"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 02 - Derai" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

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Derai
#2 in the Dumarest series

E.C. Tubb


Chapter One


DUMAREST WAS at practice when the skybeast came. He
stood poised on the balls of his feet, a short bar of lead in his
hand, parrying and dodging the vicious slashes and thrusts of a
yard of steel. Sweat dripped from his face and naked torso; Nada
wasn't playing and she was strong enough to send the steel rod
whining through the turgid air. She was also sadist enough to
enjoy it.

"All right," she said finally. "That's enough." She stepped back
and threw aside the rod. Her blouse, taut over her breasts, was
dark with perspiration. Her long, dark hair clung to her neck and
cheeks. Her skin, in the dull lighting of the tent, was faintly olive.
"You're fast," she said admiringly. "Fast."

"I am?" He looked down at his body. A ragged, shallow gash
ran over his ribs. A deeper cut marked his left side, two others
his left forearm. The wounds were almost healed beneath a layer
of transparent plastic.

"You were green then," she said. "Still groggy from traveling
Low. And they were lucky," she added. "Those who managed to
hit you, I mean. Lucky enough to make a score but not lucky
enough to win." She stepped close and stood before him. Her
head came just below the level of his own. "You're good, Earl,"
she said. "Real good."

"I'm hot."

"Then wash." She didn't mistake his meaning. "I've put a
bucket outside."

It was a five gallon drum, the top removed, almost full of tepid
water. He plunged in his arms, laving his torso, then ducked his