"Benjamin Rosenbaum - Embracing The New" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rosenbaum Benjamin)

the perfect stone for gods, won from the GodlessтАФwas
difficult to extract, and they were incapable of learning to do
it. They had ruined every large piece so far.
"They are useless! Useless!" Khancriterquee screamed at
the foreman. "Why could you not get real people?"
"It's mining," said the foreman stubbornly. "Real people
won't do this work, holy one."
"Vru! Useless boy! Standing around like one of the Bereft
yourself!" Hatred glittered in the master's eyes. "Bring that
one to me," he said, motioning to a great Bereft body working
dully in the nearby stone, cracking precious nodes of it into
two with every swipe of its claws.
Vru led it to the master. It was docile; he only had to
touch it lightly with his claws, on its strange, bare flesh. The
Bereft panted softly as it walked. Its claws were torn, and it
looked hungry. Vru wanted to embrace its mighty body in his
holding-hands, murmur words of comfort in its earтАФinsane,
stupid thoughts, which he tried to ignore.
"Bend its head over to me," Khancriterquee croaked.


7
 Embracing-The-New
by Benjamin Rosenbaum


Vru pushed it down to kneel by his master. Was the
master going to whisper something to it? How could that
help?
As the foreman stood nearby, dancing angrily from one
foot to another, Khancriterquee slid his ancient claws against
the soft fur of the Bereft's neck. The Bereft stared solemnly,
fearfully, back. Straining and grunting, Khancriterquee closed
his claws, tearing through the skin. The Bereft jerked,
shuddered, and let out a piercing scream; the foreman,
cursing, rushed forward; and then there was a snap and the
head of the Bereft rolled from its body, which collapsed onto
the ground. Blood poured onto Khancriterquee.
"Are you mad?" yelled the foreman, forgetting himself.
Then terror came over his face and he dropped to the ground,
burying his face in the dust. "Holiness, please..." he moaned.
The master chuckled, pleased perhaps that his body's old
claws were still capable of killing. He clacked them together.
The blood was black. Then he scowled. "Bring me some real
people to work this mine," he said. "These abominations are
worse than useless."
Vru vomited onto the dust.
"You need whole stone for your monument!" the master
said. "Stupid boy. Now clean me."
****