"CHAP-05" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 3 - The Queen Of Swords)THE QUEEN OF SWORDS! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN 2566 A.D.! By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Five "Who `paid' you to do this?" I hissed, holding the bleeding, gasping, dying woman in my arms. "Who paid you to kill me?" The thrust had been "fatal". I am of the Warrioresses. We are also taught about such things. How to kill swiftly. I supposed that I should have struck her somewhere else, but at the time I "had" as I later told my friend Lorraine, "been in somewhat of a hurry"! "My husband, my children died in your `revolution'," she gasped, clutching herself, the blood now running from her mouth. "Damn you for the bitch you........," she gasped out, dying then! Slumping down in my arms, her lifeless eyes staring into my own!! Accusing eyes that seemed to yet burn into mine with a hot hate! Her blood soaking into my bedding, staining my lovely bedspread!! "You lead an `exciting life'," Lorraine said to me, looking somewhat "disheveled" from having been awoke from a sound sleep. The awesome Warlady of the Empire regarding the assassin's body still lying there on the bed where I had left it. The covers, the sheets now all soaking wet with her blood. Some still on me. The crossbow bolt had been, as I had suspected, well poisoned. I supposed she had "nursed" her "hatred" until it finally took over her very mind. Drove her to attempt to kill me in "revenge" for what had happened there when Sanda's revolution had overthrown an old dying "corrupt" order. As her Queen I had been her "target". I wondered for a moment why she had gone after me instead of say Lorraine or the Lady Sanda Talen, both who had been much more re- sponsible than me for the revolution that had cost her so much! At least she hadn't been a `agent' of Princess Tara as I thought! "She said she wanted me dead because of the `revolution'," I told Lorraine. There had been those who had "suffered" because of it. I wondered why she came after me instead of say Sanda? "You're `lucky'," she smiled, holding the poisoned bolt. "Skill, not `luck'," I smiled back, remembering it all. "You're lucky you're a light sleeper," Lorraine smiled back. "I'm not going to be exactly too `popular' here in Talon," I pointed out as Black Lady crossed the border between Talon and Trelandar at an attitude of about thirteen thousand feet there in the early afternoon. The people of Talon had good reason to hate me for what I had done, or had allowed Princess Tara as my Warla- dy to do to them. Tara having used much the same "tactics" that she had used there in Trelandar and later on against Dularn too. "Tactics" that had later on "cost" me more than what they gained! I had been too "willing" back then to do whatever Tara asked too! Willing to "look the other way" in my burning lust for conquest. I fear I am a sinner who will no doubt be judged harshly by Lys. "About like me in Dularn with Maris," Lorraine smiled back. I suspected however that the hostility would be considerably worse. The people of Talon had extremely good reason to hate me! Tara had used a "scorched earth" policy that had horrified peo- ple! Spreading death and destruction wherever our troops passed! Even to killing the cats and dogs so that nothing was left alive! "What puzzles me is why Talon allied themselves with Tara," Lorraine mused, gazing out through the windshield at the moun- tains that now seemed to tower up around us. "Especially since Tara was your Warlady and the one who gave them so much trouble." "Tara can have a `silver tongue' when she wishes," I smiled. The Bajan Princess is a very skillful "saleswoman" when it comes to something that she really desires. I know from my own past experiences with her. No doubt Tara had blamed me for all of it! Saying that all her "activities" had been done at my own command! "Let's just hope Gayle made a bit of `headway' for us," she smiled back. Lorraine having flown Gayle to the capital of Talon only a few days before. Trying to do with Gayle what she was trying to do with Sharon in Dularn. I wondered if it would work? "Those birds scare me," Lorraine breathed as we saw several there in the air circling over the city below. The figures of young girls on their backs. A Tarl is much like a gigantic eagle with a wingspan of thirty five feet, but yet capable of carrying a small woman or teenage girl on its back. I was once told by Queen Dala Dai that she understood that they were the product of "genetic engineering" back in the 21st Century. That no other form of life has dual hearts, or the lung design they do that al- lowed them to exist. To fly, to soar with a girl on their backs. "A `mid-air'?" I smiled back, well aware of the dangers. A Tarl weighs over three hundred and fifty pounds, even without its lovely feminine hundred pound rider. We probably wouldn't sur- vive it hitting one. Not