"Andre Norton - Hosteen Storm 03 - Beast Master's Circus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

To the cats whose lives have enlivened my own reading for so many

years. To Midnight Louie, and Carole Nelson Douglas. To Koko and

Yum Yum, and Lilian Jackson Braun. To Solomon, Sheba, Sealy,

ShebaLu, and Saska, and Doreen Tovey; and to the many cats, real and

fictional, of Andre Norton (Chang-Un in particular).

May they find Prauo a worthy successor.

тАФL.M.
 Acknowledgments

To Jim Frenkel, Tor editor, who edited this book with considerable patience despite dealing with an
author who can't spell or punctuate, and has no computer-savvy whatsoever. Thanks.

To the computer-repair firm of StanCo, who rushed out several times to fix my printer on the spot so
I could produce this work. Thanks, Stan and Andrew.

And to the one, the only, the ubiquitous, Premier Ocispot TigermanтАФmy OcicatтАФon some of whose
traits and abilities I based the character of Prauo, and without whose loving assistance this work would
have probably been finished a lot sooner.

Thanks, guys, I couldn't have done it without you.
 Chapter One



Laris crouched over the new animal. It was gasping for breath still, but that would not last long. The
shock of its injuries and the pain of losing what meant most to it were draining both its strength and will to
live. Even as she worked, it gave one final, long, slow breathтАФand as that was released so was the poor
beast's life. She felt tears come to her eyes. She'd tried. She had. But that would buy her nothing from
those who employed her.

Nor did it. A moment later a whip sang, the lash burned across her thin shoulders, and she cried out,
twisting away.

"Dedran, no! I did my best. I can't work miracles."

She glared up at him. "If your people brought me anything but damaged goods mind-broken by the
way they were taken, I might have a chance."

The Circus Master glared down. Dedran was a lean, hard-looking man. His hair was that odd shade
of blond that looked almost white but his skin was a weathered brown. He'd fought with the Ishan forces
until his planet was destroyed almost five years earlier. What he'd been before that no one
knewтАФalthough they made guesses which could well have been right.

Dedran had never given anyone the impression he was rigidly honest. The Ishan forces had not cared,