"Jane Yolen - Pit Dragon 03 - A Sending of Dragons" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yolen Jane)

begun to graze on their own in the various high meadows full of wort and weed, they hated giving up their
ritual of sharing. Jakkin had to admit that he also hated to think about giving it up. He smiled tenderly at
the dragon.

тАЬBig babies,тАЭ Akki whispered.

Jakkin ignored her and focused on Sssargon. тАЬHere, big fellow,тАЭ he said aloud, adding a quick
green-tinged visualization of the wort.

SssargonтАЩs rough tongue snagged the plant from JakkinтАЩs hand, and his answer was the crisp snip-snap
of wort being crunched between his teeth.

Sssasha landed just as Sssargon began to eat, with neither fanfare nor commentary. She stepped over his
outstretched tail but folded her wings a second too soon, which made her cant to one side. She had to
flip her outside wing open again in order to right herself The red flicker of amusement that Sssargon sent
through all their minds made Jakkin sputter. Akki broke into a cascade of giggles, but Sssasha was too
even-tempered to mind. She was as sunny as the splash of gold across her nose, a slash of color
that-along with her even disposition and placid ways-would have made her unfit either to fight in the pits
as had her mother, HeartтАЩs Blood, or to be considered for spaying and dwarfing as a beauty, a house
pet. Jakkin realized, with a kind of dawning horror, that Sssasha would have been one of the early culls in
the nurseries, where hatchlings were bred for only one of three destinies. The bonders said, pit, pet, or
stew. Jakkin swallowed hastily at the thought of Sssasha in one of the stews, a green-suited steward
standing over her, placing a stinger to her ear, a knife at her throat. He bit his lip, all laughter gone.

тАЬWhat pain?тАЭ SssashaтАЩs question poked into his mind.

тАЬNo pain,тАЭ Jakkin said aloud, but his mind transferred a different thought.

тАЬYes, pain, тАЭ insisted Sssasha.

тАЬOld pain. Gone. Jakkin made his mind a careful blank. It was hard work, and he could feel himself
starting to perspire.

тАЬGood, тАЭ said Sssasha.

тАЬYesssssss, good, тАЭ Sssargon interrupted suddenly, exploding red bomb bursts in JakkinтАЩs head.
тАЬSssargon have great hunger.тАЭ

Akki, who had been following this silent exchange thoughtfully, soothed them all with a picture of a cool
blue rain, holding it in mind long enough for Jakkin to go back into the cave for two more large handfuls
of won.

Once in the cave, Jakkin was able to let his guard down for a minute, though he reminded himself that
even in the cool darkness of the cave, behind walls of stone, he could not be private. His mind was an
open invitation to Akki or any dragon who wanted to enter it. Only with the most careful and arduous
concentration could he guard its entrance. He had to visualize a wall built up plank by plank or a heavy
drapery drawn across it inch by inch. And usually by the time he had carefully constructed these images,
the traitor thoughts had already slipped out. He wondered how dragons kept secrets or even if they had
secrets to keep. Everything he thought or felt was now open and public.