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

Horris's broad ears flamed and his even broader nostrils dilated.
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Brooks, Terry - MKL#4 - The Tangle Box
"Think about what you're saying, Biggar," he hissed. "Skat Mandu is
a twenty-thousand-year-old wise man that you and I made up in order
to convince a bunch of fools to part with their money. Remember?
Remember
6 THE TANGLE BOX
the plan? We thought it up, you and I. Skat ManduЧa
twenty-thousand-year-old wise man who had counseled philosophers
and leaders throughout time. And now he was back to share his
wisdom with us. That was the plan. We bought this land and restored
this house and created this retreat for the faithfulЧthe poor,
disillusioned faithfulЧ the pathetic, desperate, but well-heeled
faithful who just wanted to hear somebody tell them what they
already knew! That's what Skat Mandu did! Through you, Biggar. You
were the channeler, a simple bird. I was the handler, the manager
of Skat Mandu's holdings in the temporal world."
He caught his breath. "But, Biggar, there is no Skat Mandu! Not
really, not now, not ever! There's just you and me!"
"I spoke to him," Biggar insisted.
"You spoke to him?"
Biggar gave him an impatient look. "You are repeating me. Who is
the bird here, Horris?"
Horris gritted his teeth. "You spoke to him? You spoke to Skat
Mandu? You spoke to someone who doesn't exist? Mind telling me what
he had to say? Mind sharing his wisdom with me?"
"Don't be snide." Biggar's claws dug into the banister's polished
wood.
"Biggar, just tell me what he had to say." Horris's voice sounded
like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard.
"He told me to tell the truth. He told me to admit that you had
made it all up about him and me, but that now I really was in
contact with him."
Horris's fingers locked in front of him. "Let me get this straight.
Skat Mandu told you to confess?"
"He said that the faithful would understand."
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Brooks, Terry - MKL#4 - The Tangle Box
"And you believed nun?"
"I had to do what Skat Mandu required of me. I don't expect you to
understand, Horris. It was a matter of conw
Terry Brooks 7
science. Sometimes you've simply got to respond on an emotional
level."
"You've short-circuited, Biggar," Horns declared. "You've burnt out
all your wiring."
"And you simply don't want to face reality," Biggar snapped. "So
save your caustic comments, Horns, for those who need them."
"Skat Mandu was the perfect scam!" Horris screamed the words so