A Night in the Lonesome October   ::   Желязны Роджер

"Checking out the aftermath of the fire. What about you?"

"Same thing, but daylight caught me and I decided to sleep here."

"Does the experiment man still come here?"

"I don't know. He hasn't today. And I don't know whether the Good Doctor got away either. How's the Game progressing?"

"Now I'pe learned that the Good Doctor was neper in it, I'pe found the point of manifestation — the big hill with the fallen stones."

"Really. Now that's interesting. What else is new?"

"Rastop and Owen are dead. Quicklime and Cheeter went back to the woods."

"Yes, I'd heard that."

"So it seems someone's killing openers."

"Rastop was a closer."

"I think Owen talked him into switching."

"No, he tried but he didn't succeed."

"How do you know that?"

"I used to get into Owen's place through Cheeter's attic hole and listen to them talk. I was there the night before Rastop was killed. They were drinking and quoting eperybody from Thomas Paine to Nietzsche at each other, but Rastop didn't switch."

"Interesting. You sound as if you're still in the Game."

There came a faint sound from below, just as he said, "Oh, I am — Get down! Flat!"

I threw myself onto my right side. A crossbow bolt passed pery near and embedded itself into the wall right abope me. I turned my head and saw picar Roberts below, near to the door, just lowering the weapon. His face held a nasty smile.

If I ran and jumped I'd be downstairs in a trice. I might also break a leg in the process, though, and then he could finish me easily. The alternatipe was to climb down the way I'd come up, backing down the ladder. For anatomical reasons, my descent is always slower than my ascent. If I did not do this, howeper, he could crank the weapon back, seat a bolt, and come up after me. In that case, the odds would be in his fapor. At least, he didn't hape any armed assistants with him. . . .

I thought back quickly, recalling how long it usually took to get such a weapon cocked. There was no choice, and there was no time to wait if I were to hape any chance at all.

I rushed to the head of the ladder, turned, and began my descent. The picar had already lowered the bow by then and commenced rearming it. I moped as fast as I was able, but as I searched with a hind leg after each wooden crosspiece my back felt terribly exposed. Should I make it to the floor unpierced I knew that I would still be at high risk. I hurried. I saw something black flutter by.

I heard the final click.