"Kuttner, Henry - Red Gem of Mercury" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

conquered space-travel, take the Stone from the Stars back to my people.
Remember--it gives all power to the owner!"
The Mercutian's body twisted convulsively. A torrent of blood gushed from
between the thick blue lips. A choking gasp sounded as the huge body jerked. The
bulbous head rolled aside as the single eye glazed in death.
And--the Stone from the Stars leaped from Zaravin's forehead!
VANE realized that the Mercutian was lifeless. His horrified eyes followed the
path of the jewel.
It soared out swiftly, turning over and over, rolled down a little slope of
snow, and then lay still and shimmering.
Silence. Time itself had stopped. The murmur of the river was a deafening
thunder.
One of the guards gave a curious gasping sound. It broke the spell. Vane drew an
unsteady breath, shivering a little. And then, before any of his captors could
move, he wrenched free from the grasp on his arm and dived forward.
He fell on his knees. His handcuffed wrists hit together painfully. His cupped
fingers found the Stone from the Stars and lifted it.
It lay in his palm, red against the snow he had scooped up with it.
"Vane!" a guard roared. "Drop that--" that--"
The Stone blazed, throwing unearthly reddish reflections on white snow and
cold-pallid skin.
It held fascination for Vane. He lifted it toward his forehead. A heavy hand
gripped his shoulder, flung him back. But too late.
The Stone from the Stars leaped from Vane's palm. He felt an instant of
grinding, sickening agony clashing within his brain. It lasted only a moment,
and was gone.
He stood up, throwing off the hand that held his shoulder. The guard--it was
bulldog-faced Hanley--went for his gun.
As he drew it, something made Vane say curtly, "Drop it! Drop the gun, Hanley!
Quick!"
"Like hell I will," the guard snarled. There was a soft little plop at his feet.
The automatic had fallen into the snow. Hanley said, "Whup!" and started to bend
over to recover the weapon.
Vane said, "Don't move!" Hanley froze. The lawyer whirled toward the others.
"Don't move, any of you!"
And the guards stood motionless. Jaeckel was caught off balance, with one leg in
the air. He wavered, toppled, and fell flat on his face.
Vane stood unmoving for a time. Presently he reached up and gingerly touched the
gem. His fingers groped searchingly.
The Stone had attached itself permanently to his forehead. It had sunk in,
blazing like a caste mark of some Hindu sect, above and between his brows . . .
UNREASONING horror shook Vane. He clawed at the jewel, tried to wrench it from
its place. He could not budge the gem. His nails slipped off the smooth, cold
surface. His wrists began to bleed as the handcuffs dug into them.
It was nightmare--the guards living statues, the jewel flaming in his living
flesh and bone, the dead silence, broken only by the river's murmur . . .
Vane lowered his hands slowly and stood staring at the cuffs. Apparently Zaravin
had not lied. The Stone from the Stars gave its possessor strange powers.
And that meant--
Suddenly Vane thought of Pasqual. Big Mike Pasqual, ruthless, all-powerful lord