"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 17 - The Mountains of Brega" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

The red shapes below became brighter and began to drive away the blackness. They seemed to be
alive, darting and leaping about purposefully. Then they became still brighter and more distinct. As they
took shape, Blade felt a cold chill run through him. They were monstrous fanged heads, swaying on the
ends of long, serpent-like necks, opening gaping black maws. And he was hanging helpless, exposed to
them like a ripe fruit on a branch. How long would it be before the darting monsters below noticed him,
lunged upward, plucked him down?
One of them lifted its head, the mouth wide open, with silvery teeth shimmering in a ring around the
gaping black center. The head grew larger; the mouth grew wider. Blade found it hard to keep his own
mouth from opening in a scream of terror.
The head rose up to him. A shock ran through Blade's body. Everywhere he looked, the silver teeth
were gleaming, as the mouth closed on him. Then there was no more color, no red, no silverтАФonly
blackness.


Chapter 3
┬л^┬╗
Blade could not even guess how long the total blackness around him lasted. In the blackness he was
without sight, without hearing, without sensation of any kind.
Then suddenly all his senses returned. He also had the same splitting headache he always had when
he arrived in Dimension X. He tried to roll overтАФand froze abruptly as he felt the springy surface
beneath him lurch and sway sickeningly. The motion did not help the condition of his head or his stomach.
His hands searched on either side of him for something to grip, and closed around needle-heavy
branches. He held on grimly until the swaying ended and his headache began to fade. Then he realized
that the scent of needles and resin was heavy, almost overpowering, in his nostrils. And more needles
were pricking into his bare back. Slowly, a bit at a time, he rolled over on his stomach.
As Blade saw what lay below, he let out a sigh of relief. He had landed on the branch of a tree. But
the ground was only ten feet below, and it was thickly covered with moss and fallen needles. He could
have plunged straight down into it and landed safely, as if he had fallen into a feather bed. Satisfied that
he wasn't going to fall out of the tree like a mislaid bird's egg and smash himself to pieces, he lay back on
the branch until his headache had completely gone. Then he rolled over on his back and looked up.
The tree seemed to soar skyward forever, its top lost in a green maze of jutting branches. The
branches were heavy with needles, and at each fork hung a large cluster of cones. Far aboveтАФhow far
Blade couldn't even guessтАФhe could see patches of blue sky. Sunlight shot through those gaps, faintly
gilding some of the needles.
Blade decided there was no point in sitting perched on the branch like an abandoned bird's nest. He
wasn't going to meet any of the inhabitants of this dimension up here. Unless they were birds or monkeys,
perhaps? He grinned at the thought. Then slowly he began to back down the branch toward the trunk of
the tree. No matter how soft the landing might be, he would rather climb down than jump.
He reached the trunk and got ready to swing himself down from the branch. Then suddenly he froze,
listening intently. His trained hearing had picked up the sound of approaching footsteps, off to the right.
They were approaching slowly and stealthily, which suggested to Blade that the visitors were stalking
something. He didn't want it to become him.
Blade decided that the tree had suddenly become a very good place to stay. With a quick jerk of his
powerful arms, he pulled himself back up on the branch. In moments he was hidden from the sight of
anyone on the ground unless they were looking very carefully. Holding on with both hands, he peered
down through the gaps in the needles, listening to the footsteps. It sounded like a fair-sized partyтАФfive or
moreтАФand they definitely were trying to tread lightly.
A moment later Blade saw a flicker of movement approaching through the greenery. He held his
breath as eight young women passed below in single file. They moved with long, graceful, slow steps,
placing their feet carefully to avoid stepping on twigs. All wore tunics and trousers of heavy cloth, spotted