《The Sorcerer Of Rhiannon》作者： - Leigh Bracket【EPUB】

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The Sorcerer of Rhiannon He had been without water for three days. The last of his concentrated food spared by thesandstorm that had caught him away from his ship and driven him beyond all hope of finding itrattled uselessly in his belt pouch because his throat refused to swallow. Now Max Brandon stood on a dune of restless ocher dust watching the coming of another storm. It rolled crouching across the uneasy distances of the desert touched blood-red above by thelittle far sun of Mars. Brandon heard the first faint keening of it above the thin whine of theeternal winds that wander across the dead sea bottoms. Brandons sharp-cut face handsome with its sea-blue eyes and bronzed skin and the thin scarsof battle that enhanced rather than marred creased into a grin. quotSo the grave-robber is going to be buried instead this timequot he whispered. The skirling windblew ocher dust in his eyes and mouth the gold-brown stubble of beard. quotAll rightquot he said to the storm. quotSee if you can make me stay down.quot He waved a mocking handat it and staggered down into the hollow. To himself he said ironically quotTheres no one hereto see your act Brandy. No pretty ladies no interplanetary televisors. The storm doesntcare. And youre going to die dead just like ordinary mortals.quot His knees buckled under himflung him headlong in the stifling dust. The simplest thing to do would be just to lie there.Drowning in these Martian sea bottoms was just like drowning in the sea. All you had to do wasbreathe. He thought of all the ships that had foundered when there was water here and how hisbones would join theirs in the end. Red dust blowing forever in the wandering wind. His white grin flashed briefly. quotI always said Brandy that you knew too much to take advice.quot Everybody had advised him not to come. Jarthur head of the Society for the Preservation ofMartian Relics. Sylvia Eustace. And Dhu Kar of Venus. Jarthur wanted to put him in the Phobosmines for looting which was bad. Sylvia wanted to marry him which was worse. And Dhu Kar hisbest competitor and deadliest enemy wanted to get to the Lost Islands first which was worstof all. quotSo I camequot Brandon reflected. quotRight in the middle of the stormy season. And hereapparently I stay.quot But he couldnt stay down. Something drove him up onto his feet again something that wouldntlisten to what his reason was saying about its being no use. He went on part of the time on hands and knees to nowhere with