"Liz Williams - Ikiryoh" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Liz)

The woman turned. “Why, what is wrong?"

"My ward is ill. Maybe the heat—I don't know."

"There is a clinic around the corner in Geng Street, but I should think they'll all be out watching the
procession,― the woman said.

The kappa thought so too, but she had little choice. What if the child was dying? She picked the ikiryoh
up and carried her through a gap in the buildings to Geng Street, which was little more than a collection of
shacks. I-Nami's benign influence had clearly not penetrated here—or perhaps it had, because the street
pump was working and when the kappa touched the button, a stream of clear water gushed out. She
wetted the corner of her skirt and dabbed at the child's face, then carried her on to the blue star that
signified the clinic.

At first, she thought that the woman had been right and there was no one there. But as she stood peering
through the door, she saw a figure in the back regions. She rapped on the glass. A stout woman in
red-patterned cloth came forward. Her face soured as she set eyes on the kappa.

"We're closed!"

"Please!― the kappa cried. She gestured to the child in her arms. Muttering, the woman unlocked the
door.

"You'd better bring her in. Put her there, on the couch. You're lucky I was here. I forgot my flower
petals, to throw. What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know. She suffers from these fits—I don't know what they are."

"You're her nurse?"

"Yes."

"She's very pale,― the woman said. “Poor little thing. The healer's out—we have three here, all of
them are traditional practitioners. I'll try and call them.― She pressed her earlobe between finger and
thumb. The kappa saw the gleam of green. “Ma Shen Shi? It's me, I'm at the clinic. There's a little girl
who fainted. Can you come?"

It seemed the answer was positive. “Sit down,― the woman said. “He'll be here in a bit."

The kappa waited, watching the child. She was whimpering and moaning, fists tightly clenched.

"Has she ever been this bad before?― the woman asked.

"No. She has—episodes.― The kappa glanced up as the door opened. A small, elderly man came in,
wearing the healer's red, with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Go and throw flower petals,― he said to the woman. “And you, kappa—do something useful
with yourself. Make tea. I will examine her."

The woman melted into the warm darkness outside. Reluctantly, the kappa found a kettle behind the