"Emil Petaja - Tramontane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Petaja Emil)

Kullervo was fed by the rawboned hellion in charge of the kitchens. He
was saunaed and beaten with birch branches until his back was red as a
sunset on fire, then he was given more food and permitted to sleep behind
the stove where it was nice and warm and vermin were at a minimum,
thanks to the spell-ridden pots Marikki, the cow of the kitchen, had
wheedled out of LouhiтАЩs abacus of sorcery.
 Twelve hours later Louhi called him to her for his first lessonтАж

тАЬSit there, lover-boy.тАЭ Louhi pointed to a clutch of piled yellow silk
cushions near the snapping fireplace, a great black gulp of demonтАЩs belly.
тАЬDrag them closer to me. There.тАЭ Something like a sigh puffed out of her
lipless gap. тАЬYou remind me a bit of my Koko, who fed my fire for me some
thousands of sun-turns back. A useful wart, Koko. I must remind myself to
trap me another of his ilk when I am in his old neighborhood, some
megaparsecs south of Orion. TheyтАЩre a skittish tribe, not easy to catch.
Never mind. You shall fetch logs for the fire as he did, feed the fire to
warm my bones. We shall not be interrupted and I shall cram that empty
head of yours as full of wisdom as suits my purposes.тАЭ

Kullervo obeyed with alacrity. His belly had been filled twice, he had
snored away his skin lacerations and his exhaustion as never before, and
when he woke there were fresh clothes for him to put on. His blue
stockings had been washed and mended. He had shooed MarikkiтАЩs maid
away by feigning modesty in dressing and thus contrived to switch the
pukko from his old blouse to the new embroidered one. He sat before the
starwitch, hugging his knees with animal contentment.

тАЬNiin.тАЭ She surveyed him critically but not without her own brand of
satisfaction. тАЬYou are to be my alter-ego. But not quite. I must not permit
you too much power or else it might go to your head. Where to start?
Where indeed? Give me clue, bull-youth. What do you know besides what I
have already taught you?тАЭ

тАЬNothing, Mistress.тАЭ

тАЬNothing. Yet surely you picked up some knowledge of the Ussi state of
your Mothership, even by accident.тАЭ

тАЬI cleaned pots and cookers. I can fetch and carry what you will.тАЭ

тАЬSo can a dog. Niin. Well, tell me thisтАФhave you ever heard of a planet
called Terra?тАЭ

тАЬNo, Mistress.тАЭ

тАЬEarth?тАЭ