"Chalker, Jack L - Demons of the Dancing GodsUC - #2DG" - читать интересную книгу автора (Chalker Jack L)

into it from my side, it will certainly alert his Majesty, and I
would prefer he in particular learn nothing of our little project,
at least not yet, for understandable reasons. Since they worked
so well for Ruddygore, though, it is likely he will continue to
use them, and in that we might ultimately learn the secret
through your offices. Remember, Baron, that we are in a sense
kindred in this matter. Neither of us can afford to fail, and
both of us will suffer terribly if we do."

The Dark Baron nodded. The harsh and rugged land of
Husaquahr, dominated by the great River of Dancing Gods,
had never been totally conquered by force of arms and, as such,
it was the key to the domination of the entire continent. The
continent, in turn, was the key to the entire world, since a bare
majority of the Council of Thirteen, the most powerful nec-
romancers in the world, lived on itЧincluding, of course,
himself. Control of the Council meant the ability to rewrite the
Books of Rules, which governed the lives and powers of all
who lived on the world, and that meant absolute control. From
this world, formed by angels in the backwash of the Great
Creation, Hiccarph and the minions of Hell could launch an
invasion of Earth Prime, an Armageddon that might well have
a different ending from the one everybody and every holy book
of both worlds predicted.

Of course, there was more to it on a personal level than
merely giving Hell a great advantage. Hiccarph might be a
prince, but as his sphere of influence was Husaquahr and not
any place on Earth Prime, he was a decidedly minor one in
the Hellish hierarchy. If Hiccarph could deliver this world to
his Satanic Majesty free and clear, his standing in the royal
pecking order would be second only to great Lucifer himself.

But Hiccarph was taking a terrible gamble himself. For over
two thousand years there had existed a compact between Heaven
and Hell, a reordering of the rules of their great war. No longer
would angels and demons walk directly upon the planes of the
worlds, but would, instead, act through intermediaries native
to those planes exclusively. Thus balanced, the minds and souls
of the worlds would themselves choose sides and do the work
freely and for their own motives. To break the compact would

JACK L. CHALKER /

be tantamount to a formal declaration of war, the second War
of Heaven called Armageddon, a war Hell did not wish to fight
unless it believed it could win.

And yet Hiccarph had in fact broken the compact and di-
rectly intervened in Husaquahr. With his powers, unconstrained