"Huff, Tanya - What Ho, Magic!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

The alley was narrow and dirty. Black stone buildings blocked out most of the light. The gloom seethed with sentient races of every description Ц buying, selling, being sold.
Erik, muffled in an old cloak of Kelly's, stared, eyes wide. A cuff on the side of his head caused him to stumble and he glared up at his companion.
"Don't stare," Kelly said shortly. "It's rude."
"I can stare if I want to," declared the Heir of Infinity, running his nose over his sleeve. "What're you going to do about it?"
"Nothing. But whoever you're staring at will likely rip your head off."
"Really?" Erik looked around with new interest. "I wish I had my blaster."
Kelly forged ahead. "I wish I'd left you with Val."
Erik's short legs and low line of sight made progress slow and the time spent standing still, waiting for him to catch up, made Kelly very nervous. Used to being alone, she didn't like crowds at the best of times. In this neighborhood, in this crowd, she much preferred to present a moving target. She was almost relieved to turn and come eye to eye to eye with something large and hairy and disinclined to let them pass.
"Gur lampic signa bac," it crooned, wrapping an anonymous appendage around her waist.
Kelly smiled, locked her hands together, and clubbed the being where its head met what served it for shoulders. With a surprised "Cn'fc," it collapsed to the ground.
"Wow," breathed Erik, stepping over the body. "What did it say?"
"How should I know? Now stay close, we're here."
Here was a rusty metal door, guarded by something that either had been human once but wasn't now or was trying to be human but hadn't made it yet.
Kelly dropped two units of the local currency into what, given its relative position, had to be a hand. "Gaby expecting me?"
The being nodded, more or less, and moved away from the door.
Kelly placed her palm flat against the metal and set her teeth as current trickled down her arm. If the grid read her as an enemy, she'd die where she stood. After two or three seconds Ц that took hours to pass Ц the door slid open. With a backward glance at Erik, she started up the narrow stairs. "Well, come on. And what did I tell you about staring?"
The room at the top of the stairs had little connection with the squalor of the street below. It was light, spacious, exotically furnished, and, at the moment, rather crowded.
Kelly bounded through the door and slid to an abrupt halt.
Erik pushed past her. "Hey, Kelly, what's.
Company Commander Gripe rose to his feet and inclined his head in greeting. "Your Magnificence. We meet again, Captain Chase."
"You know this guy?" Erik's head swiveled between Kelly and the slightly portly officer in the Atabeg's colors.
"We've met." If Gripe was coolly polite, Kelly was ice. "I spent some time with the satrap a couple of years ago." She scanned the room; a well-armed Immortal stood between her and each of the room's exits.
"It's only company commander, now," Gripe corrected gently. "And I worked my way back up to that. My superiors were most displeased when I let you get away."
"I broke a chair over your head," Kelly pointed out as an Immortal relieved her of her sidearm. "You were hardly aiding and abetting."
Gripe smiled, most insincerely, and moved so close his weapon tip grazed Kelly's belt. "Oh, I agree with you, Captain. It was entirely your fault." He placed his free hand on Erik's shoulder. "And now, young sirЕ"
Erik swung his head and sank his teeth into the older man's hand.
Gripe shrieked.
Kelly made a grab for his gun.
She regained consciousness with her head on something soft and several loud explosions going on inside her skull. "Medic," she muttered and instantly regretted it as the noise bounced back and forth, back and forth, between her ears. Slowly, very slowly, she opened her eyes. Through dancing patterns of light, she saw Erik bending over her, then realized her head rested on his lap. Her jerk away was involuntary and instantly regretted.
"Are you alright, Kelly?" He sounded worried.
She sat up carefully. "No," she decided as the room spun. "I'm not all right. I'm not even a little bit right." She gingerly touched the swelling lump on the back of her head. "Where are we?"
"In a storage vault, I think."
The ceiling of the small, square room glowed softly. The walls were identical, blank, and featureless, with no sign of a door.
Kelly pulled herself to her feet. The screaming pain dulled to a persistent throb, which was an improvement. Unfortunately, each throb was accompanied by a wave of nausea, which wasn't. "Vault's a good guess," she agreed slowly. "This looks like one of Gaby's walk-in safes. I wonder why Gripe didn't take us back to the Citadel?"
Erik turned from his own scan of the vault and studied her face. "Why are you smiling?" he asked at last.
"Because Gripe's made a very serious mistake here, kid." She took a deep breath, lifted her arms, and began to run her fingers along the joints between walls and ceiling. "Gaby built these vaults, and Gaby builds nothing without a way out. He's shown me more exits out of this building thanЕaha!"
A small section of the wall flipped down, exposing a tiny circuit board and a tangle of colored wire.
"Wow, just like when you escaped from that detention cell on Shalamar," Erik said with awe. "Val says you can get out of anywhere."
"Val exaggerates."
"Maybe." Erik shrugged. "You don't seem too worried about your friend."
"Gaby's probably two systems away by now, selling somebody's mother for a tidy profit. This isn't the first time he's had Immortals drop in. Nothing takes Gaby by surprise."
"You weren't surprised either."
Kelly snorted. "And your grandmother thought you could take care of yourselfЕ." She ran a hand through her hair and winced as it tugged on the lump. "You never let the enemy know you're surprised, kid. You lose the initiative."
Erik rolled his eyes and slapped the wall. "Right. Some initiative."
The panel he'd hit slid aside, the cover of the door-release snicked shut, and Company Commander Gripe swaggered into the vault. Two of his men followed. One carried a long, slender, black wand.
Kelly fought down another rush of nausea that had nothing to do with the lump on her head and everything to do with that long, slender, black wand. She shoved Erik behind her.
"I see you remember what this is," Gripe said dryly. "And a very touching gesture on your part, Captain Chase."
Kelly forced her eyes away from the deadly little machine. "Yeah. Well, I've grown fond of him in a masochistic sort of way."
"A pity to part you, then." Gripe turned to the larger of the Immortals. "Escort the Heir to Infinity to the office where he can await the Atabeg, may he live forever, in comfort."
"I'm staying with Kelly," Erik glowered.