"Raymond Kaminski - The Amazons of Somelon v1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kaminski Raymond)

"There is so much she never had a chance to teach me. The rest of the Somelons seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Were you there when the Horlas murdered my mother?"'

Even in that weak light you could see his mottled skin pucker.

"I was there."

"And what did you do?"

"I did nothing."

Sheryl exchanged a bitter silence with him then. They both held their ground, unable to move together or to part, even when the smoke curled round their bodies to pierce their eyes and noses. Ultimately, it took all of Kryl's strength to reach out and run his hand over Sheryl's bare arm. The small golden hairs bristled in the firelight.

"You're after Micar."

"I'm always after the Horlas."

"This time it's different." Kryl tried to turn her face to his. She was too much for him. "This time they've stolen from you."

"They stole my mother long ago."

"Yes. You were very young then. The old wounds heal, in spite of our picking at them. Sure, they leave scars. But the scars don't show in our eyes. This is a fresh wound."

"My mother's armor that my father-"

"More than that."

"My father's tools."

"More."

"There is this man. . ." She only started to say it.

"Sheryl!" Kryl drooled, rocking back and forth. The way he did it made her feel ashamed, though it wasn't clear why.

"A Somelon chasing after a man? Have you gone mad? A Somelon has no time to waste on men. Look what a man did to your mother. She gave up everything for your father, and what did it prove? Are you aware that she was groomed to take over command at Mount Palus?"

"But the Somelons deserted that post years ago. They retreated into the hard country, and I've never been able to pick up their trail."

"Why do you think they deserted it? Do you think they wanted to give it up? The Somelons held that fortress since the end of the Great Mushroom War. It was the one stronghold of incorruptible light in this black hole of terror that is the known world. They held out against the Horlas and their allies, every siege, every treachery. Do you think they wanted to give it up? No, they didn't. But Vocar was their general, and even Somelon generals don't live forever. Of course, she selected a successor when she first took command. The baby girl she chose was raised apart from the rest, a queen bee fed royal jelly, given special privileges-and special duties. This special girl turned into a woman more capable than Vocar herself. But then this anointed one spit in their faces. This anointed one debased herself by transferring her loyalty, her talents to a common man. When Vocar heard of it, the shock put her right into her grave. Demoralized and without a replacement for their commander, the Somelons were forced to abandon Mount Palus as indefensible."

"And that anointed one was my mother. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Yes, Sheryl. That is why you've become such a great warrior. Every Somelon takes the traits of her mother, no matter what kind of fool her father was. Sometimes, even, Somelons are born without fathers. It happens. Not often, but it happens. The Somelons are the fiercest warriors the world has ever known, and your mother was the ultimate of the breed. Yet she had a single flaw no one recognized until it was too late to correct it. That was a vulgar vulnerability to romance. All those years of promise, the pure ideals of the Somelons, and the hopes of every decent man or woman-they counted for nothing once she laid her green eyes on your father. They all evaporated like so much mist. Your mother sold us all out cheap. No, Sheryl, the Horlas didn't kill your mother. They just happened to be there at the right time. It could have been anything. Truth is, your mother destroyed herself, and she took the rest of us with her. Now, Sheryl, I'm afraid for you. You have the same flaw."

"Love is not a flaw." As soon as the words left her lips, the mocking song of the jackals began. It came from the direction of the caravan. The jackals were having their revenge.

"It is for you. No man can resist a Somelon, so we cannot blame him. But she has a sacred obligation to preserve herself from his taint. A Somelon uses a man to satisfy her needs, to give a little pleasure in between battles, and, when the time is right, to create more Somelons. She must never allow a man to become one of those needs. All men must be treated the same by her, like beasts of burden, like pets-kindly, of course, but never blurring the line between who is master and who serves."

Sheryl looked hard at the old man. Once he'd been a powerful force in her life, nudging her in the right direction even when her rapidly growing body and personality rebelled. Now she seemed to detect something new in him.