flying at well over a hundred knots! "If Queen Dala ever gets the idea to try taking over the world, those birds could be an awesome weapon in her hands," my Warlady smiled back. "And this airplane is all we have." I nod- ded, gave her a smile. Talon is a peace-loving country. They only wish to be "left alone". The "Switzerland" of this era. "A lovely city," I smiled, looking at Talon's capital. It is named after the country, or perhaps vice-versa for all I know. The white stone lovely, the city like something out of mythology. It is nestled in a lovely valley between snow capped mountains. The valley well watered, warm, making ideal farmland for its peo- ple. It is a beautiful country, and very well "defended" too as I had found out to my "discomfort" some dozen years there before! I saw Queen Dala Dai's head go up, saw the expression harden on her attractive well molded face as the little brunette Queen saw me standing there beside Lorraine in my lovely golden mesh. The tiara, the cape, the attire I wore as Empress of California. There was a chill in the air, but nothing like that I was now re- ceiving from those of Talon. As I had feared, the hatred was still strong. Too many of the people of Talon had died in the war against the Empire. There were too many widows, widowers for me to be welcome in this beautiful and lovely exotic country now. "She is not welcome here," Dala Dai snapped at Lorraine. I saw Gayle standing tall and golden there at her side, seeming to almost tower over her. The Queen of Talon being no more than 5'1" if all of that. She is a very beautiful woman, very exqui- site in her appearance. Her silvery blue silk gown was lovely. Clinging delightfully to her slim body. I had no doubt that she was a Queen that was capable of much. She had taken command of her forces after the death of her husband. Defeated me. Rode one of the great birds herself in combat. I respected her great- ly. Talon, like Dularn, is a "Queendom", ruled always by a wom- an. Such things are, I believe, an attempt at something perhaps not clearly understood. There was only one "Janet Rogers". There probably will never be another. Perhaps it is just as well too. The "legend" and the "reality" are entirely different "truths". I know of what I speak. Of what "too much power" can do even to one like her. We do not need another world dictator. "What Tara did to you was not at Darlanis' orders," Lorraine retorted, standing there with me. The plane floating behind us. The city is built around a small lake about half a mile across with the palace looking out on it. Talon is a very lovely place. Lorraine says that it reminds her of ancient Greece in its glory. "It was Darlanis who declared war upon us, not Tara," Dala snapped back. She was quick witted, a capable, competent woman. Around her a number of her own people, all "small" like she was. Not even any of her warriors "matching" Lorraine or me in height! "It was a `deed' that I have regretted ever since," I told her. "Something that I know now I never should have ever done." There were a number of the warriors of Talon with her. Those we had fought on the ground. Their archery had been awesome. Ta- lon, like Dularn far to the north, believes in universal military training. Both sexes are trained in the use of weapons. Only a woman, however, may ride one of the great birds. They also have warrioresses like the Empire, although they are not as good in a fight as our own. Their size, strength, being less. The people of Talon are small, the men often no larger than Imperial women!* * This appears to be due to their cultural practices of consider- ing only small people to be "desirable" as marital partners. I suspect that their reaction to Darlanis was also due to her size. The average woman of Talon stands only a little over five feet, the men being about six inches taller. Darlanis at 5'10" doubt- lessly caused them all certain "disturbing" feelings. (Lorraine) "Ever since we beat you!" Dala snapped back. I saw several of the great birds overhead. The source of Talon's military pow- er. The birds had terrified my Legions. Made further combat al- most impossible. Made my warrioresses' unicorns uncontrollable as they swooped down over them! The speed of a Tarl in a dive is well in excess of 80 mph. They are hard to hit with a crossbow. "But it is to your credit that you never attempted to follow up on your victory," Lorraine quickly interjected here, sensing my anger. Perhaps well aware that both of us could be spitfires! "We are a `civilized people'," Queen Dala Dai smiled back. The implication being of course that Californians were not such. I felt the welcome warmth of the sun on my shoulders beneath my cape. The air was rather chilly, perhaps due to the altitude of Talon which lies at several thousand feet above true "sea level". "And this is a very beautiful country," I added, smiling, wondering how many further "insults" I would