"Brooks, Terry - Landover 01 - Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

tasies become real in this kingdom from another
world. Only one thread to this whole cloth is lack-
ingЧyou, to rule over all as King and High Lord.
Escape into your dreams, and be born again.

Price: $1,000,000.

Personal interview and financial disclosure.

Inquire of Meeks, home office.

That was all it read. The artist's colorful rendering de-
picted a knight on horseback engaged in battle with a fire-


Terry Brooks 7

breathing dragon, a beautiful and rather thinly clad damsel
shrinking from the conflict before a tower wall, and a dark-
robed wizard lifting his hands as if to cast an awesome and
life-stealing spell. Some creatures that might have been
Elves or Gnomes or some such scampered about in the back-
ground, and the towers and parapets of great castles loomed
against a gathering of hills and mists.

It had the look of something out of King Arthur and the
Knights of the Round Table.

"This is nuts!" he muttered almost without thinking.

He stared at the item in disbelief, certain that he must be
mistaken. Then he read it again. He read it a third time. It
read the same. He finished his scotch in a single gulp and
chewed on the ice, irritated with the nonsensicality of the
offering. A million dollars for a fairy-tale kingdom? It was
ridiculous. It had to be some kind of joke.

He threw down the catalogue, jumped to his feet, and
crossed to the bar to mix himself a fresh drink. He stared
momentarily at his reflection in the mirrored cabinetЧa man
of medium height, lean, trim, and athletic-looking, his face
rather drawn, with high cheekbones and forehead, slightly
receding hairline, hawk nose and piercing blue eyes. He was
a man of thirty-nine going on fifty, a man on the verge of
passing into middle age too young.

Escape into your dreams . . .

He crossed back to the couch, placed the drink on the
coffee table and picked up the Wishbook once more. Again