[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
And if it got too boring, there were the wines of Covanti and an endless
supply of mild drugs that would take you for as long as you wanted into a
state where everything was pleasant and wonderful and the silliest little
things were end-
lessly amusing.
She indulged herself in all the pleasures because she knew it would end,
probably sooner than later. She was property, and not of Covanti's royal
family as the others were, and she was being taken to her master.
And then there was Halagar. She had seen him only through
Shadowcat, but she had known him far more intimately than that. He was a big,
strong, muscular man with an equally
WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 43
strong and handsome face, with a bodybuilder's frame and muscle control, and
so worldly wise and experienced that he had taught her some new things in the
bedroom. He was rough, yet tender, too, somehow, and he seemed to be as
smitten with her as she was with him. On his part it was a strictly physical
attraction, but that was the only kind she really knew and it fired up her ego
and self-image to think that out of all the choices available to him he had
chosen her.
It had to be physical; somehow, for some reason, every time she was alone with
him Sharlene Sharkin just ceased to
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...inds%203%20-%20War%20of%20the%
20Maelstrom.txt (34 of 288) [1/19/03 4:14:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20Changewinds%203%2
0-%20War%20of%20the%20Maelstrom.txt exist, leaving only Shari. her perfect
courtesan alter ego, who had no memories beyond being a courtesan, thought
only in the Short Speech, and existed only to serve and please. There was a
spell that would do that, of course; Sam had created it so she could have some
fun back on that wagon train without betraying anything by accident. But that
spell's words were
English and known only to Sam and herself. Even on her own and without the
spell, she could slip into Shari as easily as slipping into a dress, but she
had always been there, as a sort of rider, able to regain control if needed.
It was her "profes-
sional" persona. But this was different.
She wondered, sometimes, if perhaps that spell were break-
ing down. That maybe it was her subconscious doing it; that, deep down, she
really just wanted to be Shari and to hell with anything else- In Akahlar,
Shari was all that she needed, required, or could actually be. The rest,
Charley, was excess baggage. She knew, at least, that if she ever did wind up
permanently in a harem like this, she would quickly become all Shari and
remain that way. And, truth to tell, she won-
dered if that wouldn't be all for the best for her own sake.
She would always prefer to be in total control of her own life, but, if that
could not be, and if there was no hope of ever returning home and she had to
live her life here, as she was, wasn't it better to forget what wasn't
relevant and just enjoy, like the girls here?
Sure, she was the brave, blind courtesan who'd outwitted and caused the
Page 29
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
destruction of a feared demon Stormrider by merely remembering a bit of high
school physics, but there were only so many times you could get away with
that, and she knew how lucky she'd been. One of these times, she'd lose. If
not the next time, then the next, or the next. And, 44 lack
L. Chalker although one of her fantasies from the old days back home had been
as the fierce and feared Amazonian warrior, it was different when you really
faced those kind of things. On the whole, in real life, she knew that if she
had to choose between being a warrior or a lover, she'd much rathet be a
lover.
Boday remained as personal slave to Dorion, although the plump, sandy-haired
apprentice sorcerer would much rather have had Charley around. At least Boday
was also subject to his commands, although, truth to tell, Dorion just wasn't
all that comfortable in the role of master. And Boday was just a bit too weird
a personality even for him.
Boday, tall and thin, now had a dark, chocolate brown complexion just like
Charley, and for the same reason. Boday's body, tattooed from neck to feet,
made her instantly recogniz-
able anywhere and hardly somebody you could sneak through civilized areas. The
sorceress Yobi had, therefore, dyed them both with an incredibly
natural-looking skin dye to cover the designs. In Boday's case, it hadn't
helped much. Neither did the fact that she assumed the name of Koba (and
Charley was
Yssa) so their names would not only not be obvious flags but also would match
(heir new apparent nationalities. Neither dye nor a mere alias could hide
Boday herself.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...inds%203%20-%20War%20of%20the%
20Maelstrom.txt (35 of 288) [1/19/03 4:14:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20Changewinds%203%2
0-%20War%20of%20the%20Maelstrom.txt
"Your humble slave is desolate!" she wailed to him in private. "When will we
leave this velvet prison and resume our journey?"
Dorion knew well why Boday wanted to go. Early on, she'd accidentally
swallowed a powerful love potion of her own design and the first person she'd
seen after waking up had been Sam. It was incredibly strong it had to be,
since
Boday often made references to one or another of her seven previous
husbands and its composition was known only to
Boday. so only she could mix an antidote for it. And. natu-
rally, under the potion, the last thing she wanted was an antidote or anyone
else to slip it to her. She had even regis-
tered Sam and herself as a "married" couple in the Kingdom of Tubikosa, where
it was allowed with disdain for the conve- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
And if it got too boring, there were the wines of Covanti and an endless
supply of mild drugs that would take you for as long as you wanted into a
state where everything was pleasant and wonderful and the silliest little
things were end-
lessly amusing.
