"Allston, Aaron - Doc Sidhe 01 - Doc Sidhe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Allston Aaron)

УEverything.Ф Joseph reached up to rub his forehead. УThe words are gone now. The ones once written here; Doc took them away. While they were on me, I did everything Duncan bade.Ф His face hadnТt changed, but there was something in his eyes, dark shadows of pain, that suggested Joseph hadnТt mentioned the worst of the things Duncan Blackletter had made him do.
It was another moment before Harris realized the restЧthe fact that Angus Powrie had murdered Jean-PierreТs mother. No wonder he had become so hyperactive when he learned that Powrie was back.
Harris didnТt ask anything more; he let Joseph return to his lonely thoughts.

The limousine, black as a moonless night, glided to a stop behind the anonymous brown Dodge van. A round face appeared in the vanТs rear window, and its owner gave the limo a thumbs-up sign before disappearing.
Phipps shut the engine off and glanced back at his passenger. УHe says sheТs still in the house.Ф He picked up the object lying on the seat beside himЧa device shaped like a volt-meterЧand keyed it on. After a few moments he added, УHeТs right. Your signal and AdonisТ nearly drown it out, but itТs there.Ф
The old man looked around until Phipps pointed to a specific houseЧtwo stories, brick, nicely appointed. УAh. Lights still on, I see. Night owls. WeТll wait until theyТre asleep.Ф
УYes, sir.Ф Phipps pulled the stun-gun from his pocket and checked it to make sure it was still charged. Then, his revolver. Left-handed because of the damned injury to his other arm, he clumsily pressed the catch and swung the cylinder out to make sure it was still loaded with the .357 hollowpoints.

Chapter Nine
Doc, Alastair, and Jean-Pierre spilled up out of the underground lab as though theyТd been driven out by a smoke bomb. Doc gave the foundation stone a push; it was an effort, but the stone fell into place with a boom. Then they headed for the car; Harris scrambled to catch up to them. УWhatТs up?Ф
УWe have it,Ф Doc said. He clutched a sagging leather-bound volume to him as though it were precious treasure. He reached in through the driverТs window and honked, then climbed into the back; the others resumed their seats, Noriko returning fast enough to beat Joseph into the car. In moments, Jean-Pierre had them rolling back along the road that had brought them.
УSo what does that mean?Ф Harris persisted.
УA complete ritual set,Ф Doc said. УThe devisement to take you back to the grim world, Harris. WeТll be departing from the conjurerТs circle where you arrived.Ф
УWe? WhoТs going with me?Ф
УI am. You need to find Gaby, and I need to find Gabrielle, and we must find out if they are the same woman. Gaby is in danger, and so Gabrielle probably is, too. I want to waste as little time as possible. We need to get clothes and gear back at the Monarch Building, anything you think will not stand out too much in the grim world, and then return to Heinzlin Corners.Ф
УSo how does it work?Ф
Doc patted the leather volume. УThe usual way. You assemble sacrificial goods, set up your ritual field, make your invocations and pleas, focus your mind and intent, and it happens. In theory. Each devisement is unique, of course, with variations for the types of the sacrificial items, the exact nature of the invocation and the godly aspect to whom it is addressed, the precise construction of the conjurerТs circleЧФ
УIТm sorry I asked. This is starting to make my head hurt.Ф
Doc smiled. УThere is also an expenditure of personal energy, a telling one. Alastair will be performing the ceremony tonightЧФ
Alastair perked up. УThank you for telling me.Ф
УЧ so I will not be excessively wearied by the transfer. That way I should retain the wherewithal to send us back when we wish.
УBut listen to me, Harris.Ф DocТs expression, momentarily illuminated by moonlight, had become somber. УIf we are separated or I do not survive, I need you to bring Gaby to the conjurerТs circle precisely a day after our arrival. Exactly eight bells after the devisement is cast, the far conjurerТs circle becomes alive again and sends everything within it back to the fair world. It is a process that does not require the deviser be there. Do you understand?Ф
УYeah. ItТs a deadman switch. I can send her back without you.Ф Harris thought it over. УThatТs what happened in Central Park. I was standing on the conjurerТs circle when the time came up.Ф
УYes.Ф
УWell, donТt make me use the deadman switch. Alastair and Noriko will come across and make me explain why. I donТt want to have to do that.Ф
УThatТs true. I wouldnТt want to.Ф
* * *
DocТs room in the Monarch Building was barely larger or more personal than the one Harris had been given. Harris spent a couple of minutes picking through the manТs wardrobe and looking for appropriate clothing. He gave up quickly: УThereТs no way weТre going to make you blend in, sorry. So take this ruffled white shirt job and the brown pants and vest. WeТll pass you off as a sixties burnout case or a disco revivalist.Ф
Doc looked confused by the terminology, but retreated to his water closet to change.
Harris nosed around a bit while he waited. The books on DocТs low bookshelf looked like technical manuals, but their titles suggested they were textbooks written by New Age gurus: KelloqqТs Musings on Excarnation Theory, Groundline Interaction With the Tallysin Aura in Controlled Environments, Traditional Dances and Heightened-State Mental Acuity. Harris grimaced.
УGoodsir.Ф It was a womanТs voice, low and urgent, with a bit of mechanical hiss over it.
Startled, Harris spun around. There was no one behind himЧbut against the wall, DocТs talk-box had come alive.
And there, staring at him from the screen, was Gaby.
Again she was against the stony background and wearing the slinky dress he was really beginning to appreciate. He had a sudden urge to see the whole costume. He had another urge to help her take it off.
УHi.Ф He moved closer to the set, afraid with each step that sheТd disappear. УAre you talking to me now?Ф
УDo you really know me?Ф Her expression was somber, tense.
УI thought so, yeah.Ф Bitterness gnawed at him. УI guess maybe I didnТt.Ф
УTell me what you knowЧФ
Harris heard Doc open the bathroom door. Gabrielle heard it too, looked startled . . . and her picture faded to a little white dot. Harris cursed.
Doc emerged. He wore the clothes picked out for him; his hair, drawn back in a braid, concealed his ears. He looked no stranger than some musicians Harris knew. He gave Harris a curious look. УWho were you talking to?Ф

