Read Online Tales from the vulgar unicorn- Thieves World 02 by Robert Asprin - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robert Asprin
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction - General, Fiction - Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies
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next moment, the spider disappeared.
She told Smhee what had happened.
'Thanks be to Klooshna!' he said. 'You are invulnerable to them. If you weren't, you'd be swelling up now!'
'But what ifit'd been a real spider?' she said as she kept waving her torch at the monsters that circled them. 'I didn't know until my hand closed on it that it was not real.'
'Then you'd be dying. But the fact that it ignored the brand showed you what it really was. You realized that even if you didn't think consciously about it.'
They came to another archway. While she threw her torch through it and got down to look for another thread, Smhee held off the spiders.
'There doesn't seem to be any,' she said.
'Seem isn't good enough,' he said. 'Hah, back, you creatures of evil! Look closely! Can you see any thin lines in the floor itself? Minute cracks?'
After a few seconds, she said, 'Yes. They form a square.'
'A trapdoor to drop us into a pit,' he said. 'You jump past it. And let's hope there isn't another trap just beyond it.'
She said that she'd need a little run to clear the line. He charged the spiders, waving his torch furiously, and they backed away. When she called to him that she was safe, he turned and ran and leaped. A hairy, many-legged thing dashed through the entrance after him. Masha stepped up to the line and thrust her brand at it. It stopped. Behind it were masses that moved, shadows of solidity. Smhee leaped towards the foremost one and jammed the burning red of his brand into the head. The stink of charred flesh assailed their nostrils. It ran backwards but was stopped by those behind it. Then they retreated, and the thing, its eyes burned out, began running around and around, finally disappearing into the darkness. The others were now just beyond the doorway in the other cave. Smhee threw his torch into it.
'That'll keep them from coming through!' he said, panting. 'I should have brought some extra torches, but even the greatest mind sometimes slips. Notice how the weight of those spiders didn't make the trapdoor drop? It must have a minimum limit. You only weigh eighty-five pounds. Maybe...?'
'Forget it,' she said.
' Right you are,', he said, grinning. 'But Masha, if you are to be a master thief, you must think of everything.'
She thought of reminding him about the extra torches he'd forgotten but decided not to. They went on ahead through an enormous cavern and came to a tunnel. From its dark mouth streamed a stink like a newly opened tomb. And they heard the cry that was half-grunt, half-squall.
Smhee halted. 'I hate to go into that tunnel. But we must. You look upward for holes in the ceiling, and I'll look everywhere else.'
The stone, however, looked solid. When they were halfway down the bore, they were blasted with a tremendous growling and roaring.
'Lions?' Masha said.
'No. Bears.'
12
At the opposite end were two gigantic animals, their eyes gleaming redly in the light, their fangs a dull white.
The two intruders advanced after waiting for the bears to charge. But these stayed by the doorway, though they did not cease their thunderous roaring nor their slashes at the air with their paws.
'The bears were making the strange cry,' she said. 'I've seen dancing bears in the bazaars, but I never heard them make a noise like that. Nor were they near as large.'
He said, 'They've got chains around their necks. Come on.'
When they were within a few feet of the beasts, they stopped. The stench was almost overpowering now, and they were deafened by the uproar in the narrowness of the tunnel.
Smhee told her to hold her torch steady. He opened his belt-bag and pulled out two lengths of bamboo pipe and joined them. Then, from a small wooden case, he cautiously extracted a feathered dart. He inserted it in one and raised the blowpipe almost to his lips.
'There's enough poison on the tip of the dart to kill a dozen men,' he said.
'However, I doubt that it would do much harm, if any, if the dart sticks in their
She told Smhee what had happened.
'Thanks be to Klooshna!' he said. 'You are invulnerable to them. If you weren't, you'd be swelling up now!'
'But what ifit'd been a real spider?' she said as she kept waving her torch at the monsters that circled them. 'I didn't know until my hand closed on it that it was not real.'
'Then you'd be dying. But the fact that it ignored the brand showed you what it really was. You realized that even if you didn't think consciously about it.'
They came to another archway. While she threw her torch through it and got down to look for another thread, Smhee held off the spiders.
'There doesn't seem to be any,' she said.
'Seem isn't good enough,' he said. 'Hah, back, you creatures of evil! Look closely! Can you see any thin lines in the floor itself? Minute cracks?'
After a few seconds, she said, 'Yes. They form a square.'
'A trapdoor to drop us into a pit,' he said. 'You jump past it. And let's hope there isn't another trap just beyond it.'
She said that she'd need a little run to clear the line. He charged the spiders, waving his torch furiously, and they backed away. When she called to him that she was safe, he turned and ran and leaped. A hairy, many-legged thing dashed through the entrance after him. Masha stepped up to the line and thrust her brand at it. It stopped. Behind it were masses that moved, shadows of solidity. Smhee leaped towards the foremost one and jammed the burning red of his brand into the head. The stink of charred flesh assailed their nostrils. It ran backwards but was stopped by those behind it. Then they retreated, and the thing, its eyes burned out, began running around and around, finally disappearing into the darkness. The others were now just beyond the doorway in the other cave. Smhee threw his torch into it.
'That'll keep them from coming through!' he said, panting. 'I should have brought some extra torches, but even the greatest mind sometimes slips. Notice how the weight of those spiders didn't make the trapdoor drop? It must have a minimum limit. You only weigh eighty-five pounds. Maybe...?'
'Forget it,' she said.
' Right you are,', he said, grinning. 'But Masha, if you are to be a master thief, you must think of everything.'
She thought of reminding him about the extra torches he'd forgotten but decided not to. They went on ahead through an enormous cavern and came to a tunnel. From its dark mouth streamed a stink like a newly opened tomb. And they heard the cry that was half-grunt, half-squall.
Smhee halted. 'I hate to go into that tunnel. But we must. You look upward for holes in the ceiling, and I'll look everywhere else.'
The stone, however, looked solid. When they were halfway down the bore, they were blasted with a tremendous growling and roaring.
'Lions?' Masha said.
'No. Bears.'
12
At the opposite end were two gigantic animals, their eyes gleaming redly in the light, their fangs a dull white.
The two intruders advanced after waiting for the bears to charge. But these stayed by the doorway, though they did not cease their thunderous roaring nor their slashes at the air with their paws.
'The bears were making the strange cry,' she said. 'I've seen dancing bears in the bazaars, but I never heard them make a noise like that. Nor were they near as large.'
He said, 'They've got chains around their necks. Come on.'
When they were within a few feet of the beasts, they stopped. The stench was almost overpowering now, and they were deafened by the uproar in the narrowness of the tunnel.
Smhee told her to hold her torch steady. He opened his belt-bag and pulled out two lengths of bamboo pipe and joined them. Then, from a small wooden case, he cautiously extracted a feathered dart. He inserted it in one and raised the blowpipe almost to his lips.
'There's enough poison on the tip of the dart to kill a dozen men,' he said.
'However, I doubt that it would do much harm, if any, if the dart sticks in their
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