have to endure now! "Which you did your best to destroy," Queen Dala snapped. "Dammit, that was twelve years ago!" Lorraine snapped back. "And she left me a widow, my children without a father," the Queen of Talon retorted back at Lorraine. "All because she want- ed to become another damn Janet Rogers! Rule the entire world!" "Take Black Lady back to Trella," Lorraine said, tossing me the keys. "I'll deal with things here." It was a dismissal. I nodded, understanding. The hatred against me was too strong now. ***************************************************************** I stood there on the rooftop of Lorraine's palace and looked out over the great harbor and the city spreading out before me. I had no friends here. No one who cared much for me. With Queen Lorraine now gone Lady Sanda was running Trelandar. I had killed her sister in a sword duel fifteen years ago. The hatred yet burned. She was a widow, pregnant, now "swelling" with new life. My mother Aurora was the Lorr ambassador to Trelandar. I had no wish to meet her, to speak with her. The "hurt" was too strong!* * Aurora later said to me that like steel I had to be "tempered". That I would not have "become" the woman I have become otherwise. On the other hand it is a "hell of a way" to raise your daughter! I thought of flying north, refueling in Sarn. Making that long "hop" all the way to Dularn. To be with my Sharon again. I needed "comforting". Someone that I could talk with. A friend. Sharon was such to me. Someone who "understood", "respected" me. The sun was setting in the west, the sky aglow with color. I saw the outline of a three masted schooner there on the distant horizon. I knew that Jon Richards had taken the Squala to Mexico with Lorraine's other two schooners. I didn't think any ship of Dularn would be sailing this close to a California coastline yet! Maris having two such vessels, North Wind and the new North Star. I knew Lorraine had three big ones of her own under construction. "The Seahawk!" I breathed to myself. Perhaps it was coming into Trella! And on it would be a friend of mine, provocative, sensual, at times risque Lara Warsan, the famous "Lara of Trelan- dar"! Now the Princess of Baja, although Tara did not recognize the marriage her son had made. Memories flooding back as I raced down the stairs through Lorraine's palace (once mine). Seizing a unicorn from a surprised warrioress to gallop madly through the city of Trella to where Black Lady now laid tied to the dock! THE QUEEN OF SWORDS! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN 2566 A.D.! By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Five "Who `paid' you to do this?" I hissed, holding the bleeding, gasping, dying woman in my arms. "Who paid you to kill me?" The thrust had been "fatal". I am of the Warrioresses. We are also taught about such things. How to kill swiftly. I supposed that I should have struck her somewhere else, but at the time I "had" as I later told my friend Lorraine, "been in somewhat of a hurry"! "My husband, my children died in your `revolution'," she gasped, clutching herself, the blood now running from her mouth. "Damn you for the bitch you........," she gasped out, dying then! Slumping down in my arms, her lifeless eyes staring into my own!! Accusing eyes that seemed to yet burn into mine with a hot hate! Her blood soaking into my bedding, staining my lovely bedspread!! "You lead an `exciting life'," Lorraine said to me, looking somewhat "disheveled" from having been awoke from a sound sleep. The awesome Warlady of the Empire regarding the assassin's body still lying there on the bed where I had left it. The covers, the sheets now all soaking wet with her blood. Some still on me. The crossbow bolt had been, as I had suspected, well poisoned. I supposed she had "nursed" her "hatred" until it finally took over her very mind. Drove her to attempt to kill me in "revenge" for what had happened there when Sanda's revolution had overthrown an old dying "corrupt" order. As her Queen I had been her "target". I wondered for a moment why she had gone after me instead of say Lorraine or the Lady Sanda Talen, both who had been much more re- sponsible than me for the revolution that had cost her so much! At least she hadn't been a `agent' of Princess Tara as I thought! "She said she wanted me dead because of the `revolution'," I told Lorraine. There had been those who had "suffered" because of it. I wondered why she came after me instead of say Sanda? "You're `lucky'," she smiled, holding the poisoned bolt. "Skill, not `luck'," I smiled back, remembering it all. "You're lucky you're a light sleeper," Lorraine smiled back. "I'm not going to be exactly too `popular' here in Talon," I pointed out as Black Lady crossed the border between Talon and Trelandar at an attitude of about thirteen thousand feet there in the early afternoon. The people of Talon had good reason to hate me for what I had done, or had