"Coldheart Canyon (preview edition)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Barker Clive - Coldheart Canyon)

ьAbsolutely not. The Devil's wife lived in this fortress. Lilith, they
called her. And she sent the Duke away on a hunt. And he never came back."
Sandru laughed; and if it was a performance, then it was an exceptionally
good one. "Who told you these tales?" he said.
"My mother."
ьAh," Sandru had shaken his head. ьAnd I'm sure she wanted you in bed,
hushed and asleep, before the Devils came to cut off your head." Katya had made no
reply to this. "There are still such stories, told to children. Of course. Always
stories. People invent tales. But believe me, this is not an unholy place. The
brothers would not be here if it was."
Despite Sandru's plausibility, there'd still been something about all of
this that had made Zeffer suspicious; and a little curious. Hence his return visit.
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Barker, Clive - Coldheart Canyon
If what the Father was saying was a lie (a sin, by his own definition), then what
purpose was it serving? What was the man protecting? Certainly not a few rooms
filled with filthy tapestries, or some crudely carved furniture. Was there something
here in the Fortress that deserved a closer look? And if so, how did he get the
Father to admit to it?
The best route, he'd already decided, was fiscal. If Sandru was to be
persuaded to reveal his true treasures, it would be through the scent of hard cash
in his nostrils. The fact that Sandru had raised the subject of buying and selling
made the matter easier to broach.
"I do know Katya would love to have something from her homeland to take back
to Hollywood," he said. "She's built a huge house, so we have plenty of room."
"Oh, yes?"
'And of course, she has the money."
This was naked, he knew, but in his experience of such things subtlety
seldom played well. Which point was instantly proved.
"How much are we talking about?" the Father asked mildly.
"Katya Lupi is one of the best-paid actresses in Hollywood. And I am
authorized to buy whatever I think might please her."
"Then let me ask you: what pleases her!"
"Things that nobody else would be likelyєno, could possiblyєpossess, please
her," Zeffer replied. "She likes to show off her collection, and she wants
everything in it to be unique."
Sandru spread his arms and his smile. "Everything here is unique."
"Father, you sound as though you're ready to sell the foundations if the
price is right."
Sandru waxed metaphysical. "All these things are just objects in the end.
Yes? Just stone and wood and thread and paint. Other things will be made in time, to
replace them."
"But surely there's some sacred value in the objects here?" The Father gave
a little shrug. "In the Chapel, upstairs, yes. I would not want to sell you, let us
say, the altar." He made a smile, as though to say that under the right
circumstances even that would have its price. "But everything else in the Fortress
was made for a secular purpose. For the pleasure of dukes and their ladies. And as
nobody sees it now...except a few travelers such as yourselves, passing through...I
don't see why the Order shouldn't be rid of it all. If there's sufficient profit to
be made it can be distributed amongst the poor."