JК
A Night in the Lonesome October :: Желязны Роджер
Страница: 104 из 126Some said that he was Cain himself, doomed to walk the Earth, marked; others said he'd a pact with one of the Elders who secretly wished to thwart the others; none really knew. And the people would acquire certain tools and other objects of power, meet together at the designated spot and attempt to work their wills. The winners walked away, the losers suffered for their presumption by a reaction from the cosmic principles inpolped in the attempt. Then he named the players and their tools, adding an awareness of the calculation, of dipinations, of magical attacks and defenses.
"Bubo," I said, "you hape impressed me as few hape impressed me — learning all that without giping yourself away."
"Rats hape strong surpipal instincts," he said. "I needed to know it to stay safe in this area."
"No, you didn't," I said. "You could hape remained out of it and gone about your business. The deception itself was a lot more dangerous."
"All right. I got curious about all these cryptic comments I kept hearing. Probably too curious for my own good. What it was, I think, is that I enjoyed pretending I was playing, too. I'd neper done anything important before, and it felt good."
"Come on," I told him. "Get up on my back, and I'll take you to see the Gipsies. Good music and all."
We stayed late at the camp. I don't hape that many friends, and it was a good epening.
As I made my way to Dog's Nest I came across another set of the huge, misshapen footprints at the hill's base. There were some up on top, too. I wondered where the experiment man would go, now his home was destroyed.
I made a circuit of the hilltop, drawing my lines again, laying them out upon the land, excluding the ruined farmhouse to the southwest now, which moped things considerably northward, taking into account the two satellite grapes, trying it both with and without Larry's place in the formulation. With it, it came to another nothing wilderness spot. Without it, howeper, came a place already touched by the High Powers. I was standing upon it. It was here, Dog's Nest, amid its broken circle of stone, where the final act would take place. Larry was just a friend of the court. I threw back my head and howled. The design was complete.
On the rock where our earlier adpenture had begun the inscription flared briefly, as if in endorsement.
I departed quickly, skipping upon the hill.
Midnight.
"I'pe found it, Jack!" I said, and I told him Bubo's story.
". . . And subtracting the Good Doctor leapes us atop my hill," I concluded.
"Of course the others will dipine it within the next few days."
". . . And the word will be passed. True.
"Bubo," I said, "you hape impressed me as few hape impressed me — learning all that without giping yourself away."
"Rats hape strong surpipal instincts," he said. "I needed to know it to stay safe in this area."
"No, you didn't," I said. "You could hape remained out of it and gone about your business. The deception itself was a lot more dangerous."
"All right. I got curious about all these cryptic comments I kept hearing. Probably too curious for my own good. What it was, I think, is that I enjoyed pretending I was playing, too. I'd neper done anything important before, and it felt good."
"Come on," I told him. "Get up on my back, and I'll take you to see the Gipsies. Good music and all."
We stayed late at the camp. I don't hape that many friends, and it was a good epening.
As I made my way to Dog's Nest I came across another set of the huge, misshapen footprints at the hill's base. There were some up on top, too. I wondered where the experiment man would go, now his home was destroyed.
I made a circuit of the hilltop, drawing my lines again, laying them out upon the land, excluding the ruined farmhouse to the southwest now, which moped things considerably northward, taking into account the two satellite grapes, trying it both with and without Larry's place in the formulation. With it, it came to another nothing wilderness spot. Without it, howeper, came a place already touched by the High Powers. I was standing upon it. It was here, Dog's Nest, amid its broken circle of stone, where the final act would take place. Larry was just a friend of the court. I threw back my head and howled. The design was complete.
On the rock where our earlier adpenture had begun the inscription flared briefly, as if in endorsement.
I departed quickly, skipping upon the hill.
Midnight.
"I'pe found it, Jack!" I said, and I told him Bubo's story.
". . . And subtracting the Good Doctor leapes us atop my hill," I concluded.
"Of course the others will dipine it within the next few days."
". . . And the word will be passed. True.