"Ann Durand - Flight of the Gryphon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Durand Ann)

"I see," Katera said, quietly. "So the disc, the VisiOrb, was a good thing in your world."

"It's merely a thing in any world. In mine, it was used well. Until Don…Askinadon got a hold of it in this
world."

"Why do you keep calling him Don?" she asked, shelving other questions about the VisiOrb.

"Because his name is Don. Don Askins."

Katera frowned. "Why did he change his name?"

"For your people…because all of the males in your culture have a name that ends in o-n, or e-n, or i-n.
Something with 'n'. The females all have names that end with 'a', as you know. I'm sure he used it to
assist him in creating a new persona for your people…a god-like persona."

Katera paused, wondering. "Then is your name really Mikolen?"

Mikolen smiled sheepishly. "No. I did the same thing, but for a different reason. I am no god any more
than Don Askins, but I wanted to give you a name you could relate to."

Katera raised an eyebrow. "So, your real name?"

"It's Mike. Mike Leno. On my world, we have two names instead of one, like your people. Don and
Askins. Mike and Leno. So, I just mixed up my name to come up with a new one."

"Shall I call you…?"

"No, call me Mikolen. It's fine." He smiled. She wanted to reach out, touch him. He stood up and took a
deep breath. "Katera, please, " he said, and hesitated. He looked at his hands, looked at her. "I know
how you feel about your family, but we can do nothing for them or anyone else in Parallon. Won't you let
me guide you through the Shirkas to a new home? Maybe, some day you can return…who knows?"

Katera stood up quickly and moved around him, as if he were in her way. She strode to the exit and
turned to face him again, hands on hips.

"I told you. No," she said, firmly. "You don't have to help me, but I'm staying in Parallon." She dropped
her hands to her sides. "Don't worry," she added, lowering her voice. "I won't tell anyone about you."

She knew from their conversations that Askinadon hadn't the slightest notion that Mikolen lived in this
dark, subterranean world within the mountain. He was not even aware that Mikolen existed on the
planet, believing instead that he'd been killed in the first hour after they'd materialized on the summit. This
allowed Mikolen to slip inside Askinadon's castle undetected in the darkness, when few Kastaks were
on hand to watch the numerous gates and doors. In those stolen moments, he would sequester whatever
he needed for his project-a special project with a purpose he'd guardedly kept from her, but Katera
knew from listening that it held high hopes for him. Probably, she mused sadly, he was building a way to
escape and return to his home on that planet…Earth.

"I promise. I won't tell anyone that you're here," she repeated.