"Jean Lorrah - Empire 03 - Captives of the Savage Empire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lorrah Jean)

//Alethia told me. Is it true?//

//How could it be? Two Readers have been exiled. The savages kill ReadersтАФthey are terrified of us.
This is some half-truth blown all out of proportion along the Path of the Dark Moon. The failed Readers
have little accuracy, Melissa. They often get even important messages wrongтАФalways check such
information carefully. I will find out the truth of this matter.//

It was nearly ten days before Jason worked with Melissa again. She had made no gains; it was as
frustrating as the last time. Before they returned to their bodies, however, she asked him, //Did you find
out about the renegade Reader?//

There was mental silence for a moment. Then, //The tale is partly true. Master Florian is reluctant to
discuss it. There is no truth to the story that Master Lenardo has learned savage sorceryтАФbut he has
broken his Oath, and taken a wife among the savages. There is some garbled story about his having a
daughter, which is simply not possible, as he has even now not been out of the empire nine months. He
seems to have made a pact with the savage Adepts, to Read for them against the empire. He came back
to Tiberium recently, and stole away one of his former studentsтАФbut not by magic. They fought their way
to the border, and the boy was killed at the gates. Lenardo escaped, but he has broken his Oath in every
possible way. His powers cannot but be diminished severely. The Council of Masters is watching the
situation closely, fearing he may lead an attack against us.//

This was bad news indeed. The savages had been driving back the walls of the empire for many years
now, led by Adepts with powers of sorcery unknown in the empire. They could throw thunderbolts,
make buildings topple, kill peopleтАФall with the power of their minds. But they could not ReadтАФthey had
to see what they were attacking. With a Reader to be their eyes at a distanceтАФ

Jason followed her train of thought easily. //YesтАФit could mean the end of our civilization. Please do not
discuss this with other trainees, Melissa. We must wait and see what the Council of Masters decides.//
He added, //We should not discuss it, even here. It is unlikely that anyone else is out of body just now,
and might intrude on usтАФbut it is always possible. You must learn to achieve a plane of privacy. There is
no other way for us to discuss anything that we do not want another Reader to know about.//
When Melissa returned to her body, she discovered to her horror that it had moved! Her head was
turned to one side, and her left arm was tight against her body, the right flung out, elbow bent. What had
happened?!

She was unharmed, although the panic of fitting her "self" back inside a body that was not as she had left
it gave her a ringing headache. She found the hospital in the throes of recovery after a small earthquake.
It had been only a minor shock, but it had frightened many of the patients. There was broken crockery
and glassware to clean up, but otherwise no damage.

Melissa went through the wards, reassuring patients, and was soon back to her daily routine. Just before
noon, she received a message she had been expecting for days: Alethia was in labor. Her pregnancy had
been perfectly normal; any midwife would do, but Alethia wanted Melissa, and her teachers had given
permission. Despite the morning's excitement, her duties for the day were covered, and she went off to
her friend's house.

It was an easy birth. Rodrigo was home in time to witness his daughter's entrance into the world, and
Melissa watched the family with great pleasure. The neighbor who cared for Primus brought him home,
and he looked curiously at his little sister, then demanded supper. By the time Melissa left, Alethia was
sleeping with the baby by her side, safe in a world in which earthquakes were minor matters. I could be