"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 20 - Web of Sand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

the boy. Yet the offer, if nothing else, had restored some of her
lost confidence. Why need she be so dependent on Yunus
Ambalo? She was unique while he was but one of many—a fact
she had tended to forget.

"No, my dear," he said quietly, and it was as if he'd read her
mind. "I am not to be discarded so easily. You must remember
that it is I who own your contract. It is to me you are indebted."

She said, bitterly, "Could I ever forget it?"

"It would be wise if you did not."

"And you will see to it that I am reminded I am your property.
Your slave!" Anger turned her eyes into emerald pools. "One day,
Yunus! One day—"

"One day the winds will cease and the surface of Harge be as
pleasant to walk on as—Nyadoma? That is the name of your
world, isn't it? Nyadoma where all are equal and none are
denied." His tone was dry with mocking. "I wonder why you ever
left such a paradise." Then, with sudden acidity, he added,
"Never threaten me, Ellain. Not when we are alone or in
company. Forget and you will regret it. That I promise."

"As you promised to take me to the arena?"

"Of course, my dear. I hadn't forgotten." His smile was bland.
"But first let us finish the meal."


Harge was a box holding a world and though small it held all
the elements of a planet. The upper towers held expensive suites
and apartments, windowed, the panes protected from the dust,
the air itself balanced to a scented delight. There it was possible
to wander in exotic gardens, swim in limpid pools, lounge
beneath transparent roofs in the light of sun or stars. Lower were
more modest apartments, offices, walks and shops, schools.
Lower still, below ground level, began a different world, one of
noise and smells and harsh bleakness. And lower still, as deep as
it was possible to get, the Burrows, the area of the damned.

Between the upper and lower worlds, like a thin film of oil, of
insulation, was the place Dumarest knew had to exist.

"Come here, my pretty!" An old crone yelled a raucous
invitation as he neared her stall. "Sit and let me study your palm.
The future lies in the lines, your past, dangers which could
threaten. Advantages too which could be lost unless anticipated."
A leer disfigured her seamed features. "A girl lusting for just