"Joan D. Vinge - The Storm King" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Joan D)

yourself, witch?тАЭ

тАЬI would have.тАЭ She touched the babyтАЩs tiny hand, its soft black hair. тАЬLong
ago. But until the little one no longer suckles my strength away, I lack the power to
call the Earth to my purpose.тАЭ

тАЬThen you canтАЩt help me, either.тАЭ His voice was flat and hopeless.
 тАЬI still have the salve that eased your back. But it wonтАЩt help you now, it
wonтАЩt melt away your dragonтАЩs skin. ... I couldnтАЩt help your real needs, even if I had
all my power.тАЭ

тАЬWhat do you mean?тАЭ He thrust his face at her. тАЬYou think thatтАЩs why IтАЩve
come to youтАФto be rid of this skin? What makes you think IтАЩd ever want to give up
my power, my protection?тАЭ He clawed at his arms.

тАЬItтАЩs not a manтАЩs skin that makes him a godтАФor a mon-ster,тАЭ Fallatha said
quietly. тАЬItтАЩs what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes. YouтАЩve lost your soul, as I
lost mine; and only you know where to find it. ... But perhaps it would do you good
to shed that skin that keeps you safe from hatred; and from love and joy and mercy,
all the other feelings that might pass between human beings, between your people
and their king.тАЭ

тАЬYes! Yes, I want to be free of it, by the Holy Sun!тАЭ His defiance collapsed
under the weight of the truth: He saw at last that he had come here this time to rid
himself of the same things he had come to rid himself ofтАФand to findтАФbefore. тАЬI
have a last boon due me from the dragon. It made me as I am; it can unmake me.тАЭ
He ran his hands down his chest, feeling the slippery, unyielding scales hidden
beneath the rich cloth of his shirt.

тАЬYou mean to seek it out again, then?тАЭ

He nodded, and his hands made fists.

She carried the baby with her to the shelf above the crooked window, took
down a small earthenware pot. She opened it and held it close to the childтАЩs face still
buried at her breast; the baby sagged into sleep in the crook of her arm. She turned
back to his uncomprehending face. тАЬThe little one will sleep now until I wake her.
We can take the inner way, as we did before.тАЭ

тАЬYouтАЩre coming? Why?тАЭ

тАЬYou didnтАЩt ask me that before. Why ask it now?тАЭ

He wasnтАЩt sure whether it was a question or an answer. Feeling as though not
only his body but his mind was an empty shell, he shrugged and kept silent.

They made the nightmare climb into blackness again, worming their way
upward through the mountainтАЩs entrails; but this time she did not leave him where the
mountain spewed them out, close under the weeping lid of the sky. He rested the
night with the mother of his child, the two of them lying together but apart. At dawn