She indulged herself in all the pleasures because she knew it would end,
probably sooner than later. She was property, and not of Covanti's royal
family as the others were, and she was being taken to her master.
And then there was Halagar. She had seen him only through
Shadowcat, but she had known him far more intimately than that. He was a big,
strong, muscular man with an equally
WAR OF THE MAELSTROM 43
strong and handsome face, with a bodybuilder's frame and muscle control, and
so worldly wise and experienced that he had taught her some new things in the
bedroom. He was rough, yet tender, too, somehow, and he seemed to be as
smitten with her as she was with him. On his part it was a strictly physical
attraction, but that was the only kind she really knew and it fired up her ego
and self-image to think that out of all the choices available to him he had
chosen her.
It had to be physical; somehow, for some reason, every time she was alone with
him Sharlene Sharkin just ceased to
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...inds%203%20-%20War%20of%20the%
20Maelstrom.txt (34 of 288) [1/19/03 4:14:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20Changewinds%203%2
0-%20War%20of%20the%20Maelstrom.txt exist, leaving only Shari. her perfect
courtesan alter ego, who had no memories beyond being a courtesan, thought
only in the Short Speech, and existed only to serve and please. There was a
spell that would do that, of course; Sam had created it so she could have some
fun back on that wagon train without betraying anything by accident. But that
spell's words were
English and known only to Sam and herself. Even on her own and without the
spell, she could slip into Shari as easily as slipping into a dress, but she
had always been there, as a sort of rider, able to regain control if needed.
It was her "profes-
sional" persona. But this was different.
She wondered, sometimes, if perhaps that spell were break-
ing down. That maybe it was her subconscious doing it; that, deep down, she
really just wanted to be Shari and to hell with anything else- In Akahlar,
Shari was all that she needed, required, or could actually be. The rest,
Charley, was excess baggage. She knew, at least, that if she ever did wind up
permanently in a harem like this, she would quickly become all Shari and
remain that way. And, truth to tell, she won-
dered if that wouldn't be all for the best for her own sake.
She would always prefer to be in total control of her own life, but, if that
could not be, and if there was no hope of ever returning home and she had to
live her life here, as she was, wasn't it better to forget what wasn't
relevant and just enjoy, like the girls here?
Sure, she was the brave, blind courtesan who'd outwitted and caused the
Page 29
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
destruction of a feared demon Stormrider by merely remembering a bit of high
school physics, but there were only so many times you could get away with
that, and she knew how lucky she'd been. One of these times, she'd lose. If
not the next time, then the next, or the next. And, 44 lack
L. Chalker although one of her fantasies from the old days back home had been
as the fierce and feared Amazonian warrior, it was different when you really
faced those kind of things. On the whole, in real life, she knew that if she
had to choose between being a warrior or a lover, she'd much rathet be a
lover.
Boday remained as personal slave to Dorion, although the plump, sandy-haired
apprentice sorcerer would much rather have had Charley around. At least Boday
was also subject to his commands, although, truth to tell, Dorion just wasn't
all that comfortable in the role of master. And Boday was just a bit too weird
a personality even for him.
Boday, tall and thin, now had a dark, chocolate brown complexion just like
Charley, and for the same reason. Boday's body, tattooed from neck to feet,
made her instantly recogniz-
able anywhere and hardly somebody you could sneak through civilized areas. The
sorceress Yobi had, therefore, dyed them both with an incredibly
natural-looking skin dye to cover the designs. In Boday's case, it hadn't
helped much. Neither did the fact that she assumed the name of Koba (and
Charley was
Yssa) so their names would not only not be obvious flags but also would match
(heir new apparent nationalities. Neither dye nor a mere alias could hide
Boday herself.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...inds%203%20-%20War%20of%20the%
20Maelstrom.txt (35 of 288) [1/19/03 4:14:38 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20Changewinds%203%2
0-%20War%20of%20the%20Maelstrom.txt
"Your humble slave is desolate!" she wailed to him in private. "When will we
leave this velvet prison and resume our journey?"
Dorion knew well why Boday wanted to go. Early on, she'd accidentally
swallowed a powerful love potion of her own design and the first person she'd
seen after waking up had been Sam. It was incredibly strong it had to be,
since
Boday often made references to one or another of her seven previous
husbands and its composition was known only to
Boday. so only she could mix an antidote for it. And. natu-
rally, under the potion, the last thing she wanted was an antidote or anyone
else to slip it to her. She had even regis-
tered Sam and herself as a "married" couple in the Kingdom of Tubikosa, where
it was allowed with disdain for the conve- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]