"Ann Maxwell - Fire Dancer 3 - Dancer's Illusion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Maxwell Ann)

тАЬExcept for the Stones,тАЭ put in iтАЩsNara. тАЬTheir fabulous illusionтАФif it indeedis an
illusionтАФis love. They love you totally. The more Stones you have, the more intense is
the feeling of loving and being loved.тАЭ

тАЬThat would make them valuable in any society,тАЭ said Rheba.

тАЬPerhaps,тАЭ conceded fтАЩlTiri. тАЬBut in Serriolia, the city-state where we were born and the
most accomplished illusionists live, the illusion of everything is available. Except love. In
Serriolia, the Ecstasy Stones are priceless. Most of our history hinges on the masterful
illusions that have gone into stealing one or more of the Stones. Master snatchers of each
generation used to try their skills on whoever owned one or more Stones.тАЭ

тАЬUsed toтАЩ.тАЩтАЭ asked Kirtn. тАЬWhat happened?тАЭ

тАЬThe RedisтАФthe Redistribution clanтАФsnatched almost all of SerrioliaтАЩs Stones. You see,
the Redis were formed out of the discontented thieves of various clans. That was
hundreds of years ago. For generations, the clan trained and sent out platoons of master
snatchers. In the beginning, the clanтАЩs sole reason for existence was to steal Ecstasy
Stones from the selfish few who had them. The Redis hoped to combine the Stones into
one Grand Illusion available to every citizen.тАЭ

тАЬThat doesnтАЩt sound too bad,тАЭ said Rheba hesitantly.

тАЬIt wasnтАЩt,тАЭ agreed iтАЩsNara. тАЬBat the Redis didnтАЩt share. Only Redis were allowed into
the StonesтАЩ presence. And only a few Redis, at that. So another clan was formed out of
unhappy snatchers, the Liberation clan. Besides,тАЭ she smiled, тАЬthere were all those highly
trained snatchers and nothing to practice on but their own clanтАФunthinkable. Stealing
from your own clan is grounds fordisillusionment .тАЭ

тАЬAnd you were caught stealing the Stones?тАЭ said Kirtn. тАЬIs that why you were exiled?тАЭ

тАЬWeтАЩre Libs,тАЭ said fтАЩlTiri proudly. тАЬIt was our duty to snatch Stones from the Redis. But
the Redis didnтАЩt have any sense of humor. It wasnтАЩt just that we were snatchersтАФour
history is full of snatchersтАФbut that our mere existence suggested that the Redis were not
holding the Stones for the good ofall Serriolians. The Redis Charter is quite specific
about the Redis stealing Stones for high purposes rather than for selfish pleasures. The
Redis Charter is posted in every clan hall. The fact that the Charter rather than the Stones
circulates among the clans is attributed to the StonesтАЩ extreme worth.тАЭ

тАЬOr the CharterтАЩs extreme worthlessness,тАЭ added iтАЩsNara sarcastically.

Rheba rubbed her temples and wondered why she had urged the Yhelles to tell her
everything. She was totally confused. Her hair crackled. Kirtn stroked the seething mass,
gently pulling out excess energy. After a moment her hair settled into golden waves that
covered her shoulders.

тАЬWhatтАЩs the worst that can happen if you go back?тАЭ Rheba asked bluntly.

тАЬThatтАЩs just it,тАЭ said iтАЩsNara, her voice soft. тАЬWe donтАЩt know.тАЭ