"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 15 - The Harlequin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

"I thought at first that it was one of the new vampires who has joined Jean-Claude. One of the ones from
Europe, but it is not. It is something more powerful than that. Or it is a group of vampires combining their
powers through their master's marks. I have felt such power only once before."

"When?" I asked.

He shook his head. "We are forbidden to speak of it, on penalty of death. Only if they contact us directly
can we break this silence."

"It sounds like you've already been contacted," I said.

He shook his head again. "They are tampering with me, and my people, because technically I am outside
normal vampire law. Did Jean-Claude report to the council that my church had not blood-oathed any of
its followers?"

I nodded. "Yes, he did."

He put his big hands over his face and leaned over his knees, almost as if he felt faint. He whispered, "I
feared as much."
"Okay, Malcolm, you're moving too fast for me here. What does Jean-Claude's reporting to the council
have to do with some group of powerful vamps messing with your church?"

He looked at me, but his eyes had gone gray with worry. "Tell him what I have told you. He will
understand."

"But I don't."

"I have until New Year's Day to give Jean-Claude my answer about the blood-oathing. He has been
generous and patient, but there are those among the council that are neither of those things. I had hoped
they would be proud of what I had accomplished. I thought it would please them, but I fear now that the
council is not ready to see my brave new world of free will."

"Free will is for humans, Malcolm. The preternatural community is about control."

He stood again. "You have almost complete discretion on how the warrant is executed, Anita. Will you
use some of that discretion to find the truth before you kill my followers?"

I stood up. "I can't guarantee anything."

"I would not ask that. I ask only that you look for the truth before it is too late for Sally, and my other
follower, whose name you will not even give me." He sighed. "I have not sent Sally running out of town;
why would I warn the other?"

"You came through the door knowing Sally was in trouble. I'm not helping you figure the other bad guy
out."

"It is a man, then?"

I just looked at him, glad that I could give full eye contact. It had always been so hard to do the tough