[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
They surrounded Jael, their light and energy turned in toward her, their
voices whispering lies and betrayal: "Windrush ...
traitor to your work ... to your deeds. . . . " The true,ones did not
understand all of the words they heard, but they felt their rage grow.
The enemies were a daunting force, but the ifflings were not to be deterred.
They spun about one another, gathering energy and determination, until their
presence burned even hotter and whiter than the flames of the false-ones.
They drew themselves together-and dove straight toward
Jael.
Jael woke up rubbing her eyes. The soft amber light of the clock told her
that it was the middle of the night. She heard a quiet snoring sound. It was
Ed the parrot, asleep in the holographic stondai plant in the center of a tiny
rainforest bolo in the corner of the room. The whole display had been turned
down for the night, and glowed just brightly enough to be visible.
What had awakened her? It was the damn nightmares.
Dreams of dragons, dreams of pain and need. But why now, after so much time?
It felt almost as if a voice were calling to her. She had dreamed often of
the dragons since leaving their realm, and it had taken her a long time to
accept that it was just her subconscious looking for excuses to return. But
lately, a new and somehow different sort of dream had been tormenting her.
She blinked in the darkness, remembering the man she had met just hours ago at
the bar. That conversation might explain tonight's dreams. But it didn't
explain the past week of them: dreams of strange
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...20A.%20Carver%20-%20Parr
one%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT (94 of 441)22-2-2006 1:19:23
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20d...paar/Jeffre
y%20A.%20Carver%20-%20Parrone%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT
beings dancing in the air, calling out to her, dreams filled with whispers of
heartbreaking betrayal, and helpless need.
The details of tonight's nightmare were already vanishing into the murk of
forgetfulness. But she knew it had been more vivid, more violent than any
before it-as if there were some kind of life-and-death struggle going on
around her, and yet not around her at all. It was extremely disturbing.
Worse, it had felt real to her in a way that no ordinary dream ever did.
She lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling, glowing faintly in the light of
the holotrees. A dream, real? She knew better than to dismiss the
possibility.
Some would have said that she plied her trade in a dreamland-and in a sense
that was true. The Flux that carried rigger-ships among the stars was a realm
in which real topographies were mapped and given form by the imagination of
the rigger-pilot. It was dream and reality, woven inseparably into one. But
it was different from the dream of sleep; the rigger-dream had real form, and
the power to physically transport its bearer, and the power to kill.
The nightmare from which she had just awakened had felt more like a stirring
of the Flux than a construct of the subconscious. It had felt like something
with the power of reality. But. . . she was not in the
Page 57
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Flux. She was in a dorm room. Without the rigger-net of the starship, there
was no way for the dream-images of the Flux to become real.
So it was just a bad dream, after all.
She stared up into the gloom of the dorm room that for the past eleven weeks
had been her home. She listened to Ed's soft breathing and thought that in a
way, Ed was just a dream, too; and yet, in another way, he was real as her
hand in front of her face.
If only she had someone else to talk to about it! If only At were here! But
At wouldn't be back for another week at best, if his flight stayed on
schedule. She almost wished she hadn't remained here on
Cargeeling while he'd accompanied another rigger to Benree, Vela Oasis, and
back. But At had been restless to fly, and their employer, Mariella Flaire,
had required someone she could trust to make the trip.
Jael had wanted some time off-from flying, and even from At. In two
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...20A.%20Carver%20-%20Parr
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
