"Anthony Piers - NightMare" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

the bottom of a canyon rushing up at him as his stubby arms
windmilled futilely. Better the dragon than this, and better

Night Mare 3

the draft than the dragonЧbut now it was too late for ei-
ther.

It was too much. Bawling out his terror, be woke.

Imbri leaped through the wall, phasing into intangibility.
She had misjudged the client's reaction to the dream and
had almost been caught visible. ,It was very bad form for
any night mare to be seen by a waking person, even one as
insignificant as a goblin. She galloped out into the night,
leaving only a single hoofprint behind as a signature. That
signature was important; Imbri was a perfectionist, and
liked to put her personal stamp on every bad dream she

delivered.

Dawn was threatening. Fortunately, this was her last

call; now she could go home and relax and graze for the
day. She galloped across the land, passing through trees
and bushes, until she came to a patch of hypnogourds.
Without pause she dived into a ripe gourdЧa feat that
would have surprised anyone who was not conversant with
magic, as horses were much larger than gourdsЧand was
instantly in an alternate world.

Soon she was on the dusky plain, with the other mares of
the night mare herd converging, all returning from duty.
Their hoofprints bore maps of the moon, with its green
cheese and holes, and the names of the individual mares
highlighted thereon. MARE HUMERUM, MARE NU-
BIUM, MARE FRIGORIS, MARE NECTARIS, MAKE,
AUSTRALEЧall her old immortal friends, all with seas of
the moon named after them, in honor of their nocturnal

performance over the centuries.

Another mare galloped up to intercept Imbri. It was
Crisium, serving as temporary liaison to the Night Stallion.
She projected a dreamlet the moment she came within
range. It was the scene of an elf, waving his arms in ani-
mated speech. "Imbril" the elf exclaimed. "Report to Tro-
jan right away!" The brief dream faded.

A summons from the Dark Horse himself? That was not