"Anthony, Piers - Xanth 06 - Night Mare" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

fine white mane, a lovely tail, and his appearance was
marred only by a thin brass band about his left foreleg, at
ankle height. Imbri had never heard of a horse wearing a
bracelet-but, of course, the only horses she knew were
those of the gourd.

He halted when he spied Imbri. She became conscious of
the distinction between them: she was a black mare, he a
white stallion. She had understood there were no true
horses in Xanth, only part equines like the sea horses, horse-
flies, and centaurs. Her kind, the night mares, existed
separately in the gourd and did not roam freely when not
on business. There were also the daydream mares, but they
were completely invisible and immaterial, except to others
of their kind. What was this creature doing here?

She decided to ask him. She could have neighed, but
wasn't sure she could define her question well enough that
way. So she stepped forward somewhat diffidently and
projected a small dream. It was technically a daydream,
since this was day-a conscious kind of imagining, much
milder in content and intensity than the night visions she
normally carried. It was also less perfectly structured, since
she had no original text to work from. Anything could hap-
pen in an extemporaneous dream!

In this dream she assumed a talking form, that of a
young human woman garbed in black, with lustrous long
black hair in lieu of a mane and a skirt instead of a tail.
Skirts weren't as useful as tails, since they were no good for
swatting flies, but did serve to render mysterious that por-
tion of the anatomy that profited by such treatment. Hu-
man people almost always wore clothing over their func-
tional parts, as if they were ashamed of such parts; it was
one of a number of oddities about them. "Who are you?"
the dream girl inquired with a fetching smile.

The white horse's ears flattened in dismay and suspicion.
He wheeled and bolted, galloping away back west.




16

Night Mare

Imbri sighed through her nose. He had been such a
handsome creature! But apparently he was afraid of hu-
man people. Had she known, she would have projected