"Janet Morris - Kerrion Empire 03 - Earth Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morris Janet E)

A whistle, harsh and shrill, interrupted them. When
she heard it, Shebat sprang up from behind her fire and
sought him, putting a finger to his lips to silence him;

while from without, Gahan Tempest, Shebafs intel-
ligencer/bodyguard, called their names. They hastened
toward the cave's mouth together, so nonplussed by the
urgency in Tempest's summons that it was not until a
long time later that Chaeron thought to ask Shebat how
that short lock of jet curls had come to be shorn, starting
all the trouble he hoped to avoid thereby. And it was to
be as long an interval until Shebat had the opportunity to
question Chaeron as to what other intiatives he was un-
dertaking that had necessitated the massive funding she
had sanctioned over the past months from her Draconis
office: Chaeron could have made Acheron out of solid
gold, for the kind of money he was spendingтАФon some-
thing.

Right then, there was time only for running, then skid-
ding on loose stones, then blinking hard at sundogged
shadows.

EARTH DREAMS 7

"What is this?" Shebat demanded, stepping past Tem-
pest, out into the light of waning day (though she knew
already: in her inner sight, a falcate profile shimmered,
rubbed a week's growth of beard on a heavy jaw. Yes,
she saw who awaitedтАФon Earth, her enchantress's gifts
were no dream, but all too real).

Gahan Tempest stood leaning against the cave's arch
with arms folded, a disgusted look twisting his fish's
mouth. His voice came from behind her back, as her eyes
adjusted and she could count the mounted men in rough
clothing who milled before a stand of trees, just beyond
the evenly spaced rumps of five enchanters' horses:

"You've customers. Feel like prophesying?"

Shebat put her hands on her hips and stared at the
milling men until they pulled their horses up and as-
sumed a ragged formation. Behind her, she heard
Chaeron query Tempest: "Any danger?" and Tempest
reply, "Sir, a horse might be able to kick her before your
orbital hunter-killers could verify a target for take-outтАФ
but not before the Marada can."

Shebat stopped listening; she had seen Chaeron's satel-