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Bloody Bones :: Гамильтон Лорел
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"You raisedthe Davidsons' entire family plot, including Great-Grandpa. You weren't even supposed to raise him. You can raise more than one at a time."
I shook my head. "That was an accident. I was showing off. They wanted to raise three family members. I thought I could save them money by doing it in one shot."
"You raised ten family members, Anita. They only asked for three."
"So?"
"So can you raise the entire cemetery in one night?"
"You're crazy," I said.
"Can you do it?"
I opened my mouth to say no, and closed it. I had raised an entire cemetery once. Not all of them had been two centuries old, but some of them had been older, nearly three hundred. And I raised them all. Of course, I had two human sacrifices to ride for power. It was a long story how I ended up with two people dying inside a circle of power. Self-defense, but the magic didn't care. Death is death.
Could I do it? "I really don't know, Bert."
"That's not a no," he said. He had an eager, anticipatory look on his face.
"They must have offered you a bundle of money," I said.
He smiled. "We're bidding on the project."
"We're what?"
"They sent this package to us, the Resurrection Company in California and the Essential Spark in New Orleans."
"They prefer Йlan Vital to the English translation," I said. Frankly, it sounded more like a beauty salon than an animating firm, but nobody had asked me. "So what? The lowest bid gets it?"
"That was their plan," Bert said.
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself. "What?" I asked.
"Let me play it back to you," he said. "There are what, three animators in the entire country that could raise a zombie that old without a human sacrifice? You and John are two of them. I'm including Phillipa Freestone of Resurrection in this."
"Probably," I said.
He nodded. "Okay. Could Phillipa raise without a name?"
"I don't have any way of knowing that. John could. Maybe she could."
"Could either she or John raise from the mass bones, not the ones in the coffin?"
That stopped me. "I don't know."
"Would either of them stand a chance of raising the entire graveyard?" He was staring at me very steadily.
"You're enjoying this too much," I said.
"Just answer the question, Anita."
"I know John couldn't do it. I don't think Phillipa is as good as John, so no, they couldn't do it."
"I'm going to up the bid," Bert said.
I laughed. "Up the bid?"
"Nobody else can do it.
"You raisedthe Davidsons' entire family plot, including Great-Grandpa. You weren't even supposed to raise him. You can raise more than one at a time."
I shook my head. "That was an accident. I was showing off. They wanted to raise three family members. I thought I could save them money by doing it in one shot."
"You raised ten family members, Anita. They only asked for three."
"So?"
"So can you raise the entire cemetery in one night?"
"You're crazy," I said.
"Can you do it?"
I opened my mouth to say no, and closed it. I had raised an entire cemetery once. Not all of them had been two centuries old, but some of them had been older, nearly three hundred. And I raised them all. Of course, I had two human sacrifices to ride for power. It was a long story how I ended up with two people dying inside a circle of power. Self-defense, but the magic didn't care. Death is death.
Could I do it? "I really don't know, Bert."
"That's not a no," he said. He had an eager, anticipatory look on his face.
"They must have offered you a bundle of money," I said.
He smiled. "We're bidding on the project."
"We're what?"
"They sent this package to us, the Resurrection Company in California and the Essential Spark in New Orleans."
"They prefer Йlan Vital to the English translation," I said. Frankly, it sounded more like a beauty salon than an animating firm, but nobody had asked me. "So what? The lowest bid gets it?"
"That was their plan," Bert said.
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself. "What?" I asked.
"Let me play it back to you," he said. "There are what, three animators in the entire country that could raise a zombie that old without a human sacrifice? You and John are two of them. I'm including Phillipa Freestone of Resurrection in this."
"Probably," I said.
He nodded. "Okay. Could Phillipa raise without a name?"
"I don't have any way of knowing that. John could. Maybe she could."
"Could either she or John raise from the mass bones, not the ones in the coffin?"
That stopped me. "I don't know."
"Would either of them stand a chance of raising the entire graveyard?" He was staring at me very steadily.
"You're enjoying this too much," I said.
"Just answer the question, Anita."
"I know John couldn't do it. I don't think Phillipa is as good as John, so no, they couldn't do it."
"I'm going to up the bid," Bert said.
I laughed. "Up the bid?"
"Nobody else can do it.