Brightness Reef читать онлайн

ant she recalled the ancient illustration that once rimmed the Parthenon — the one depicting savage, mythical centaurs.A moment later, she sighed.Silly thing. It’s only men riding donkeys. Ifni! This darkness would make anything ordinary seem mysterious, especially after all we’ve been thr—She blinked and stared again.They were big donkeys. The human riders’ feet did not drag but perched high off the ground, astride great torsos that seemed to pulsate with raw animal power.“It’s them!” Jomah cried. “They’re real! They weren’t all killed off, after all!”To Sara it felt like witnessing dragons, or dinosaurs, or stag-griffins come alive off the pages of a storybook. A dream made real — or a nightmare to some. The Urunthai prisoners let out a howl of anger and despair when they realized what was stepping into the firelight. This meant their one great achievement — their league’s sole claim to fame — was in fact a failure. A farce.The riders dismounted, and Sara realized they were all women. She also saw that several more of the great beasts followed behind, bearing saddles but otherwise unburdened.No, she thought, realizing what was about to be asked of her. They can’t seriously expect me to climb onto one of those things!The nearest beast snorted as the Stranger reached up to stroke its mammoth head. The creature easily out-massed four or five urs, with jaws big enough to swallow a person’s arm, whole. Yet, the man from space pressed his cheek against its great neck.With tears in his eyes, he sang again.“When you wake,you shall have cake,and all the prettylittle horses.”
Epilogue
It is a strange universe.He ponders this without putting it in words. It’s easier that way.Lately, he has found quite a few means to express ideas