"Simon Hawke - Wizard 4 - The Wizard of Rue Morgue" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawke Simon)

the son. And they hated one another.
"I wish the pair of 'em would just bugger off and leave me the 'ell alone," said
Billy in his normal voice. "It was bad enough just 'avin Merlin muckin' about inside me
'ead, but now I've got 'is bleedin' dad to put up with. Between the two of 'em, I'm gonna
lose me fuckin' mind!"
Kira sat down on the bed beside him. "I know, Billy. I know. I wish there was
something we could do."
She took his hand in hers and he felt the hardness of the sapphire runestone
embedded in her palm. Wyrdrune stood looking down at him with a worried
expression, his long, curly blond hair falling over his face, partially obscuring the
emerald runestone embedded in his forehead. Modred looked down at him with
concern. His silk pajama shirt was open and the ruby runestone in his muscular chest
gleamed darkly.
"I wonder if it's ever gonna stop," said Billy, wearily. "What does 'e want from
me, anyway? I 'aven't done anything to 'im."
"It isn't you he's angry with, Billy," said Modred. "It's Merlin. Unfortunately,
Merlin is a part of you. And Gorlois is still an unknown factor. There's really no way of
knowing what he means to do with you. Or how Merlin will respond to it. Thanatos
wore the ring for years and was never consciously aware of Gorlois. Morganna, too,
although we don't know to what extent she was influenced by the ring."
"I've rubbed me finger raw tryin' to get the damn thing off," said Billy, "but it's
just no use. No matter what I do, it simply won't come off."
"Do you people know what time it is?"
A broom came sweeping into the room on its straw bristles, a red nightcap
perched atop its wooden handle. It looked like an ordinary, old-fashioned straw broom,
except that it had two spindly, rubbery arms with three fingers on each hand.
"It's four o'clock in the morning, for crying out loud!" it said. "Gevalt! What does
a person need to do to get some sleep around here? It's not enough I have to work and
scrub and cook all day, but then I have to put up with all this cafe-klatching like a
bunch of yentas in the middle of the night?"
Years ago, Wyrdrune had animated the broom to help his mother around the
house while he was away at school. Now that his mother was gone, he had inherited the
broom. Unfortunately, after years spent with his mother, the broom had taken on her
personality. It stood with its arms on its hipsтАФ or at least on the spot where its hips
might have been if it had hipsтАФand though it had no mouth or anything even vaguely
resembling a face, it spoke to them in an irritated, matronly tone.
"Doesn't anybody around here keep normal hours anymore? What is it with you
people?"
"Billy had another nightmare," Kira said.


20
 "Again?" said the broom, its tone softening. "Aw, poor bubeleh. I told you, you
should drink some warm milk with honey before you go to bed at night."
"Thanks, but I'd sooner 'ave the bleedin' nightmares," Billy said, sourly.
"Well, then don't blame me if you won't take my advice," the broom said in a
huffy tone. "Kids today! You talk and talk and talk, but will they ever listen?"
"Put on some coffee, Broom," said Wyrdrune.
"Sure, why not?" the broom said. "Just because no one else is sleeping, who am I
to get a little rest?"