"02 Myth Conceptions (e)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

Chapter One:

"Life is a series of rude awakenings."

ЧR. V. WINKLE

OF all the various unpleasant ways to be aroused
from a sound sleep, one of the worst is the noise of a
dragon and a unicorn playing tag.

I pried one eye open and blearily tried to focus on
the room. A chair toppled noisily to the floor, con-
vincing me the blurred images my mind was receiving
were due at least in part to the irregular vibrations
coming from the floor and walls. One without my
vast storehouse of knowledge (hard won and pain-
fully endured) might be inclined to blame the pande-
monium on an earthquake. I didn't. The logic behind
this conclusion was simple. Earthquakes were ex-
tremely uncommon in this area. A dragon and a
unicorn playing tag wasn't.

It was starting out as an ordinary day . . . that is,
ordinary if you're a junior magician apprenticed to a
demon.

If I had been able to predict the future with any

2

MYTH CONCEPTIONS 3

Robert Asprin

degree of accuracy and thus forsee the events to
come, I probably would have stayed in bed. I mean,
fighting has never been my forte, and the idea of tak-
ing on a whole army . . . but I'm getting ahead of

myself.

The thud that aroused me shook the building, ac-
companied by the crash of various dirty dishes shat-
tering on the floor. The second thud was even more

spectacular.
I considered doing something. I considered going

back to sleep. Then I remembered my mentor's con-
dition when he had gone to bed the night before.