As Alastair drove them back to the rented house where the conjurerТs circle lay, Harris told Doc about the conversation. Doc looked briefly annoyed that heТd missed GabyЧrather, that she seemed to have deliberately avoided him.
At the little estate on Heinzlin Corners, Alastair walked around the conjurerТs circle and, consulting one page of DuncanТs book, adjusted the placement of some of the rocks; he told Harris that he was performing corrections. УSomeone who knew what he was doing has meddled with this,Ф he said. УMade a trap of it. If IТd left it as it was, gods only know what youТd have been when you got there.Ф
Meanwhile, Doc checked over his gear. A small, brassy-looking revolver worn in a shoulder holster under the shirt; a leather pouch full of little devices on his belt; the assassinsТ Уvolt-meterФ in his hand. УThe charge on you should wear off as soon as we reach the grim world,Ф he told Harris. УBut with study I may be able to key it to find Gabrielle. It seems evident that the kidnappers used something of the sort to find her originally. And this device was a little antiquated. IТve made some improvements to it.Ф
Harris wore GabyТs fanny pack with her possessions in it. Alastair solemnly offered him a pistol like DocТs, but after a momentТs thought Harris shook his head. УIТd just shoot myself in the foot,Ф he said.

A chime later Alastair got things under way. First, he asked, УYouТre sure you donТt want me along? Or the others? Or some troops?Ф
Doc shook his head. УIf we havenТt returned in eight bells, we have both failed. You are the only one left who understands DuncanТs work well enough to try again. You have to stay. And the more of us who go, the more we will be conspicuous. So, no.Ф And that was that.
Doc and Harris waited in the center of the conjurerТs circle. Alastair, his face lit from below by the oil lamp that rested beside the book, hovered over the proper page. He began reciting words in a language Harris did not understandЧthick, gooey words that put Harris in mind of a preacher trying to cough up a peanut butter sandwich stuck to the roof of his mouth.