"Nancy Kress - And Wild for to Hold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kress Nancy)

AND WILD FOR TO HOLD
Nancy Kress


The demon came to her first in the long gallery at Hever Castle. She had
gone there to watch Henry ride away, magnificent on his huge charger,
the horse's legs barely visible through the summer dust raised by the
king's entourage. But Henry himself was visible. He rose in his stirrups to
half-turn his gaze back to the manor house, searching its sun-glazed
windows to see if she watched. The spurned lover, riding off, watching
over his shoulder the effect he himself made. She knew just how his eyes
would look, small blue eyes under the curling red-gold hair. Mournful.
Shrewd. Undeterred.

Anne Boleyn was not moved. Let him ride. She had not wanted him at
Hever in the first place.

As she turned from the gallery window, a glint of light in the far corner
caught her eye, and there for the first time was the demon.

It was made all of light, which did not surprise her. Was not Satan
himself called Lucifer? The light was square, a perfectly square box such
as no light had ever been before. Anne crossed herself and stepped
forward. The box of light brightened, then winked out.

Anne stood perfectly still. She was not afraid; very little made her
afraid. But nonetheless she crossed herself again and uttered a prayer. It
would be unfortunate if a demon took up residence at Hever. Demons
could be dangerous.

Like kings.


Lambert half-turned from her console toward Culhane, working across
the room. "Culhane—they said she was a witch."

"Yes? So?" Culhane said. "In the 1500s they said any powerful woman
was a witch."
 No, it was more. They said it before she became powerful." Culhane
didn't answer. After a moment Lambert said quietly, "The Rahvoli
equations keep flagging her."

Culhane grew very still. Finally he said, "Let me see." He crossed the
bare, small room to Lambert's console. She steadied the picture on the
central square. At the moment the console appeared in this location as a
series of interlocking squares mounting from floor to ceiling. Some of the
squares were solid real-time alloys; some were holo simulations; some
were not there at all, neither in space nor time, although they appeared to
be. The project focus square, which was there, said: