"P. N. Elrod - Jonathan Barrett 02 - Death and the Maiden" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elrod P N)

g. I'd more or less known what to expect, but it had still given me a sharp t
urn to look into a mirror and not see a damned thing. I'd briefly and irratio
nally worried that that was what I'd become: "a damned thing." Father and I h
ad discussed it thoroughly, for I was very upset at the time, but we'd been u
nable to explain the phenomenon. Perhaps Jericho was right and it was magic.
"As you wish," he said, tucking the offending glass into a pocket. "Does Mr
. Barrett know about the flying? Or Miss Elizabeth?"
"Not yet. I'll tell them all about it later. The news won't grow stale for wai
ting. And I promise to take your advice and be more discreet."
"I'm relieved to hear that."
After a moment, I added, somewhat shyly, "It's ... not really flying, y'know."

He waited for me to go on.
"I sort of float upon the air like a leaf. But I can move against the wind or wi
th it as I choose."
He thought that over for a long time. "And what is it like?"
A grin and a soft laugh bubbled right out of me. "It's absolutely wonderful!"

And so it was. Last night I'd done the impossible and broken away from the gr
asp of the earth to soar in the sky freer than any bird. It was surely the mo
st remarkable portion of the legacy I'd come into since my . . . death.
Or rather, my change.
The details of that particular storyтАФof my death and escape from the graveтАФ
have been recounted elsewhere. Let it suffice for now that upon my return,
I soon discovered I'd acquired the same characteristics that governed the w
aking life of a certain Miss Nora Jones, a lady with whom I had shared a ve
ry intimate liaison.
Like her, I was now able to influence the very minds and thoughts of anyon
e around me, thus allowing me to resume my former life with my family almo
st as though nothing had ever happened. I had learned the secret of how to
heal swiftly and completely. And I was able to fly ... so to speak. Thoug
h I'd never actually witnessed Nora indulging in such a display, I had no
doubt that she was capable of doing it, since my own condition now so comp
letely mirrored her own.
Mirrors. Yes, well, you've heard about them already.
Like her, I was also unable to bear sunlight, which might be considered a
heavy burden, but for the fact that my eyes were so improved. The night ha
d become my day; the stars and moon my welcome companions in the sky. When
the sun was up, I sleptтАФor tried to; I was having some difficulties there
, but more on that later.
My strength was that of a young Hercules, and my other senses enjoyed simil
ar improvements. Each evening I discovered a new delight to the ear, a fres
h appreciation of touch, and, though I was not required to breathe regularl
y unless I chose to speak, I could pick out and identify a scent almost as
well as one of our own hunting hounds. Taste had also undergone considerabl
e alteration, though I never exercised it upon what might be considered a n
ormal meal.
For, like Nora, I had come to subsist solely upon blood for my sustenance.
But again, more on that later.
"What are you writing, little brother?" asked Elizabeth, peering across the