"Esther M. Friesner - Chicks 03 - Chicks 'N Chained Males" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friesner Esther M)

Still holding the shield on high, Andromeda drew her sword. She could have taken their heads at a
stroke, but something stayed her hand. It wasn't quite mercy: more the reflection that they'd probably
already given a good deal of head to get where they were.

Roughly, she said, "Stay away from Olympus from now on, if you know what's good for you. You ever
come near there again, worse'll be waiting for you." She didn't know if that was true, but it would be if
Hera could make it so.

"But where shall we go?" one of them asked in a small, broken voice. "What shall we do?"

"TrySports Illustrated ," Andromeda suggested, "though gods only know what sport you'd be
illustrating."

"Been there," one said. Andromeda had no idea which was which, and didn't care to find out. The other
two chorused, "Done that."

"Find something else, then," Andromeda said impatiently. "I don't care what, as long as it's not in Zeus'
back yard."And mine , she thought. Thinking that, she started to turn the terrible shield on them again and
added, "Or else."

Cindy, Claudia, and Tyra cringed. If they weren't convinced now, they never would be, Andromeda
judged. She jumped into the air and flew off. That way, she didn't have to look at them any more, didn't
have to be reminded that they didn't really look the way Hera's shield made them seem to. Plain. Mousy.
Nondescript. Utterly nondescript. Her hand went to the hilt of the sword.Maybe I should have done a
little slaughtering after all . But she kept flying.
***

She took the scenic route homeтАФafter all, when would she be able to talk Hermes out of his sandals
again? She saw Scylla and Charybdis, there by the toe of the Italian boot, and they were as horrible as
advertised. She flew over the Pyramids of Egypt. Next door, the Sphinx tried his riddle on her. "Oh,
everybody knowsthat one," Andromeda said, and listened to him gnash his stone teeth.

She admired the lighthouse at Alexandria. It would be very impressive when they got around to building
itтАФand when there was an Alexandria. Then she started north across the wine-dark sea toward Greece.

When she got to the coast near Argos, she saw a naked man chained to the rocks just above the waves.
He was a lot more interesting than anything else she'd seen for a whileтАФand the closer she got, the more
interesting he looked. By the time she was hovering a few feet in front of him, he looked mighty damn fine
indeed, you betcha. "I know it's the obvious question," she said, "but what are you doing here?"

"Waiting to be eaten," he answered.

"Listen, garbagemouth, has it occurred to you that if I slap you silly, you can't do thing one about it?"
Andromeda said indignantly. "Has it?"

"No, by a sea serpent," he explained.

"Oh. Well, no accounting for taste, I suppose," she said, thinking of Pasipha├л and the bull. Then she
realized he meant it literally. "How did that happen?" Another obvious question. "And who are you,
anyway?"