"Asprin, Robert - Another Fine Myth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

was already striding into the large pentagram perma-
nently inscribed in the floor of the hut. As he walked, he
gestured absentmindedly and the charred copper brazier
scuttled forth from its place in the corner to meet him at

the center of the pentagram.

I had time to reflect that perhaps it was that brazier
that had first drawn me to Garkin. I remembered the
first time I peered through the window of his hut seek-
ing to identify and place objects of value for a later
theft. I had seen Garkin as I have seen him so often
since, pacing restlessly up and down the room, his nose
buried in a book. It was a surprising enough sight as it
was, for reading is not a common pastime in this area,
but what captured my attention was the brazier. It hob-
bled about the room, following Garkin like an impatient
puppy that was a little too polite to jump up on its
master to get his attention. Then Garkin had looked up
from his book, stared thoughtfully at his workbench;

then, with a nod of decision, gestured. A small pot of
unidentified content rose from the clutter and floated to
his waiting hand. He caught it, referred to his book
again, and poured out a dollop without looking up.
Quick as a cat, the brazier scrambled under his hand
and caught the dollop before it reached the floor. That
had been my introduction to magik.

Something wrenched my attention back to the pres-
ent. What was it? I checked Garkin's progress. No, he
was still at work, half hidden by a floating cloud of vials
and jars, mumbling as he occasionally plucked one from
the air and added a bit of its contents to the brazier.
Whatever he was working on, it promised to be spec-
tacular.

Then I heard it again, a muffled step outside the hut.

But that was impossible! Garkin always set the ... I
began to search my memory. I could not recall Garkin
setting the protective wards before he started to work.
Ridiculous. Caution was the first and most important

thing Garkin hammered into me, and part of caution
was always setting wards before you started working.
He couldn't have forgotten . . . but he had been rather
intense and distracted.

I was still trying to decide if I should attempt to inter-