"Brust,.Steven.-.To.Reign.In.Hell" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brust Steven)

Asmodai spread the parchment and began studying it. By
increments, wonder and amazement spread over his features. "My
Lord" he cried, "but this is..."

"Large?" suggested Yaweh, gentle amusement on his face.

"Aye, large! It's bigger than Heaven itself!"

"Many times bigger."

"My Lord—where will we put it?"

"Outside, of course. It will exist amid the flux, just as heaven does."

"How can that be?"

"It will be your task to discover this, my friend. It will require nearly
everyone working together, and many days at that. And the longer
we're out there, the more of us will be maimed or destroyed. So
we must decide exactly how this is to be put together, what each
angel is to do, so that we can spend the shortest amount of time at
it. This is your task, if you are willing to undertake it."

"Lord! I cannot—"

"If you cannot, there is no one who can. You know what it takes to
build from raw cacoastrum, and that is what we need. Your name is
tied to the Sword, the Sceptre, the Throne, the Star, and many
more things. You are trusted—and deservedly so. If you cannot,
who can?"

Asmodai was silent for a long time. Yaweh knew what he was
thinking—he was thinking of the greatness of the triumph if he
succeeded, and the magnitude of the failure if he didn't. But Yaweh
himself had asked him to—and that would make a difference.

"I'll do it, Lord," said Asmodai. "I'll try."

It rages, it cries, it tears and bites and burns. The first one is nearly
overcome, but holds himself together despite the violence of the
flux. The second is filled with rage, and it falls back before him. He
causes a wall to be, and envisions his home extending from the
wall. He doesn't see the scores of beings that come into existence
as he rages and shapes, nor do the others see the results of their
actions, except as their area becomes larger.

The third one goes to the aid of the first, but his help is no longer
needed. They stand near each other, and cacoastrum flares yellow
and red and blue, and dies, turning into illiaster, which shapes