms never seemed to last long on Tatooine. Like many of its
indigenous animals, Tatooine's sandstorms were quick - and often deadly.
"Tendau!" she called again when she thought she saw his bent form ten
meters away. Even as she raced back to him, she was amazed at how far she
had actually walked. She shook her head at the power of disorientation that
the short storm had wrought,
As she dropped to his side, Dusque noticed with concern that Tendau was
hunched over. Then she realized he had assumed that position to hide the
domed head perched atop his long, curving neck.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she untied his hands.
"As usual," he finally answered, "I believe I am as all right as you
are." The sandstorm had nearly abated, and Dusque could see his gentle
smile.
She smiled in return, but her expression faded to a wince when she saw
his bloody wrists. Obviously, he had been struggling against his bonds the
entire lime she had been looking for a way to free herself, and she realized
that nothing was worth the pain of seeing her friend injured.
As she helped him to his feet, Dusque said, "It won't take us too long
to return to Mos Tarke now that we aren't trailing them any longer, C'mon."
She moved to turn back, but the Ithorian remained steadfast.
"It would be incredibly wasteful to retrace our steps when we are so
near to our goal," he said.
"You want to go on?" she asked, incredulous,
"Don't you'"
"Yes... I do."
"Then let's continue," he said, taking the lead. "I don't think they
could've gone too far with the storm,"
Dusque shook her head and smiled, partly at her companion's resiliency
and partly at his loyalty. He knew how this quest had caught her attention
and how she hated to leave anything unfinished. And he was willing to see it
through to the end. She was touched by the prize she already possessed: his
friendship. As they tracked the mercenary trio as best they could, one thing
nagged at Dusque. She mulled it over and over, and then she finally
mentioned it to Tendau.
"You know what seemed strange?" she said. The fact that he called what
we are searching for 'pearls.' Didn't that seem a bit odd? I mean, I guess