"John DeChancie - Castle 04 - Castle War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dechancie John)

He raced on into a gloom relieved only by a few strange lighting fixtures in the shape of faceted jewels
that glowed faintly blue. He ran by an occasional blind alcove, no aspects in them. He passed two
stairwells, then came to a third. He entered and went down two floors, stopping at the landing to check
the adjoining corridor. No one. He sprinted to the left, then made a series of turns, running blindly now,
unaware of exactly where he was heading.

He ran until his diminished stamina gave out. He jogged along, then loped. He stopped to get a second
wind, and jogged some more. His pace gradually petered out to a walk.

Breathing hard, he stopped, leaned against the dark stone wall. He slowed his breath and listened.

Nothing. No footsteps, no voices.

Could it be? Had he truly lost his pursuit? The quiet closed in around him.

Miracle of miracles. Now he would have a chance to find an amenable aspect. He knew of several where
he could hide out awhile. He knew of others into which he could disappear for a very long time indeed,
and that is what he desired. The castle was no longer safe. He had tried to take it, make it his, but had
failed miserably.

No matter. Incarnadine would never find him. He would hide, biding his time. It would take years,
perhaps, but somehow he would raise an army and return. He would invade Castle Perilous, depose
Incarnadine, and take the throne.

Good, he thought. It was essential to have a plan, to keep ambitions alive.

He began walking again. Suddenly he stopped, looked about.

Something was strange. His castle sense was giving him mixed signals. The surroundings were familiar,
but there was something odd. He could not grasp quite what.

He shrugged it off and continued. He wandered for what seemed like hours. No one was about.

The sense that something was amiss did not leave him. He could not shake the feeling that somehow, in
some inexplicable way, he had left the castle. But that was impossible, for clearly he was still inside it.
He had not crossed an aspect.

Or had he? There lingered an inescapable feeling that he had. There was a sixth sense about that as well.
He knew when the castle gave way to one of its contingent worlds. There was always a sense of going
out, of leaving.



file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/John%20DeChancie%20-%20Castle%2004%20-%20Castle%20War.html (9 of 255)23-12-2006 0:24:58
 Castle War

As now. But what had he entered? What sort of world was like the castle itself?

He turned a corner and collided with a Guardsman.