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

"Put up your blades!" she commanded, and such was the force of her personality that neither of us considered not obeyin
We both stowed our weapons extradimensionally, only the hilts remained, reduced to the size of tie tacks. The one I fast
to the edge of my trouser pocket was a polished piece of smoky quartz.
"Well, which of you guys is going to buy me coffee?" Viss said, her tone softening only slightly.
The brick red faded from her complexion so she now wore the appearance of a stocky, middle-aged woman about five a
half feet tall, hair slightly unkempt. Tuvoon rearranged himself so that his less solid parts were hidden by his clothing.
"I think it's my turn," I said.
We slipped into the human world, using one of the established Gates. After so many centuries of converse with the Earth
plane, demonkind has established several of these to various points around the globe. If one wants to go to somewhere the
isn't a public GateтАФlike when I went to IrelandтАФthe best way is to enter one of the uninhabited planes shunted off from o
own. These planes, commonly known as traveling planes, have been stocked with mapping spheres. Of course, there are p
Gates, like mine into San Francisco, but using one of those without the permission of the owner is considered very bad form
After we arrived on the Earth plane, Viss walked us a good part of the way across town, to the diner she claimed had th
coffee. I have to admit, it wasn't bad.
Seated in a booth, staring out into the night, she said, "We have to learn what is going on. Suddenly, there is more to it tha
simply the killing of your servant. It was either a challenge to you or an attempt to make my son look guilty. I know Devor
a long time ago. He had a reputation as spendthrift gambler and an indulger in imbue."
"Sounds as if he hasn't changed much," I said.
While most of us enjoy gambling, demons don't seem to have a whole lot of vicesтАФfoibles and egocentricities, yes; vices
noтАФand imbue is about the only drug that can affect us. Devor had always seemed to have something of a hankering for i
expensive, too, and getting more and more so every day, I understandтАФas the supply shrinks.
"Is he an enemy of yours?" she asked.
"No," I replied. "Don't much care for himтАФbut not to the point of death."
"Does he have any close friends?"
"Passion Flower, Snow Goon, Night Bride, the Walker," Tuvoon answered. "Hard to say how close they are."
"Any of them particularly after you, Kai Wren?"
"No reason I can think of."
She glanced at her son, who shook his head.
"So much for the obvious," she said. "Though none of them is precluded, of course."
I nodded. "Of course. Strange, though, thinking of having real, dyed-in-the-wool enemies after centuries of peace."
"Relatives?" she asked.
"No, lost the last of mine in the wars."
The wars were about a thousand years ago, on another plane, and pretty much finished off the High and the Mighty: i.e.,
Good Guys won. Some of the real old evils passed at that time, some of the worst things from the oldest times finally bough
the Demon Wars. We took our losses, too, as is the way of those things.
"Our bottle," she said, "the one you paid me with for your martial training ..."
"Yes? Got any problems and I'll fix them. Promise. That, or make you a new one."
"No problems," she said, "in the whole twelve centuries we've had it. Snuggest place I ever lived. I really got to think of i
home. Felt I ought to tell you, that's all. I appreciate someone who knows what he's doing."
I laughed.
"Coming from youтАФ" I began. "Thanks."
We sipped our coffee.
After a time, she said, "You know, I sometimes think our kind is too solitary. Loners sometimes get a tendency to magnif
everything that happens to them. Then we might brood on it and one day just blow up, or go into total depravity."
"I've heard this notion before," I said, "and I think you're probably right. Trouble is, I don't make friends easily."
Tuvoon laughed.
"I know what you mean," he said. "Mom and I do have a few friends, though, and I frequently make it to the Conventicle
Viss snorted.
"They only meet once every fifty years," she observed.
"Gives you something to look forward to," Tuvoon said.