"02 - Rise of a Merchant Prince" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

the demon had devoured much and had grown. And that was creating
problems for itself.

It sat down, attempting to find a comfortable position as its body
changed. The feasting had continued for nearly a year and many of the
lesser demons had grown. This particular demon had grown faster than
most, though it still hadn't matured enough to have developed
significant intelligence or a sexual identity.

Looking down at the plaything, the demon laughed, a silent gaping of
jaws and sucking of wind. The mortal eye could not behold the thing
within the jar. The demon, who didn't have a name yet, had been most
fortunate to snare this particular soul. A great demon captain, almost a
lord, had fallen to mighty magic even as the great Tugor had crushed
and eaten the leader of the Saaur. One of the Saaur magic users, a
powerful one, had destroyed the demon captain, but at the cost of his
own life. The little demon might not be intelligent, but it was quick, and
without hesitation it had seized the fleeing soul force of the dead magic
user.

The demon inspected the device again, the soul jar, and poked at it.
The magic soul within rewarded it by thrashing, if something without a
body could be said to thrash.

The demon shifted its weight. It knew it was getting more powerful,
but the nearly nonstop feeding was at an end. The last of the Saaur
were dead and devoured, and now the demon host was

4

RISE OF A MERCHANT PRINCE

depending on lesser animals for food, animals with negligent soul
force. There were some client races, who would breed children, some
of which would go to the feasting pits, but that meant slow growth in
this realm. Its body would continue to mature, but not significantly until
the next realm had been entered.

Cold, the demon thought as it glanced around the large room,
ignorant of its original use: a bedroom for one of the Saaur leader's
many wives. The native realm was one of wild energies and pulsing
heat, where the demons of the Fifth Circle grew like wild things,
devouring one another, until strong enough to escape and serve the
Demon King and his lords and captains. This demon had but vague
recollections of its own beginning, remembering only anger and fear,
and an occasional moment of pleasure as it devoured something.

The demon settled down on the floor. With a changing body, it
couldn't seem to find a comfortable position. Its back itched, and with
certainty it knew wings would grow there soon, tiny at first, then