Unconquered Sun (38 page)

But paratroopers departed in different directions now, enticing a monster on open space, not ceasing to shoot and chop feelers. But the beams which are let out even by large-caliber tubes of bugs caused to a monster painful, but not mortal wounds. And the feelers which are chopped off by light swords and blades of "bugs" through some time grew again.

- It is one of the most dangerous, strong and hardy creatures of the Rocky Mountains, - as always passionlessly commented on the occurring Invincible Sun. - It unusually quickly regenerates. Its force such is that it is capable to kill the real dragon. It lives tens of thousands of years, can do without food centuries. I like to hunt them when it is boring for me. Very long time ago fairies had to sweat fairly to bring them out of the inhabited Tselestiya's part, and here the dosyud of the handle at them and is not sent in addition …

The prince wanted to ask how fairies managed them to remove, but was not in time.

Only Z-001 stretched a hand to the red lever to pour over this creature a stream of a drakony flame (as was the operation purpose) - as there was something improbable. The creature was much more cunning, than "hunters" thought of it.

Perhaps she guessed that she is fooled. And can - scented that all her enemies, except one, - not live. In any case, instead of playing the role which is released by it, she put "hunters" in a difficult situation.

Suddenly the dozens of feelers shot highly up. So usually hunters of animals when throw a lasso, on a deer or a wild horse do. These feelers departed directly on Prinze! Even at the Invincible Sun reaction turned out not such fast.

Feelers stuck into Prinze in several places at once - in hands, legs, a trunk, a neck - and with improbable the settlement pulled it to a monster.

Mountains were announced by the wild shout which turned into shrill squeal:

- To cease fire! Immediately! Only swords! Z-001 to set aside fire! You to me burn it now! To cease fire!

The hand of Z-001 stopped. "Bugs" and golems with tubes ceased to shoot. Shooters pulled out swords from "pockets" and right there as if on command started rescuing Prinze.

But far from it! The creature understood that it got into an ambush and got back into a cave, entraining the production. And monster poison already began to affect Prinze. In the head rustled, weakness spread on all body, began to drive in a dream. Suckers loudly squelched, exhausting blood from Prinze.

Looking half-closed eyes back, Prinze saw, dreamily, the gold figures running after him, but feelers dragged him so quickly that even they did not keep up. In addition they had to be cut through literally forward.

Having reached, at last, a cave, the creature shot part of feelers up again to get into the den and there will already regale on the new victim.

Rising on elastic feelers up, in darkness, Prinze managed to see - or it seemed to him that he saw - a golden silhouette with a shock of a flying hair, a round face and the burning bezglazy eye-sockets. It flew quicker than wind. Having appeared below, under a creature, she upraised hands and struck with a stream of solar energy of huge force directly in the center of a creature, in a congestion its black cold a peephole.

Apparently, she was lucky to get directly into the nerve ganglion which hid behind them which connected nervous system of a creature with her fat white brain. Incredibly shrill, deafening heart-breaking squeal, and feelers, for a moment paralyzed was again distributed, were unclenched. But it appeared It enough. The solar ghost seized Prinze and quicker than wind directed back, to a dragon. But from outside it looked so as if Prinze flew by air.

The sorcerer did not manage to reach a dragon as the creature came round from paralytic shock. Having published spiteful uterine growl, it directed again after the escaping victim which it, in addition, already began to try and which was much more tasty than a bear!

Again the stream of feelers shot from a cave, again fat hulk got out, but now Z-001 one worked smoothly. The gold hand wrung out the red lever on a neck of a dragon to the full and the stream of the drakony flame melting even granite covered a monster.

Squeal was such that stones began to fall from tops of mountains, somewhere the avalanche highly descended. The terrible sphere teeming with feelers flashed as a haystack to which the lightning got, and was rolled up on the ground, trying to extinguish with convulsive blows of feelers a flame. But it is vain. Even water is not capable to extinguish a flame of a dragon. Especially as the dragon sent more and more …

At last, the monster calmed down, and Z-001 wrung out the lever back. Operation is finished. The object is destroyed. The order of its Perfection is executed. The calmed-down monster burned about half an hour until from it there was nothing, only the black melted-off spot on rock.

And at this time the Invincible Sun put Prinze on a small island of a rigid grass at the foot of the mountain. Golems already ran up to it.

- Quickly! First-aid kit! - the lightning mental team followed.

One of golems pressed the button and plates on the left hip dispersed. In his hands there was a small metal box.

The invincible Sun broke a seal and pulled out the syringe, gathered in it some blue liquid, and then entered into Prinze's vein. It was the universal disinfecting remedy decomposing any organic poison. It has to purify blood of poison of all in a couple of hours if only it did not poison the main vital centers any more.

Several minutes painfully expectations. At last, Prinze slowly opened eyes and poorly smiled:

- Again I got into crapes, the truth?

They made the return flight almost in full silence. The prince hardly recovered and there was no wish to speak to him after everything endured. He felt that the Invincible Sun too strongly thought of something. When the Gold Tower ahead seemed, Prinze, at last, with a great effort told:

- Thanks to you … You saved to me life … I also did not think that you can be … such …

But the Invincible Sun did not answer nothing. What It thought of, it was known, probably, to one Creator.

5.

The next morning when Prinze properly slept off, he was woken indifferently by an impatient Voice:

- And now - we will go to my workshops. I will show you something that will shake your imagination and you will understand that I not just like that sat all these millennia here …

On the way lecture continued:

- All these mosaics, gardens and all other, including gold dragons are just like that, entertainment. Really I worked on another and if you do not faint from surprise, I will consider that I spent all this time for nothing... - and again a damned ringing of hand bells in the head.

