"Tepper, Sheri S - A Plague Of Angels - plangel4" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tepper Sherri)

"I've been watching over the north wall. Some of the walkers are acting
differently. I think that thing has happened you were afraid of.""Oh, for the love of--"
"Well, you can look for yourself."
Mitty did so, hanging over the parapet at the northeastern corner of Gaddi House. The walkers were no longer stretched in a thin line along the wall. Here and there, they were forming up in military fashion. Here and there, two or more of the creatures opened parts of their bodies and joined them to the bodies of others, becoming something larger and obviously more deadly. Mitty didn't need to have the matter explained. He knew that not even the monsters would be able to stand against them once they had reverted.
"Qualary told me Ellel controls the things from a closet in her quarters," said Berkli from close behind him. "I've been thinking, that's really where we ought to be."
"We can't reprogram--"
"Surely there's some way to turn them off!"
Mitty gave him a look of combined surprise and respect. He himself had not thought of that!

Before leaving, Ellel had called together several young Family members who were known zealots and faithful followers. She had given them weapons and a key to her quarters, with instructions to go there at the first sign of any revolt and hold the rooms against invasion.
Shortly after hostilities had begun at dawn, some Ellels and Anders had taken up whatever weapons were at hand and had gone to fight the Artemisians and gangers, plunging through the gates with a fine disregard for the reality of the situation. They were surprised and dismayed when they came under fire from the walkers and were pinned down outside the gates. While these Domers were putting themselves at risk, Ellel's zealots had barricaded themselves in Ellel's apartment to await whatever happened. Strangely enough, nothing happened for some little time, and they were growing weary of their duty and hungry for news by the time the guard they had left at the end of the corridor dived through the door to announce the approach of Berkli, Mitty, and a half-dozen other men.
Two Ellel adolescents had been stationed at either side of the door. "Are they going to attack us?" one of them asked the other. "Should we attack them?"
The youngster he queried answered the question by firing an indiscriminate burst down the corridor.


396

Sheri S. Tepper

"We could have asked them first," said the other, plaintively. "We don't even know what's happening."
The Berkli-Mitty group fetched makeshift barriers and, pushing these ahead of them, came far enough down the corridor to be heard.
"When the walkers come in, they're going to kill us all," shouted Mitty. "I don't care what Ellel told you. The walker programming is breaking down! Remember how the children were killed in the marketplace? They're all behaving that way now, and they'll kill you just as dead as they'll kill us!"
There was a momentary lull in the firing from inside before the youth who
had shot first shouted an obscene reply and let loose a fusillade. Those in the corridor waited for the firing to die down. "Idiots," muttered Mitty.
"He's telling you the truth!" Berkli cried. "If one of you would like to go look over the eastern wall, we'll give you safe passage."
This time a considerable pause, during which those in the corridor could hear voices raised, some angry, some plaintive. A pale young face thrust itself around the doorframe. "I'11 go look," said the young man in a voice that squeaked.
"Fine," said Mitty. "But hurry up about it."
He scuttled past, so intent upon glaring at them that he came hlmost to a stop.
Berkli said, "You're Varis Ellel, aren't you'? Well, hurry. Ellel won't want to come back and find her whole Family dead!"
The youngster's eyes widened, and he scampered off.
"Varis?" asked Mitty.
"I get him mixed up with his brother," sighed Berkli. "Twins, about fourteen. Ellel's best followers are about that age. They have good minds and no experience. I was that age once. 1, too, thought I could remedy the world with a little direct action."
"What's keeping him!" demanded Mitty.
A few long moments passed. "Here he comes," said Berkli.
The youngster came at top speed. "They are!" he cried. "They're killing Ellels and Anders outside the gate!"
He went on, and again they heard voices raised from inside. Shortly an arm emerged, waving a towel, and the youngsters trailed out, half a dozen of them.
"We didn't know," they said apologetically. "Honestly. Ellel just told us to keep you out of here. We didn't know."
Mitty had no time for recriminations. He found the locked door to the closet Qualary had spoken of, then he and three of his technicians began arguing how to get into it without setting off anything irreparable.


A PLAGUE OF ANGELS 397

Deep in the woods to the west, the stones piled high upon the walkers began to shake and tumble. The earth vibrated, as though a volcano were erupting, and a tower of dust rose from the rock pile. A walker arm emerged, then a walker head, then a walker entire, who began dismantling the rock pile and letting the buried soldiers loose once more.
Above them on the wall of the canyon, weary Heroes glanced at one another in what would have been called despair among men less brave. They turned their horses and rode back toward the city. Perhaps someone there had thought of something else to try.
So close to the wall that he was unseen from above, Abasio brandished his power lance and muttered every filthy word known to gangers as he parried and thrust and dodged and leaped. Tom's device would have been very useful if the man could just aim the damned thing. Eventually, the number of walkers destroyed might add up to something. No doubt they had already disposed of several dozen, but meantime, all he, Abasio, could do was try to keep them at a distance while Tom kept yelling, "Give me a minute, just a minute, I ought to get a bunch with this, a bunch, just give me a minute..."
A new sound obtruded on the cacophony of battle, a high voice that cut through the clangor, the grunting, and the shouting with crystalline clarity:
"Abasio, Abasio, Abasio the Cat!" the voice shrilled, a cry taken up by a hundred other voices.
Abasio glanced up. Across the heads of the walkers he saw a waving banner and a high chair carried on the shoulders of heaving men. CummyNup was carrying the banner, and Sybbis was standing in the chair, pointing toward him. She shouted again, and her bearers turned in his direction bellowing, "Abasio, Abasio the Cat!"
The momentary distraction had been all the walkers needed. Abasio was struck from one side and felt himself falling endlessly down into a scarletblack maelstrom.
In the forest, Bear turned on his hind legs, growling a futile challenge, as three of the walkers worked their way closer and closer.