"Brooks, Terry - Landover 04 - The Tangle Box" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

that curved upward from the foyer to the second floor and settled
down with a low whistlel
Horris stared at the bird hi bleak appraisal. "What's the trouble,
Biggar? Couldn't get them to listen?'
Biggar fluffed his feathers and shook himself. He was coal black
except for a crown of white feathers. Quite a handsome bird,
actually. A myna of some sort, though Horris had never been able to
determine his exact lineage. He regarded Horris now with a wicked,
gleaming eye and winked. "Awk! Pretty Horris. Pretty Horris. Biggar
is better. Biggar is better."
Horris pressed his fingers to his temples. "Please. Could we forgo
the dumb-bird routine?"
Biggar snapped his beak shut. "Horris, this is all your fault."
"My fault?' Horris was aghast. He came forward threateningly. "How
could this be my fault, you idiot? I'm not the one who opened his
big mouth about Skat Mandu! I'm not the one who decided to tell
all!"
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Brooks, Terry - MKL#4 - The Tangle Box
Biggar flew up the banister a few steps to keep some distance
between them. 'Temper, temper. Let us remember something here,
shall we? This was all your idea, right?
Terry Brooks 5
Am I right? Does this ring a bell? You thought up this Skat Mandu
business, not me. I went along with the program b&-. cause you said
it would work. I was your pawn, as I have been the pawn of humans
and humankind all my life. A poor, simple bird, an outcast ..."
"An idiot!" Horris edged closer, trying unsuccessfully to stop the
clenching of his hands as he imagined them closing about the bird's
scruffy neck.
Biggar scooted a bit farther up the railing. "A victim, Horris
.Kew. I am the product of you and your kind. I did the best I
could, but I can hardly be held to account for my actions based on
your level of expectations, now can I?"
Horris stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Just tell me why you did
it. Just tell me that."
Biggar puffed out his chest. "I had a revelation."
Horris stared. "You had a revelation," he repeated dully. He shook
his head. "Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds."
"I see nothing ridiculous about it at all. I am in the business of
revelations, am I not?"
Horris threw up his hands and turned away. "I do not believe this!"
He turned back again furiously. His scarecrow frame seemed to fly
out in half-a-dozen directions at once as he gestured. "You've
ruined us, you stupid bird! Five years of work out the window! Five
years! Skat Mandu was the foundation of everything we've built!
Without him, it's gone, all of it! What were you thinking?"
"Skat Mandu spoke to me," Biggar said, huffy himself now.
"There is no Skat Mandu!" Horris shrieked.
"Yes, mere is."