allowed Princess Tara as my Warla- dy to do to them. Tara having used much the same "tactics" that she had used there in Trelandar and later on against Dularn too. "Tactics" that had later on "cost" me more than what they gained! I had been too "willing" back then to do whatever Tara asked too! Willing to "look the other way" in my burning lust for conquest. I fear I am a sinner who will no doubt be judged harshly by Lys. "About like me in Dularn with Maris," Lorraine smiled back. I suspected however that the hostility would be considerably worse. The people of Talon had extremely good reason to hate me! Tara had used a "scorched earth" policy that had horrified peo- ple! Spreading death and destruction wherever our troops passed! Even to killing the cats and dogs so that nothing was left alive! "What puzzles me is why Talon allied themselves with Tara," Lorraine mused, gazing out through the windshield at the moun- tains that now seemed to tower up around us. "Especially since Tara was your Warlady and the one who gave them so much trouble." "Tara can have a `silver tongue' when she wishes," I smiled. The Bajan Princess is a very skillful "saleswoman" when it comes to something that she really desires. I know from my own past experiences with her. No doubt Tara had blamed me for all of it! Saying that all her "activities" had been done at my own command! "Let's just hope Gayle made a bit of `headway' for us," she smiled back. Lorraine having flown Gayle to the capital of Talon only a few days before. Trying to do with Gayle what she was trying to do with Sharon in Dularn. I wondered if it would work? "Those birds scare me," Lorraine breathed as we saw several there in the air circling over the city below. The figures of young girls on their backs. A Tarl is much like a gigantic eagle with a wingspan of thirty five feet, but yet capable of carrying a small woman or teenage girl on its back. I was once told by Queen Dala Dai that she understood that they were the product of "genetic engineering" back in the 21st Century. That no other form of life has dual hearts, or the lung design they do that al- lowed them to exist. To fly, to soar with a girl on their backs. "A `mid-air'?" I smiled back, well aware of the dangers. A Tarl weighs over three hundred and fifty pounds, even without its lovely feminine hundred pound rider. We probably wouldn't sur- vive it hitting one. Not flying at well over a hundred knots! "If Queen Dala ever gets the idea to try taking over the world, those birds could be an awesome weapon in her hands," my Warlady smiled back. "And this airplane is all we have." I nod- ded, gave her a smile. Talon is a peace-loving country. They only wish to be "left alone". The "Switzerland" of this era. "A lovely city," I smiled, looking at Talon's capital. It is named after the country, or perhaps vice-versa for all I know. The white stone lovely, the city like something out of mythology. It is nestled in a lovely valley between snow capped mountains. The valley well watered, warm, making ideal farmland for its peo- ple. It is a beautiful country, and very well "defended" too as I had found out to my "discomfort" some dozen years there before! I saw Queen Dala Dai's head go up, saw the expression harden on her attractive well molded face as the little brunette Queen saw me standing there beside Lorraine in my lovely golden mesh. The tiara, the cape, the attire I wore as Empress of California. There was a chill in the air, but nothing like that I was now re- ceiving from those of Talon. As I had feared, the hatred was still strong. Too many of the people of Talon had died in the war against the Empire. There were too many widows, widowers for me to be welcome in this beautiful and lovely exotic country now. "She is not welcome here," Dala Dai snapped at Lorraine. I saw Gayle standing tall and golden there at her side, seeming to almost tower over her. The Queen of Talon being no more than 5'1" if all of that. She is a very beautiful woman, very exqui- site in her appearance. Her silvery blue silk gown was lovely. Clinging delightfully to her slim body. I had no doubt that she was a Queen that was capable of much. She had taken command of her forces after the death of her husband. Defeated me. Rode one of the great birds herself in combat. I respected her great- ly. Talon, like Dularn, is a "Queendom", ruled always by a wom- an. Such things are, I believe, an attempt at something perhaps not clearly understood. There was only one "Janet Rogers". There probably will never be another. Perhaps it is just as well too. The "legend" and the "reality" are entirely different "truths". I know of what I speak. Of what "too much power" can do even to one like her. We do not need another world dictator. "What Tara did to you was not at Darlanis' orders," Lorraine retorted, standing there with me. The plane floating behind us. The city is built around a small lake about half a mile