"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 19 - Looters of Tharn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

"You-Mazda-once again in Tharn-you-"

Then the neuter passed out and fell flat on his face in the grass. Blade stepped over to him with a weary
sigh. People in all sorts of dimensions had all sorts of reactions to him. But this was the first time he had
ever made his first contact pass out cold.

Blade easily picked up the neuter and carried him into the machine. Then he poured water on the neuter
until he woke up, spluttering and snorting in surprise and indignation.

He nearly passed out again when he realized he was inside one of the deadly Looter war machines. But
he quickly realized that there could be no danger to him from this. The machine was obviously under the
control of Mazda, so it was no longer dangerous to the people. Unless Mazda was returning as an ally of
the Looters? The neuter unmistakably turned pale at the thought, and his lips trembled as he asked Blade.

"You do not return as an ally of the Looters, do you?"

"I do not," said Blade indignantly. "Their ways are evil and destructive." Presumably the Looters were
the people whose machines had been demolishing the abandoned city.

"They are," said the neuter. He struggled into a sitting position, but apparently thought better of trying to
stand up. "I would make all slave-face in the old way, Mazda. But I hope you will pardon me if I do not.
I am not the youngest of the surviving neuters, and this has been a day of shocks and surprises for me."

Blade laughed. "I can well believe it," he said. "What is your name, by the way? I do not think I
remember you."

"I am-I was-Krimon, Neuter of the 11th Level. I served in the baby plants. We would have seen little of
each other when you were in Tharn the first time. Even if you had seen me, I would not expect Mazda to
remember one neuter after so many years have passed. Though Mazda's body seems not to have aged,
yet even he can keep only so much in his memory."

The phrase "so many years" struck a jarring note in Blade's ears. Admittedly his first trip to Tharn had
been back in the early days of Project Dimension X. But the whole project had only been running for a
few years, not "many." Unless the year they had adopted in Tharn was much shorter than Home
Dimension's?

"Much has happened to me since I left Tharn, as I told you," said Blade. "But Tharn has been much in
my mind during that time." Blade had many years ago become an expert at telling lies-or at least
half-truths-with a straight face. "Tell me, Krimon, what has happened in Tharn during those many years? I
would know it, and know it before we travel on to meet any more of the people."

With an obvious effort Krimon gathered his scattered and befuddled wits and nodded. "I am honored
that Mazda asks me. But I wonder if I am the best to tell him. My work was in the House of Bearing,
and it was hard work that left me small time to concern myself with other things. I was never high among
the ranks of those who fought the Lesser War or reared your son or-"

"My-son?" Krimon looked blankly at him. Blade realized that he had let out a wordless croak. He
swallowed hard and tried again. This time the words came out clearly enough so that Krimon understood
them. His face looked slightly less blank as he asked, "You did not know that the Maiduke woman
Zulekia was carrying your son when you departed from among us?"