"C. S. Friedman - Coldfire 1 - Black Sun Rising" - читать интересную книгу автора (Friedman C. S)

тАЬHey.тАЭ She prodded him. тАЬEase up. YouтАЩre not at work.тАЭ
тАЬSorry.тАЭ He caught up half his packages under his right arm, carried the rest
with that hand. So that he might walk with her close to his other side, her body
heat tangible through the coarse wool of his shirt. His hand brushing hers, in
time to their walking.
тАЬYour Patriarch doesnтАЩt approve of this, does he?тАЭ
тАЬWhat? Shopping?тАЭ
тАЬOur being together.тАЭ
He chuckled. тАЬDid you think he would?тАЭ
тАЬI thought you might have charmed him into it.тАЭ
тАЬThe Patriarch is immune to charm. And most other human pleasantries, I
suspect. As for us . . . suffice it to say that battle lines have been drawn, and we
both are poised behind our armaments. He with his moral obsessions, and I with
my fixation on rights to an independent private life. ItтАЩll be quite a skirmish, once
it starts.тАЭ
тАЬYou sound like youтАЩre looking forward to it.тАЭ
He shrugged. тАЬOpen conflict is infinitely more attractive to me than fencing
with hints and insinuations. IтАЩm a lousy diplomat, Cee.тАЭ
тАЬBut a good teacher?тАЭ
тАЬTrying to be.тАЭ
тАЬCan I ask how thatтАЩs going? Or is it . . . classified?тАЭ
тАЬHardly.тАЭ He grimaced, and shifted his packages тАЬI have twelve young
fledglings, ranging in age eleven to fifteen. With marginal potential at best. I
culled out two of the younger ones, who seemed to be in the worst throes of
puberty. Damned rotten time to be teaching anyone to Work . . . and I think His
Holiness knows it, too.тАЭ He remembered his own adolescence, and some very
nasty things he had unconsciously created. His master had made him hunt them
down and dispatch them, each and every one; it wasnтАЩt one of his more pleasant
memories. тАЬHard to say whether theyтАЩre more terrified of me or of the fae. Not a
good way to start out. Still, theyтАЩre all positives on one scale or another, so
thereтАЩs hope, right? As of yesterday-тАЭ
He saw her stiffen suddenly. тАЬCiani? What is it?тАЭ
тАЬCurrentтАЩs shifted,тАЭ she whispered. Her face was pale. тАЬCanтАЩt you see?тАЭ
Rather than state the obvious - that only an adept could see such things
without conscious effort - he worked a quick Seeing and observed the earth-fae
himself. But if there was any change in the leisurely flow of that force about their
feet, it was far too subtle for his conjured vision to make out. тАЬI canтАЩt-тАЭ
She gripped his arm with fingers that were suddenly cold. тАЬWe need to warn-
тАЭ
An alarm siren pierced the dusk. A horrendous screeching noise that wailed
like a banshee down the narrow stone streets, and echoed from the brickwork
and plaster that surrounded them until the very air was vibrating shrilly. Damien
covered an ear with one hand, tried to reach the other without dropping all his
purchases. The sound was a physical assault - and a painfully effective one.
Whoever designed that siren, he thought, must have served his
apprenticeship in hell.
Then, just as quickly, the sound was gone. He took his hand down
nervously, ready to hold it to his head again if anything even remotely similar
started up. But she took his hand in hers and squeezed it. тАЬCome on,тАЭ she
whispered. He could barely hear over the ringing in his ears, but a gesture made