"Mary Rosenblum - Color Vision" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rosenblum Mary)

floor, clicks on the light. тАЬIтАЩm grounded forever for skipping school, and your
dad called the police, I guess. When you didnтАЩt come home. And
somebody saw us leave together. I said you were really upset and I was
just trying to counsel you and you wouldnтАЩt talk to me, so then I figured as
long as I was already outside, I might as well enjoy the skip. My mom liked
the trying-to-counsel-you part, so I think she sort of believes me. Maybe. I
brought you guys some waterтАФfilled up an empty milk jugтАФand I snuck
some stuff out of the pantry in the garage. I didnтАЩt dare go into the kitchen ...
I have to go right past Mom and DadтАЩs bedroom. TheyтАЩre hav-ing a fight
right now about whose fault I am.тАЭ He grins, but itтАЩs kind of weak. тАЬI think
MomтАЩs winning and IтАЩm DadтАЩs fault.тАЭ

The water tastes a little like sour milk, but IтАЩm not complaining and
neither is Cris. Jeremy brought peanut butter and a box of Saltines, too.
тАЬThis is the best I could do.тАЭ He makes a face. тАЬEverything else is in cans.
So okay.тАЭ He digs a battered old table knife out of an apple crate and starts
slathering peanut butter on crackers. тАЬYou want to tell me whatтАЩs going on,
Cris? Before the police show up and we all get arrested or something?тАЭ

тАЬDonтАЩt worry about the police.тАЭ Cris starts stuffing crackers into his
mouth and I think again about him maybe stuck in his chair, night and day, in
those vines. тАЬWorry about Zoroan,тАЭ Cris says, with his mouth full. тАЬHe wants
all the First Born power.тАЭ He swallows, gulps more water. тАЬItтАЩs get-ting more
concentrated. The First Born power. Used to be a lot of First Born. But
some people donтАЩt have kids before they die, you know? So fewer and
fewer share it. If he ever got it all...тАЭ Cris shrugs. тАЬI think . . . our world would
just go away or something. Or maybe Zoroan would turn it into something
different or use the power to mess with you all. I just. . . donтАЩt know. But heтАЩs
been secretly kidnapping the First Born for, oh ... maybe a thousand years
or so. People figured it out after a while, so weтАЩre real careful. But he has
so much of the power now that you canтАЩt really fight him. ItтАЩs more a matter
of staying out of his traps. Like the one I was in.тАЭ Cris looks away. тАЬIt takes
him a while to empty all the First Born power out of one of us.тАЭ
 I shiver and JeremyтАЩs looking real wide-eyed. тАЬWhat happens when
he ... takes it all out of you?тАЭ he finally asks.

тАЬI donтАЩt know.тАЭ Cris looks down at the cracker in his hand. тАЬI guess
you just die. I mean . . . nobody has ever come back. ThereтАЩs this prophecy
. . . that he can be destroyed only by a First Born using a true-shape
weapon. And I guessed ... it was a trap.тАЭ He stares at the cracker, all
squashed to crumbs in his hand. тАЬI guess ... I just hoped ... I thought. . .
What did I have to lose?тАЭ His voice is dull, like old metal now. тАЬI thought... it
might bring them back.тАЭ

IтАЩd have tried it, too. If I thought maybe it would bring my mom back.

тАЬOkay, okay, time-out here.тАЭ Jeremy starts waving his hands. тАЬI now
believe in magic. I am grounded for the rest of my life for skipping school. I
am probably going to get arrested for kidnapping. For that, I want to hear
what is going on in English please.тАЭ He glares at Cris. тАЬWhat is all this First