"Justin Stanchfield - Sisterhood of the Stone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stanchfield Justin)

dancers. "Hurry."
Others rushed to join him. They lined the little shelf, helping fellow
travelers up the bank as water curled around the bend. Most of the stragglers
climbed to safety before the wall of brown water broke past. Another flash of
lightning blazed across the sky, and for one sickening moment Kells saw the
girl in blue trapped in the flood. Without a second thought, Kells jumped into
the icy water.
It wasn't deep, barely over his waist, but the force was impossible to
stand against. The gravel underfoot became a slurry that carried his feet out
from beneath him. He tumbled, immersed in the cold torrent. He broke surface.
Gasping for air, he tried to keep his bearings. His hand brushed something
solid beside him. Instinctively he clutched the body, his fingers wrapped in
the wet silk, and pulled the girl to him. His feet briefly found the bottom
and he managed to push both of them toward the bank. A tree root protruded
from the undercut bank. He grabbed it, the woody handgrip all that kept them
from being washed away.
"Help!" Water poured down his throat. He coughed. "Damn it, help us!"
Moonlight broke through the clouds and framed the faces gathered on the
bank above. His grip weakened, and he tried again to stand, the girl wrapped
around him. The water lessened, as the brief flood slowed, the worst of it
past. Shaking and exhausted, he crawled up the slick bank, pushing the girl in
front of him. The crowd drew back as they struggled out of the water and fell
gasping on the sodden ground. Sapphire-blue light snapped out of nowhere as
someone finally found a flashlight to replace the doused torches. Tired as he
was, he couldn't mistake the expressions of shock and hatred on the faces
around him. Ammons bulled through the crowd, grabbed Kells by the collar and
hauled him away from the girl.
"What are you doing?"
"Saving her life," Kells said, angry at the rough handling. "What the
hell is wrong?"
More flashlights were out now, blue and white and red. The crowd parted
as the other dancers, their white robes brown with mud, hurried toward the
girl curled on the ground. They wrapped her in blankets and quickly took her
away. The crowd watched her go, then turned back toward Kells, their faces
dark and muttered amongst themselves. Three of the sisters remained where the
girl had lain, waiting. Ammons turned Kells toward them.
"Give them some money."
"What?"
"Damn it." Ammons lowered his voice. "Whatever you have in your pocket,
just give it to them."
"Why?"
"For the love of god, man, just do it!"
Kells fumbled in his pocket and managed to pull out a Half-Standard
gold piece. Unsure what to do next, he held it out to the waiting women. After
a long, uncomfortable moment, the tallest of the trio took the coin, bowed
tersely, then led her sisters away. Still muttering, the crowd thinned as
people wandered off to retrieve their scattered pack animals.
"Mind telling me what that was all about?" Kells asked. His lips shook
from the cold.
"No man is allowed to touch a Walker during her fast. You broke the