"David Drake - Birds Of Prey" - читать интересную книгу автора (Drake David)

at the woman in the kiosk. The young man was wired into another universe, though by no means as
thoroughly as was his mother.

The madam paused with one hand on the door of her cage. Her mouth was open to cry out. Ursinus
rang a coin on the travertine counter, silencing the alarm before it was uttered. "Won't be any trouble,"
the soldier said in his Gallic accent. He waved the other troopers by with his left hand. "Kid's a little
strange, you know, but it won't be any trouble." Ursinus followed the rest of the group up the stairs, his
hand close by the hilt of his cloak-covered sword. In the kiosk, the madam was looking with surprise at
the face on the coin she had just been given.

Two girls were arguing over a bracelet in the upper hall. Their shrill voices softened quickly into
overtures as the men and Julia pushed by. One of the troopers paused a half-step when the blond
prostitute caught his eye and stroked her bare breast. A snapped command from Ursinus moved him on
again.

"Here," said Julia. She reached out and tapped a door. The usual price marker had been removed from
its peg, leaving a lighter square on the door panel.

"Hey, you can't go in there," called the blond girl who had tried to accost them. "That's a special rental,
sort of."

Sacrovir knocked louder.
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The latch snicked, allowing the door to open a crack. It would have closed again if one of the troopers
had not blocked it with his foot. "Go away," rasped an indescribable voice. "I am not to be disturbed."

"We offer you help for help," said the seeress. She shrugged and her cape dropped away. The different
sheens and patterns of the costume beneath blended into an odd unity. Perhaps that was a trick of the
uncertain light. "The power of our Emperor, for the - power you control."

The bouncer, naked except for breeches and a three-foot cudgel, pounded up the stairs. The oil with
which he had been being massaged shone on his bunched shoulders. Ursinus motioned one of his men to
his side, though neither Gaul drew a weapon for the moment.

The door opened fully. The figure within the room was short, caped and cowled as the seeress herself
had been. It wore a veil. The features beneath the shadowing veil were so still as to belie their
appearance of flesh. "Come," said the figure in its harsh voice that did not move its lips. Something bright
as jewelry, too bright for a weapon, winked from a fold in its garment. "What is it that your Emperor
thinks he allies himself with?"

Julia moved like a sleepwalker. She followed the figure back into the chamber. On the other side of the
room was a door open onto a balcony. Daylight blurred and haloed the other figure. Sacrovir paused on
the threshold and looked back to the other men of the escort.

Ursinus clenched his fist with the thumb displayed in a gesture from the amphitheatre. "We'll keep our
friend company out here," the decurion said. He nodded toward the bouncer. "Convince him that there's