across with the palace looking out on it. Talon is a very lovely place. Lorraine says that it reminds her of ancient Greece in its glory. "It was Darlanis who declared war upon us, not Tara," Dala snapped back. She was quick witted, a capable, competent woman. Around her a number of her own people, all "small" like she was. Not even any of her warriors "matching" Lorraine or me in height! "It was a `deed' that I have regretted ever since," I told her. "Something that I know now I never should have ever done." There were a number of the warriors of Talon with her. Those we had fought on the ground. Their archery had been awesome. Ta- lon, like Dularn far to the north, believes in universal military training. Both sexes are trained in the use of weapons. Only a woman, however, may ride one of the great birds. They also have warrioresses like the Empire, although they are not as good in a fight as our own. Their size, strength, being less. The people of Talon are small, the men often no larger than Imperial women!* * This appears to be due to their cultural practices of consider- ing only small people to be "desirable" as marital partners. I suspect that their reaction to Darlanis was also due to her size. The average woman of Talon stands only a little over five feet, the men being about six inches taller. Darlanis at 5'10" doubt- lessly caused them all certain "disturbing" feelings. (Lorraine) "Ever since we beat you!" Dala snapped back. I saw several of the great birds overhead. The source of Talon's military pow- er. The birds had terrified my Legions. Made further combat al- most impossible. Made my warrioresses' unicorns uncontrollable as they swooped down over them! The speed of a Tarl in a dive is well in excess of 80 mph. They are hard to hit with a crossbow. "But it is to your credit that you never attempted to follow up on your victory," Lorraine quickly interjected here, sensing my anger. Perhaps well aware that both of us could be spitfires! "We are a `civilized people'," Queen Dala Dai smiled back. The implication being of course that Californians were not such. I felt the welcome warmth of the sun on my shoulders beneath my cape. The air was rather chilly, perhaps due to the altitude of Talon which lies at several thousand feet above true "sea level". "And this is a very beautiful country," I added, smiling, wondering how many further "insults" I would have to endure now! "Which you did your best to destroy," Queen Dala snapped. "Dammit, that was twelve years ago!" Lorraine snapped back. "And she left me a widow, my children without a father," the Queen of Talon retorted back at Lorraine. "All because she want- ed to become another damn Janet Rogers! Rule the entire world!" "Take Black Lady back to Trella," Lorraine said, tossing me the keys. "I'll deal with things here." It was a dismissal. I nodded, understanding. The hatred against me was too strong now. ***************************************************************** I stood there on the rooftop of Lorraine's palace and looked out over the great harbor and the city spreading out before me. I had no friends here. No one who cared much for me. With Queen Lorraine now gone Lady Sanda was running Trelandar. I had killed her sister in a sword duel fifteen years ago. The hatred yet burned. She was a widow, pregnant, now "swelling" with new life. My mother Aurora was the Lorr ambassador to Trelandar. I had no wish to meet her, to speak with her. The "hurt" was too strong!* * Aurora later said to me that like steel I had to be "tempered". That I would not have "become" the woman I have become otherwise. On the other hand it is a "hell of a way" to raise your daughter! I thought of flying north, refueling in Sarn. Making that long "hop" all the way to Dularn. To be with my Sharon again. I needed "comforting". Someone that I could talk with. A friend. Sharon was such to me. Someone who "understood", "respected" me. The sun was setting in the west, the sky aglow with color. I saw the outline of a three masted schooner there on the distant horizon. I knew that Jon Richards had taken the Squala to Mexico with Lorraine's other two schooners. I didn't think any ship of Dularn would be sailing this close to a California coastline yet! Maris having two such vessels, North Wind and the new North Star. I knew Lorraine had three big ones of her own under construction. "The Seahawk!" I breathed to myself. Perhaps it was coming into Trella! And on it would be a friend of mine, provocative, sensual, at times risque Lara Warsan, the famous "Lara of Trelan- dar"! Now the Princess of Baja, although Tara did not recognize the marriage her son had made. Memories flooding back as I raced down the stairs through Lorraine's palace (once mine). Seizing a unicorn from a surprised warrioress to gallop madly through the city of Trella to where Black Lady now laid tied to the dock! |
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