"McCay, Bill - Stargate Rebellion" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCay Bill)

Ra would be there to greet her. At the very least, her own servants
would be on hand. Instead of Ra's throne room, she found herself in a
mean little chamber, more like a cave or a dungeon. And she had no idea
who the single man staring down at her was. Hathor's muscles screamed in
protest as she forced herself upright, reaching -for the gawker. What
should have been a seamless, easy movement took an extra second enough
time for the man to take a step backward before she was out of the stone
coffin and grasping him by the throat. A pair of strides, and she
smashed the intruder against the crude wall. His face turned an
interesting mottled color before she released pressure on his airway.
With one hand cocked to deliver body blows if necessary, Hathor
activated his headdress. She expected to find a renegade Horus guard
engaged in a bit of voyeurism. Instead, she found ... Thoth. "This
cannot be," she muttered, pressing again to unmask the man. "Thoth is an
older man, but not so old that he would die before I-" The room
threatened to revolve around her. "Where am I?" Thoth sucked air through
a bruised throat. "On Tuat." He managed a soothing tone, at least. "In
a mastaba several miles from Ra's palace. "A tomb!" She gestured
wordlessly, indicating that her body was whole. "You slept, o Champion."
Thoth struggled to find the right words. "The records I studied
indicated that perhaps you had succeeded in your mission too well." "I
crushed the rebels as ordered, showing no mercy," Hathor responded. Her
lips twisted. "And in so doing, I caused even Ra some unease. So he
buried me away, for retrieval in case of some worse disaster. Is that
the case?" Hathor's eyes narrowed. "Or ... you mentioned records that
you had studied. If you thought to waken me to use against Ra ." Her
lips quirked again. "You've made a serious blunder, conspirator." Her
whole career, pushing her way into the circle of warriors who surrounded
the sun god, had been based on a strategy ancient even in her
time-seduction and dynasty. Even her husband, engineer of the gods,
hadn't dared reprove her for her "friendship" with Ra. And she knew,
knew that the ever young body of her liege responded to her wiles. But
the alien soul inhabiting that flesh had proven resistant. Yes, Ra's
alien ka was doubtless responsible for having her put away. Even so, it
would be unwise of this interloper to expect that she would nurse a
grudge. What had been done could be done again. She was awakened now.
And the surest way to Ra's favor would be to bring him the head of a
traitor. Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Thoth pressed
himself against the wall, quickly putting up a hand. "I brought you
forth because it seems that Ra is no more." Now it was Hathor's turn to
step back, staggered. For a second she was silent. Then, "How-" She
bit off the question she'd been about to ask: "How could this be
possible?" Instead, Hathor turned to practicalities. "How long have I
been immured here?" When Thoth gave her the answer, her eyes went round
with dismay. Eight thousand years was more than enough time to have
wrapped her actions in the trappings of legend. Her next question was
purely political. "Who now wears the cat's head?" Thoth looked
surprised. "There has never been another Hathor." A certain grim
satisfaction filled Hathor at this news. She had been deemed
irreplaceable. But it also meant problems. With a successor, she could