"S. M. Stirling - Sea of Time 03 - On the Oceans of Eternity" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stirling S. M)

invade the White Isle. Among the gifts those proto-demi-Celts
had given Alston was a girl they'd taken prisoner from the Earth
Folk, the Fiernan Bohulugi, the megalith-building natives of
Alba. Swindapa, who still sometimes woke screaming from
nightmares of that captivity.

"That's a long time gone, sugar," Marian said. "Lot of water
under the bridge, and the Sun People are pretty quiet,
nowadays."

"There, like the wind through woods in riot,"

Through him the gale of life blew high;

The tree of man was never quiet:
 Then 'twas the Roman, now 'tis I.

The gale, it plies the saplings double,

It blows so hard, 'twill soon be gone:

Today the Roman and his trouble

Are ashes under Uricon."

"Yes," Swindapa said quietly. "Would you, would we have
made war on the Sun People, if Walker hadn't come here and
tried to be a King among them?"

Ouch. That's a toughie. "I think we'd have helped the Earth
Folk defend themselves," she said. "I was pushin' for that, as soon
as I got to talking with you."

A brilliant smile rewarded her, and Marian felt the familiar
but always startling warmth under her breastbone. And personal
matters aside, we needed something like the Alliance.
Nantucket was too small in area and numbers to keep even the
ghost of civilization alive on its own.

"You were so shy in those days," Swindapa said. "I knew Moon
Woman had sent you to rescue me and put down the Sun People,
and that Her stars meant us to be together always, but I had to
drag you into bed," she went on.

"Well, whatever else the Fiernan Bohulugi are, they aren't shy
," Marian agreed. Lordy, no. Got me out of the closet, for
starters.

Swindapa sighed again. "I thought once the Sun People were
beaten, we'd have peace. Sailing, work, and the children."