Limits Larry Niven (audio ebook reader TXT) đ
- Author: Larry Niven
Book online «Limits Larry Niven (audio ebook reader TXT) đ». Author Larry Niven
âI feel sorry for it,â Sparthera said. Then the truth came home to her and she said, âI feel sorry for us! The treasure must have been gone for years. Exceptâthe talisman led us here!â
Sung walked forward, following the talisman. He stopped above the skeleton with the flattened skull. ââTa netyilloââ Yes.â
He reached into the rib cage and came up with a mass of color flickering in his hands. Sparthera reached into it and found a large ruby. There were three others besides, and two good-sized emeralds.
Sung laughed long and hard. âSo, we have a greedy soldier to thank. He ran in, saw a pile of jewels, snatched up a fistful and swallowed them. He must have thought it would come out all right in the end. Instead, Garâs pet got him.â Sung wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. âFate is a wonderful thing. Here, give me those.â
She did, and Sung began tracing the curve on the talisman, one jewel at a time. She said, âThey wouldnât have left a talisman of levitation.â
âNo, they wouldnât.â
âAnd this stuff isnât worth nearly my weight in gold.â
Sung stiffened, âThe pointer! Itâs pointing into the wall itself!â He got up and began moving along the wall.
Sparthera grimaced but said nothing.
Sung called, âEither itâs cursed deep in there, or thereâs another cave, orâŠwhy do I bother? Itâs pointing to Rynildissen.â
âMaybe other places too. There was a war with Sarpuree, seventy years ago. We lost, so there was tribute to pay. I donât even have to guess where the Regent got the money to pay for it all. He may have sold most of the treasure.â
âHumph. Yes. And if there were any decorative items left, they could be spread all through the palace. And some of the soldiers probably hid a few little things like that diamond bird. Even if we were crazy enough to rob the Regentâs palace, weâd never get it all. Itâs the end of our treasure hunt, girl.â
âBut you saidâŠSung! How can I ever win my freedom if we donât go on?â
âOh, weâll go on. But not looking for Garâs treasure.â Sung scooped the jewels into his pocket and handed her the little diamond bird. âKeep this as a memento. The restâŠwell, Iâve thought of opening a toy shop. In Rynildissen, maybe.â
âA toy shop?â
Sung frowned. âYou donât like toys, do you?â
âEverybody likes toys. But weâre adults, Sung!â
âGirl, donât you know that human beings are natural magicians? I think itâs hereditary. The magic was always there to be usedâŠbut now it isnât. And we still want magic. Especially children.â
âThose toys arenâtââ
âNo, of course not, but theyâre as close as youâre likely to get these days, especially in a city. Toys from far places might sell very well.â
She was still angry. Sung reached to run his fingers over the tawny stubble on her head. âWeâll live well enough. Come kiss me, little thief. Seven years isnât such a long time.â
Sparthera kissed him; she couldnât help it. Then she said, âI wondered if a diamond bird could be your talisman of levitation.â
Sungâs eyes widened. âI wonderâŠitâs worth a try. Not in here, though.â He took the bird and scrambled up scree toward the cave entrance.
Sparthera started after him. Then, holding her torch high, she looked up. The rock tapered to a high natural vault. It looked unstable, dangerous. SomethingâŠa bright point?
Compelled, she continued climbing after Sung. But the diamond trinket (she told herself) was no flying spell. Sheâd been wrong: no soldier would have stolen that. It would be treason. By staying here she would be working in Sungâs best interests (she told herself, scrambling up the rocks). There was no point in shouting after him. If she were wrong, at least he wouldnât be disappointed (she told herself, and at last the pull of her oath lost its grip).
Sung was out of sight. Sparthera scrambled back down and set to work.
The soldiers had taken all of their equipment before they turned the cave into a crypt for their brethren by pulling down the entrance. They had taken armor, but left the crushed helmet that was part of one corpse. They had taken the metal point from a snapped spear; but a three-pace length of shaft remained.
Sparthera dipped a piece of cloth into the stream, then into some of the mouldy flour scattered on the rock floor. She kneaded the cloth until it had turned gooey, then wrapped it around the broken tip of the spear. She climbed scree to get closer to the ceiling, and reached up with the spear, toward a bright point on the cave roof.
It stuck. She pulled it down: thin gold filigree carved into a pair of birdâs wings, about the size of her two hands. It tugged upward against her fingers.
âLift me,â she whispered. And she rose until her head bumped rock.
âSet me down,â she whispered, and drifted back to earth.
No castle in the world held a room so high that she could not rob it, with this. And she waited for the impulse that would send her scrambling out to give it to Sung.
Sung was bounding downhill with his arms flapping, one hand clutching the diamond bauble, looking very like a little boy at play. He turned in fury at the sound of Spartheraâs laughter.
âIâve found it!â she called, holding the golden talisman high.
And as Sung ran toward her, beaming delight, Sparthera gloated.
For the instant in which she flew, Spartheraâs weight in gold had been far less than the value of the paltry treasure they had found.
She might stay with Sung long enough to take back the jewels, or at least the wings. She might even stay longer. If he were right about the toy shopâŠperhaps he need never
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