JК
Abarat :: Barker Clive
Страница: 2 из 234"I swear, Diamanda, this isno natural storm!"
Diamanda, the oldest of the three women, sat in the center of the tiny vessel with her dark blue robes gathered around her and their precious cargo pressed to her bosom.
"Let's not get hysterical," she told Joephi and Mespa. She wiped a long piece of white hair out of her eyes. "Nobody saw us leave the Palace of Bowers. We escaped unseen, I'm certain of it."
"So why this storm?" said Mespa, who was a black woman, renowned for her resilience, but who now looked close to being washed away by the rain beating down on the women's heads.
"Why are you so surprised that the heavens complain?" Diamanda said. "Didn't we know the world would be turned upside down by what just happened?"
Joephi fought with the sail, cursing it.
"Indeed, isn't this the way it should be?" Diamanda went on. "Isn't it right that the sky is torn to tatters and the sea put in a frenzy? Would we prefer it if the world did not care?"
"No, no of course not," said Mespa, holding on to the edge of the pitching boat, her face as white as her close-cropped hair was black. "I just wish we weren't out in the middle of it all."
"Well, we are!" said the old woman. "And there's not a thing any of us can do about it. So I suggest you finish emptying your stomach, Mespa—"
"It is empty," the sick woman said. "I have nothing left to bring."
"—and you Joephi, handle the sail—"
"Oh, Goddesses…"Joephi murmured. " Look ."
"What is it?" said Diamanda.
Joephi pointed up into the sky.
Several stars had been shaken down from the firmament—great white cobs of fire piercing the clouds and falling seaward. One of them was heading directly toward The Lyre .
"Down!" Joephi yelled, catching hold of the back of Diamanda's robes and pushing the old woman off her seat.
Diamanda hated to be touched; manhandling , she called it. She started to berate Joephi roundly for what she'd done, but she was drowned out by the roaring sound of the falling star as it rushed toward the vessel. It burst the billowing sail of The Lyre , burning a hole right through the canvas, and then plunged into the sea, where it was extinguished with a great hissing sound.
"I swear that was meant for us," Mespa said when they had all raised their heads from the boards. She helped Diamanda to her feet.
"All right," the old lady replied, yelling over the din of the seething waters, "that was closer than I would have liked.
Diamanda, the oldest of the three women, sat in the center of the tiny vessel with her dark blue robes gathered around her and their precious cargo pressed to her bosom.
"Let's not get hysterical," she told Joephi and Mespa. She wiped a long piece of white hair out of her eyes. "Nobody saw us leave the Palace of Bowers. We escaped unseen, I'm certain of it."
"So why this storm?" said Mespa, who was a black woman, renowned for her resilience, but who now looked close to being washed away by the rain beating down on the women's heads.
"Why are you so surprised that the heavens complain?" Diamanda said. "Didn't we know the world would be turned upside down by what just happened?"
Joephi fought with the sail, cursing it.
"Indeed, isn't this the way it should be?" Diamanda went on. "Isn't it right that the sky is torn to tatters and the sea put in a frenzy? Would we prefer it if the world did not care?"
"No, no of course not," said Mespa, holding on to the edge of the pitching boat, her face as white as her close-cropped hair was black. "I just wish we weren't out in the middle of it all."
"Well, we are!" said the old woman. "And there's not a thing any of us can do about it. So I suggest you finish emptying your stomach, Mespa—"
"It is empty," the sick woman said. "I have nothing left to bring."
"—and you Joephi, handle the sail—"
"Oh, Goddesses…"Joephi murmured. " Look ."
"What is it?" said Diamanda.
Joephi pointed up into the sky.
Several stars had been shaken down from the firmament—great white cobs of fire piercing the clouds and falling seaward. One of them was heading directly toward The Lyre .
"Down!" Joephi yelled, catching hold of the back of Diamanda's robes and pushing the old woman off her seat.
Diamanda hated to be touched; manhandling , she called it. She started to berate Joephi roundly for what she'd done, but she was drowned out by the roaring sound of the falling star as it rushed toward the vessel. It burst the billowing sail of The Lyre , burning a hole right through the canvas, and then plunged into the sea, where it was extinguished with a great hissing sound.
"I swear that was meant for us," Mespa said when they had all raised their heads from the boards. She helped Diamanda to her feet.
"All right," the old lady replied, yelling over the din of the seething waters, "that was closer than I would have liked.