The Stones of Nomuru
- Автор: Де Камп Лайон Спрэг
- Серия: Viagens Interplanetarias #7
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «The Stones of Nomuru». Краткое содержание книги:
Mild-mannered Terra archeologist Keith Salazar was just minding his business, digging up the alien past on an out-of-the-way site on the planet Kukulcan, when suddenly he was beseiged by intruders on his scholarly peace: hostile natives, an indifferent ex-wife, and a demon developer with rapacious eyes glued on both his site and his true love.
In the course of protecting his dig, regaining his loved one and vanquishing his rival, Salazar will fight a giant reptilian predator bare-handed, leap into snake-filled pits, engineer the planet's first imperial conquest, lead and train a battalion of alien riflemen, and hold a séance. Pretty exciting work--but then maybe Keith Salazar wasn't such a milquetoast after all...
"Well!" she said. "Your little Hindu god pooped out on me!"
"What happened?" The two men spoke at once.
She strode across the room and began to dress. "The silly man drank too much, that's all. When the time came for action, he couldn't get it up. He said if we just rested and talked, he'd get his powers back. Instead, he passed out. Now, not even shaking can wake him. Oh, Keith, if only you hadn't been away so long!"
"Sorry," said Salazar, "but I had a job to do. Shall I walk you home?"
"Sure! Thanks for the party, Cabot, even if it didn't turn out quite the way it was planned."
On the street, Penny compensated for unsteadiness by clutching Salazar's arm in a muscular grip. She asked: "What's that Kara Sheffield to you, Keith? Some things that were said made me think she's more than just an acquaintance."
"Smart girl! She's my former wife."
"Oh! What a fool she must be, to let a prize catch like you get away!"
"I'm afraid that was my doing. I'm the villain."
"She must have done something to drive you away. Did she have an affair? Or nag? Or—"
"No. She did nothing wrong. It's a painful subject; I'd rather not discuss it."
Penny prattled on. "I understand. But I'm interested in relations between former spouses. I may do my master's thesis on them. They range all the way from people who bitterly hate each other to divorced couples who return to living together as if they were still married. In your case, for instance, do you and she get together now and then for a horizontal workout, just for old times' sake? Do you—"
"Just friends. No liaison, no plans." His voice sharp, Salazar changed the subject. "Please promise me one thing, Penny. Don't say a word to anybody about Skanda's part in this abortive orgy!"
"Is that excessive loyalty to your boss, or what? If Skanda lost his job, wouldn't you be the next director?"
"I might; but that's exactly what I don't want! I want to stay with field work and publication. I love real dirt archaeology; it's the most fun you can have with your pants on. As director my time would be taken up with paper shuffling and wangling money for the Museum, and that sort of thing makes me feel as if I were wrestling with pythons. So be a good girl and clam up about this evening, will you?"
"All right." She giggled. "But that poor little Skanda Patel was funny!"
They arrived at her door. She said: "Won't you come in, Keith? I'll make you a nightcap."
"Thanks, but I—"
"Oh, come on! This has been a frustrating evening for all of us, and we deserve a little real fun!"
With a powerful tug, she hauled him over the threshold and closed the door. Then she faced him, sliding her hands slowly up the front of his jacket as she murmured: "Isn't it time we really got to know each other better?"
A moment later, locked in an ardent embrace, Salazar felt his blood pound. Then the girl abated her incandescent kisses long enough to add: "Especially since I'll be in your graduate class next month?"
Like an exorcism, these words broke Penny's spell. Although a bit of a puritan, Salazar would have been overjoyed by such overtures from Kara. But a sexual encounter with a student filled him with distaste. He despised instructors who took advantage of their pupils.
Still, Salazar hesitated to make an enemy of Penny Molina, a gifted and forceful young person accustomed to getting her own way. Neither was he willing to make himself vulnerable to charges of sexual harassment, or to foreclose all chances of reconciliation with Kara. Thinking fast, he said:
"Penny dear, I fear I must tell you the ghastly truth."
"What's that?"
"I lately went deep into Kookish country."
"I know; you saw the Empress."
"Well, along the way I acquired a kind of Kook called an onnifa—a sterile female, living a warrior's life. Although I didn't know it at the time she became my retainer, Kookish rules say that the master of an onnifa is expected to service her sexually whenever his legal mate is absent."
"Sort of like the Biblical handmaidens?"
"Yep. Anyway, she put it to me: If I didn't come across, one of us would have to kill the other."
"Good heavens! Why?"
"It's a long story. Anyway, I thought: Why not? But Kook organs differ from ours. In any case the result was—" (Salazar stepped back with a woebegone expression)"—that my manhood was destroyed!"
"Oh, my God! You mean you lost your—"
"Yep. Luckily the Empress's physicians saved my life."
She lowered her gaze with a puzzled expression. "But when we kissed, I thought I felt ..."
Wordlessly, Salazar drew his small in-town pistol from his pocket, showed it, and replaced it.
"You poor, poor man!" cried Penny, throwing herself into his arms and covering him with tears and kisses. "So that's why you and Kara have to be 'just friends'!"
"There, there, my dear," said Salazar, trying tactfully to fend her off. "We must all bravely face the vicissitudes of fortune. And now good-night!"
Salazar stopped at his apartment to pick up personal effects, including his new binoculars. While packing toiletries and a change of clothes, he stared uncertainly at the poignette on his wrist. He could not decide whether or not to tell Kara that the caravan was about to leave. There were arguments for and against. In the end he buttoned her and said:
"Kara, I'm setting out tonight. The kyuumeis are on their way to the farm. I'm heading for the Museum to pick up Kono and Uwangi, and we shall be on the road by first fight. Want to come?"
"Certainly!"
"Your juten is still stabled at Vittorio's farm. I'll tell him to have it saddled and ready for you."
"Good; I'll bike out to the farm at daybreak."
"Fine! And please, not a word about tonight's events. I'll explain when I see you."
IX – THE CARAVAN
A few stars lingered in the paling sky as Kara Sheffield pedaled down the lane to di Pasquale's farmhouse. Four of Kukulcan's moons hung like paper lanterns above the horizon; but they little resembled Earth's Luna. The largest, Tlaloc, unveiled a small visible disk to the naked eye, while the others appeared little more than luminous dots.
In the courtyard, heavy-laden kyuumeis stamped and pawed while their Kookish teamsters, with muskets slung across their backs, adjusted loads and lashings. Chensoö strolled about, croaking orders; Keith Salazar, holding the lead rope of his juten, stood with Kono, Uwangi, and their mounts.
As Kara braked her vehicle, di Pasquale led a saddled juten from his barn. "Ah, Miss Sheffield!" said the stout, fierce-mustached farmer. "Always a pleasure!"
"Hello, Vittorio," said Kara.
Di Pasquale laid a finger along his nose. "Keith must be mad to take a beautiful, delicate woman out into the wild back country."
Kara laughed lightly. "I've survived worse hazards."
Dawn saw Salazar and Kara jogging along the road to Neruu, followed by the rest of the caravan. Kara said: "What happened at the party? Cabot acted evasive when I called to thank him for taking me home."
Salazar told the tale, ending with his escape from Penny's amorous clutches. With anyone else he might have withdrawn into his shell; but confiding in Kara was a habit that he had never broken.
"Poor thing!" laughed Kara, "or I should say, poor both of you! Penny must have been red-hot, and you—I don't see how you withstood her. You exaggerated the—all—"
"If I'd given in, would it have made you jealous?"
"No."
"Not one teeny bit?"
"Not one bit. I'd assume it was good for you. You were virile enough when we—when I knew you before."