Yolen, Jane Pit Dragon 02 Heart's Blood

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.Jakkin could see the smile as the man dipped his hand into the vat and wiped a smear of blood into hismouth. How-how can he do that? Jakkin asked, remembering suddenly the steaks Kkarina served at dinner,smothered in rich red sauce.Sarkkhan ignored the real question. Once the dragon s been dead a minute, he said, the blood losesits heat and no longer bums.Jakkin could feel tears, hot as dragon s blood, starting in his eyes.He blinked them away.He had heardalmost nothing from the cull when it died; just a brief spit of color, and it was gone.He recalled thenursery culling sessions and how he had helped, feeling only the smallest agony, hearing Likkarn remarkmatter-of-factly, The meat is sweeter nearer the egg. It was an old farm saying.He promised himselfagain that he wouldn t make culls of any of Heart s Blood s hatchlings.He would not be party to theirdeaths.The men were sending in the next cull, having disposed of the first body onto a cart that was pulledthrough a dark doorway.They joked and moved with ease.Jakkin thought they couldn t possibly haveheard the dragon.No one could do this kind of work if he were linked to the cull.He turned away.If he looked anymore, he d be sick and disgrace himself.Sarkkhan remained facing the slaughterhouse, legs spread apart, arms folded, jaw tight, watching.Several more times Jakkin s mind was touched by the briefest moment of color, which he knew to be adying cull s only protest.One was almost a rainbow, and he shuddered.What if that had been Heart sBlood s own?Then Sarkkhan spoke. They re bringing him in.Jakkin knew he meant S Blood, and one part of him wanted to run away as far and as fast as he couldgo.But another part issued a clear reminder: Be a man-and stay.There was one thing he could do tohelp S Blood still.He could touch the brown dragon s mind and send him some measure of peace.Jakkin shut his eyes.S Blood s groggy protests were slow slashes of yellow against a grey, foggybackdrop. Good-bye, brave worm, Jakkin whispered, letting the thought fly like an arrow toward S Blood.He had time for only that one quick sending before there was an agonizing streak of bright yellow pain.Itblotted out all other colors, all other sensations.Then the yellow began a slow leakage off to the left-handside, draining away to a somber grey background.Only one small, bright, flickering bit of yellowremained in the center of the grey, a candle flame that suddenly guttered and went out, leaving a wisp oflighter grey in the dark, like smoke from a candle snuff. I ll never forgive you for this, Jakkin saidquietly. Would you rather have watched him die slowly over the days in agony? Suffocation is not an easy deathfor a dragon. I could have explained it to him, Jakkin said. You mean you d have looked for forgiveness, said Sarkkhan. I ve lost dragons before.I know.Jakkin didn t answer, but he refused to cry.He wiped his nose once on his sleeve.Men didn t cry. Come on, Sarkkhan said, returning to the Stew.Jakkin went past him and out of the building without looking back.He turned right, then left, then rightand right again until he was thoroughly lost in the mirrored maze of the city, and not caring that he waslost. Lost! He laughed bitterly at himself. Just as Golden wanted it. He was standing in a small, poorly litsquare, wondering what to do next when a hand on his shoulder turned him.He wasn t startled, havinghalf expected it and expecting, too, to meet a rebel with Golden s name on his lips.It was no hard-faced rebel but the girl from the party, the blond with the hair like a crown.This time herdress was opaque and covered further with a light cloak.She was smiling. I m a friend of Akki s, she said. Come with me.There s someone who wants to meet you.I followedyou from the Pit. Did you? he asked distractedly. It s easy to follow someone who s a stranger in The Rokk, she said. The mirrors slow him down.Without hesitation, he went with her.She had said Akki s name, not Golden s, but then S Blood s deathhad not been in either of the senator s original plans.Obviously Golden had changed things.Bonderswere right.Plans filled no bags.chapter 28IT WAS LUCKY Jakkin had someone to follow, for it was beginning to get dark, and the maze ofwindowed streets was alternately shadow and light.The light, coming from the gaudy bars and steamystewhouses, made the black alleys under the ramps blacker.The mirrors multiplied shadows until it washard to know what was real and what was not.Jakkin stayed as close to the girl as he dared without ever once touching her.She seemed to know everybend and turning, never once making a mistake.At last she slipped into a narrow alleyway between twoindistinguishable sandbrick buildings, both painted with wild designs.Jakkin caught his breath quickly and went after her.She opened a door that blazed with sudden light andpulled him in.He knew at once he was in a baggery by the filtered lights, the gauzy curtains on the barred windows, theprofusion of low couches and pillows on the floor, and the gentle pulsations of a hidden band.He sworeat himself, calling himself all sorts of lizard scum [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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