"Thomas E. Sniegoski - Reckoning" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sniegoski Thomas E)

The girl shrugged, combing a nervous handthrough her shiny, black shoulder-length hair."As good as can
be expected, I guess," she said,not looking at him.

She was sweating, even though the temperature wasn't above sixty degrees, and he alsonoticed the dark
circles under her normallybeautiful brown eyes.

Aaron reached out gingerly to touch Vilma's shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.
 Vilma raised her face to look at him, eyesfilled with emotion. "No," she answered, shaking her head as
the tears began to tumble downthe dark skin of her cheeks. "I've been takenaway from my home and my
school, been tortured by...monsters, I'm having dreams thatmake me afraid to go to sleep, and . . . and
there's something coming alive inside me that I can't even begin to understand. No, Aaron, I amsonot all
right."

She was angry and scared, and he knewexactly how she felt, for it wasn't that long agothat he first
experienced the awakening of theangelic essence within himself. He tried to thinkof the right things to say
to reassure her, but hecouldn't; he didn't want to lie. Aaron had noidea how things were going to be in the
futureтАФfor her, for himself, for the fallen angels. Life wasuncertain right now, and that was somethingthat
he was learning to live with. It was some thing Vilma was going to have to learn as well.

As if on cue, Gabriel leaned his large, yellow body against the girl, nudging her handwith his cold, damp
nose."Don't cry, Vilma," hesaid consolingly, his dark eyes looking up into hers."Everything is going
to be fine. Just you waitand see."

She began to pat his blocky head, and Aaroncould see the immediate calming effect that thedog's
presence had upon her. In the week sincethey had saved her from Verchiel's grasp,Gabriel had become
Vilma's anchor to sanity.

"I'm very tired," she said, her voice nolouder than a whisper. "I think I'd like to gohoтАФ" Vilma halted,
the word catching in herthroat before it could leave her mouth. She wasgoing to say "home." But it wasn't
home forher, although it would have to do until thethreat of Verchiel and his Powers was endedonce and
for all.

"I'll take you back to Aerie," Aaron said quietly, putting his arm around her and gentlypulling her close.

She nodded and said nothing more asGabriel, too, stepped closer.

Using another of the gifts from his angelicnature, Aaron willed them all invisible, thenallowed the massive,
shiny black wings tounfurl from his back. He thought of Aerie, picturing in his mind the abandoned
neighborhoodbuilt atop a burial ground for toxic waste,enfolded Vilma and Gabriel within his feathered
embrace, and took them there.

Deep within the hold of oblivion, Lucifer had sought the escape of torment, and instead foundmemories
of times preferred forgotten.

He saw it all as he always did when heclosed his eyes: the crimes he committed againstGod, the war he
waged in Heaven in the nameof petty jealousy. But when those recollectionswere spent, the wounds of
his past discretionreopened, the first of the fallen saw that thepainful conjurings of his mind were not yet
finished with him.

It had been years since he last dreamed ofherтАФthought of herтАФand he moaned in protestas