"Laura Anne Gilman - Retrievers 03 - Bring It On" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilman Laura Anne)

And then a fatae had tried to kill Wren, for some reason seeing her as the human behind those meetings,
and Lee paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

тАЬGrow up,тАЭ P.B. advised, not unkindly. тАЬYou did everything you could do, more than anyone else
bothered to. If you want to beat yourself up because youтАЩre not some perfect goddess of unfailing
generosity and loving kindness, do it when IтАЩm not around. That sort of thing makes me sick.тАЭ He took a
bite of his sandwich and said again, тАЬReally. Grow up.тАЭ

тАЬGrowing up sucks.тАЭ It really did. тАЬAnd you still have jelly in your fur. Left shoulder. Messy eater.тАЭ He
was right. Miserable bastard. She wasnтАЩt any kind of goddess. She was a selfish, self-interested, puny
excuse for a sentient being. She also couldnтАЩt change what had happened.

Nobody had enough current to do-over the past.

She picked up the paper and stared at it again.Deal with whatтАЩs happening now, Valere.

The paper still said the same thing it had the first three times she read it.Another Talent has gone missing.
Tally up to seven. WTF is going on? And why? Are you doing this? Godless bastards, why?

Not on those words, of course. Not to the Council. The language was formal. The wording was polite.
The passion behind it unmistakable. And the paranoia practically leaking out of the ink. A manifesto, if
ever sheтАЩd seen one. Which, actually, she hadnтАЩt.

The Talents who had drafted this document werenтАЩt calling it that, of courseтАФthey fell back, as Talents
tended to do, on historical precedent, and called it aтАФshe checked to make sure she had the wording
correctтАФтАЬa petition to address the grievances of,тАЭ etc., etc.

This wasnтАЩt exactly unexpected, even if it was annoying. Fatae were blaming all humans for the attacks
on their kind. Lonejacks were blaming the Council for Talents who had gone missing, or were otherwise
assaulted. There was just enough truth in all their suspicions to make violence in return seem like a logical
response.

Wren didnтАЩt know who the Mage Council was blaming for what, but she was pretty sure it was
someone, for something.

тАЬAm I the last sane person left in this city? DonтАЩt answer that,тАЭ she warned the demon. тАЬA petition to the
CouncilтАФJesus wept. All right, all right. I donтАЩt know what they think this is going to do, butтАжтАЭ She
made a few final additions in the margin with a red ballpoint pen, and then signed her initials next to them
in a small, neat hand. She wasnтАЩt ready to sign onto this version, not yet. But if they made those changes,
moderated the paranoia, asked for specific things rather than a blanket admission of guilt that hadnтАЩt been
proven yetтАж

тАЬTake this back. Tell them toтАжdonтАЩt tell them anything, just give it back to them.тАЭ She caught a glimpse
of the small, battery-operated clock on the far wall. Almost 4:00 p.m. тАЬAnd scoot. I have a client
coming.тАЭ
тАЬHere?тАЭ

тАЬYes, here.тАЭ She picked up the courierтАЩs bag from where he had dropped it, and handed it back to the
demon, giving him clear indication that this conversation was over. He looked as though he might argue,
but simply sighed and took the bag from her. Dropping the paperwork into the internal pocket, he slung it