"Jane Lindskold - Lord Demon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lindskold Jane)

I swirled through sideways spaces and projected myself upward from Earth as far as I was able. A moment more and I
would know.
A moment more and I was still alive. It was okay.
I waited for a time, then pushed my way back tentatively toward the plane on which I had been attacked. After a certain
point, I could still feel the rumbles, so I waited for them to subside. I moved nearer as they did, easing myself through the
spaces. Before I cracked into the plane I made myself invisible. There was still a frightening feeling in the air and Horsehe
MountainтАФfrom which I had been watching but minutes agoтАФno longer existed.
 Eagle's Head Mountain stood intact about thirty miles to the north, Hawksview about thirty-five to the northwest. I studie
them as I flew eastward and home. One more blast like that could do me, no matter what.
Changing into a red outfit, red-booted, with the red feather in my cap, I headed for the cemetery where Tuvoon and Viss
their bottle in an old mausoleum.
"Knock! Knock!" I wentтАФor its equivalentтАФstepping over and through. A familiar servant admitted me, and Viss met m
the form of a young Chinese girl of about eight. Her hair was loose and her golden brown skin bore the blush of innocence
"Kai Wren," she said, her voice light and reminiscent of small bells. "What a pleasant surprise! Would you care for some
"Yes, please."
I sank into a stack of cushions. She studied me.
"What is it?" she asked. "You seem distraught."
"I've been shot at with a theronic rifle," I told her.
"Theronics have been illegal since the Demon Wars," she said. "It is a capital offense to own a theronic weapon. You co
blast a god with one of those things."
I nodded.
"And it's one sure way to get a god or demon," I added.
''You'd better tell me what happened," she said.
"I got word from one of the little scrub demons that there was going to be a big mah-jongg game on Barefoot Mountain l
night, that Devor, who is actually a good player, was hoping to take the Twister for a bundle to clear up his debts."
The tea arrived. I accepted and sipped.
"You know, Devor is actually a good gambler when he's not taking imbue."
She nodded.
"I've spent some pleasant times long ago, gaming with him," she said. "So what happened?"
"I wanted to watch this game, see what happened, see if anything pertaining to O'Keefe came up. At first, I was simply
to sit among them, invisible, and do this. But some of us are very good at detecting a concealed presence, so I decided to
remove myself about thirty miles to Horsehead and watch and hear the proceedings through a magic tube."
She nodded.
"And . . . ?"
"I went and set myself up on Horsehead and began observing. Somebody who wished me permanently out of the way m
have spotted me and gone over to Hawksview with that theronic rifle. I felt it coming and fled, but he blasted the whole top
off Horsehead Mountain."
She shuddered.
"When I got back, the players had cleared out from Barefoot Mountain. I collapsed against a boulder and looked back at
ruined Horsehead. Someone brushed by me thenтАФI think it was the Walker. He was only visible for a moment. His elbow
brushed mine and then he was gone. He chuckled as he passed."
"Showed you how he saved your life," she said.
"What?"
"Obviously, that's what he did to the one who fired at you. Those weapons are deadly accurateтАФas you know if you've
used one."
I nodded.
"Why, though?" I asked. "The Walker owes me nothing."
She shrugged. I finished my tea. She poured more, the pot seeming enormous in her tiny, delicate hands.
Of course the Walker did not have to owe me, I decided. He could simply want me in his debt. If Viss was right, then th
Walker must know who had pulled the trigger.