"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 08 - Blue Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

down to Tennessee?"
"The master, Colin, has forbidden me to enter his lands. To do so now would
be an act of aggression, if not outright war."
"Why should he care?" I asked.
"He fears my power, ma petite. He fears our power, which is why he has made
you persona non grata in his territory as well."
I stared at him. "You are kidding, I hope. He's forbidden either of us to
help Richard?"
Jean-Claude nodded.
 "And he expects us to believe it's not his doing?" I said.
"I believe him, ma petite."
"You could tell he wasn't lying over the phone?" I asked.
"Some master vampires can lie to other master vampires, though I do not
think Colin is such a power. But that is not why I believe him."
"Why then?"
"The last time you and I traveled to another vampire's lands, we slew her."
"She was trying to kill us," I said.
"Technically," he said, "she had set all of us free save you. You she
wished to make a vampire."
"Like I said, she was trying to kill me."
He smiled. "Oh, ma petite, you wound me."
"Cut the crap. This Colin can't really believe that we are just going to
leave Richard to rot."
"He has the right to deny us safe passage," Jean-Claude said.
"Because we killed another master in her own territory?" I asked.
"He doesn't need grounds for his refusal, ma petite. He merely has to
refuse."
"How do you vampires get anything accomplished?"
"Slowly," Jean-Claude said. "But remember, ma petite, we have the time to
be patient."
"Well, I don't, and Richard doesn't."
"You could have eternity if you would both accept the fourth mark," he
said, voice quiet, neutral.
I shook my head. "Richard and I both value what little is left of our
humanity. Besides, eternity my ass, the fourth mark wouldn't make us immortal.
It just means that we live as long as you do. You're harder to kill than we
are, but not that much harder."
He sat down on the couch, folding his legs under him. It wasn't an easy
position, wearing that much leather. Maybe the boots were softer than they
looked. Naw.
He rested his elbows on the couch arm, leaning his chest outward. The sheer
red cloth covered his chest completely and left nothing to the imagination.
His nipples pressed against the thin fabric. The red haze of cloth made the
cross-shaped burn scar look almost bloody.
He raised himself upward with his hands propped on the couch arm like a
mermaid on a rock. I expected him to tease or say something sexual. Instead,
he said, "I came to tell you of Richard's imprisonment in person." He watched
my face very closely. "I thought it might upset you."
"Of course it upsets me. This Colin guy, vampire, whatever the hell he is,
is crazy if he thinks he's going to keep us from helping Richard."