And then Prinze stepped in the next tunnel in which ladder conducted under the earth. Reflection with two searchlights instead of eyes whisked behind it.

It seemed that the ladder on which Prinze all lower and lower under the earth went down will curl indefinitely. The prince was tired and repeatedly intended to sit down, but every time in his head was distributed a voice: "Yet not time, forward, forward …" and he felt a hot touch again in shovels which so burned it that willy-nilly it was necessary to make haste.

Even here, in vault depths, all walls were from gold. And therefore in the Mountain was lightas in the afternoon.

At last, the tiring descent was finished. Judging by a heat and on a dead air, Prinze thought that here some forge works were obviously carried out.

Soon from where in front the muffled clang, a roar, hissing reached.

Again hot breath touched his back and Prinze, having hardly taken breath, moved forward on a wide tunnel. Soon and it ended.

The prince came to be in a huge hall cave which, appear, had no ceiling at all. At least, Prinze did not see it. All space of a huge workshop was forced by all equipment, the woods, cranes, ladders, carts on rails. Everywhere acquaintances already to Prinze dwarfs and gold golems scurried about. They did not pay attention to it, scurried about here and there, continually bringing something, carrying, clambering on ladders.

"Real ants", - Prinze with involuntary respect and fear thought that organized deeply underground all this terrible ant hill of That.

- Of course, - the Voice answered it. - Just as ants unconditionally submit to the queen, and they - me. This my kingdom, here I am God-almighty, more precisely, the queen and the goddess. And this kingdom can be yours, it is worth wanting … Present how it is fine, - thousands, tens, hundreds of thousands of slaves ready to execute ANY your desire. And you among them - God-almighty... For the sake of it there are a lot of great heroes and heroines of antiquity laid down the life, and you can have it for nothing... How to you?

- Impresses... - vaguely Prinze told, trying to hide far away in soul hiding places the disgust for such brilliant prospects which arose in it. - But tell me, madam, the tsar, what of me, and furthermore - god? I am only Anonymous Prinze - without - Kingdoms, the ordinary person. I suit for walks on forest lawns and river valleys, for picnics and songs outdoors, but not for management of millions of slaves...

- It is fixable, - the Voice indulgently answered. - You think, I always was such how now? I too... However, it is unimportant. When you enter the Stream - everything will change, you will become another, you anew will be born. And then you will want to be that about whom I speak... However, we already came.

They stood near the next wall which silently drove off aside, povinuyas to mental team to the hostess of these places.

"Whether there are in general in this place normal doors with handles and loops?" - Prinze thought - and it appeared in the strange room.

- It is the Malachite room. My staff, perhaps.

The room completely corresponded to the name. All walls, ceilings and even a floor were made of this beautiful green stone. Besides, the big polished table and chairs also were malachite, as well as the big sphere established on a support in the middle of a table.

The prince with a great relief sat down on one of chairs. He was tired from infinite descent on twisted ladders to death.

- From here I operate all security system of the Gold Hall and even all Mountain. Look.

The malachite sphere lit up from within and its green beams in air formed some big drawing.

Having peered at it, Prinze with surprise learned both to Gore, and the Gold Tower on it, but only reduced and in a section. Both in the mountain, and in a tower there was a set of the different courses, transitions, tunnels, ladders … Real ant hill! The prince gave a whistle from surprise.

But the most interesting is a large number of the shining pulsing points in different places.

- What is it? - Prinze with astonishment asked.

- These are power points. Here the energy of the sun collected by mirrors from a surface accumulates, and then it is distributed on all mirrors.

- It that in vaults was light-? - fondly Prinze asked, than again caused a fit of laughter of the Hostess.

- Ingenious, indeed! Illumination - this most insignificant function of mirrors. Main consists in another … You that, you think, I hold these golems yes of dragons for self-defense, huh?

- And for what?

Again ringing of metal hand bells.

- Silly! You think, the impact of fairies will be stopped by such insignificant army? Only to frighten people by them yes on monsters in mountains to hunt. They are necessary to me generally for investigation, for sorties of everyones, diversions … Not to win real war with their help.

- And how it is possible to win?

- Look.

The prince saw the increased silhouette of the Gold Tower on the schematic map shining in air. In many places of the Tower Prinze distinctly saw the pulsing shining "power points".

Suddenly from where because of the horizon the eagle seemed. Apparently, it was attracted by the Observation Deck of the Gold Tower. Perhaps, in his bird's head the thought arose that it would be quite good to twist the nest on such high brilliant mountain …

So it or not so, but the eagle flew straight to the Tower.

But once it crossed the hidden border separating to Gore from the Gorge, suddenly power points flashed bright light and connected in one chain. The shining energy in a flash filled all surface of the Tower. Still a moment - and at once a set of beams, having reflected from a smooth surface of the Tower, directed on an unfortunate bird, instant flash and … - only an ashes handful thin flakes fell down on the earth …

- For … for …, why! - Prinze, nearly crying exclaimed. - Poor birdie!

- Well, well that you for the crybaby such! Not the man, and it is unknown that! I should have shown on someone to you what does me impregnable for army of fairies! By the way, my mirrors can burn anything, even a stone and metal and not that a handful of some there feathers!

But Prinze did not listen to it any more.

- Everything, I cannot any more! I was tired of all your oruzhiya, tools, troops and all other! I am not a military person why to me all this? Leave me alone!

- All right, be not capricious, give you I will show my latest invention, and I will release you. We go back to workshops.

6.

The invincible Sun brought Prinze to the huge, giant metal vessel similar to a huge blast furnace which stood in the middle of a cave.