"Huff, Tanya - Keeper 3 - Long Hot Summoning" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huff Tanya)

УAnd what did he say?Ф asked one of her listeners.
УOh, you know guys. He took it so personally. All like, Сyou would if you loved me.Т Ф
УSo what did you say?Ф
УThat I loved my lipstick more.Ф
In the midst of the laughter and catcalls that followed her matter-of-fact pronouncement, Blonde Ponytail looked up and spotted Diana.
УDid you want something?Ф she asked icily.
УUh, yeah.Ф Diana leaned a little closer; trying to get a better look at the heavy bangle Blonde Ponytail wore around her left wrist. УPlease tell me where you got your bracelet.Ф
УThis? At ErlkingТs Emporium in the GardenerТs Village Mall. I got it last weekend when I was visiting my father in Kingston.Ф
Great.
Kingston. Where there used to be a hole to Hell.
Oh, sure. It could be coincidence.
УItТs silver, you know.Ф
Well, it was silver colored; the broad band embossed with large flowers each centered with a demonТs eye topaz. It was quite possibly the ugliest piece of jewellery Diana had ever seen. УNo, it isnТt. It only looks like silver.Ф
УWhat? You mean that troll lied to me?Ф
Troll.
With any luck, that was a colorful exaggeration rather than the mystical version of a Freudian slip.
Diana didnТt feel particularly lucky. Stretching out a finger, she lightly touched the edge of one metallic petal.
A much larger flash of aubergine light.
A moment later, Diana found herself pressed face first into one of the cafeteriaТs orange plastic chairs discovering far more than she wanted to about the olfactory signature of the last person sitting in it. Then she realized she was actually under the chair and heaved it to one side.
УAre you okay?Ф
УFine. Just a little bruised.Ф Accepting the offered hand, she pulled herself to her feet. УStatic electricity,Ф she explained, trailing power through the basketball team. УI must have completed some kind of circuit.Ф
Several heads, probably the ones who hadnТt passed physics, nodded sagely. The insistent trill of a cell phone broke the tableau.
УMine,Ф Diana admitted, digging her backpack out from under the table. Eyes widened as she unzipped an outside pocket. After the unfortunate 1-800-TEACHME incident back in the spring of 2001, students were not permitted to use their cell phones while on school property. Oh, yeah, IТm a rebel, she thought flipping it open, then added aloud, УItТs my mother.Ф
When the team seemed inclined to linger, she threw a little power into, УEverythingТs cool. You can go now.Ф
УDiana? What just happened?Ф
УYou felt that at home?Ф She headed back toward the other cafeteria as the girls reclaimed their table, Blonde Ponytail muttering, УWhat a piece of cheap junk; IТm going to wring that trollТs neck.Ф
УFelt it? Yes, IТd say we felt it. SamТs hanging from the top of the living-room curtains and the coffeepotТs bringing in radio broadcasts from 1520Чapparently Martin Luther was just excommunicated. I missed part of Suleiman the MagnificentТs birth announcement as your father called to say heТd felt it in the next county. Are you all right?Ф
УIТm fine. I touched a piece of jewelry from the Otherside and there was a bit of a reaction. DonТt worry, I covered everything up, and the jewelryТs been totally nullified.Ф
УWhere . . . ?Ф
УWas the jewelry?Ф Diana interrupted. УAround the wrist of a fellow student. How did she lay her hands on a braceletЧand an incredibly ugly bracelet, I might addЧthat came from the Otherside? She bought it in a store called ErlkingТs Emporium. Just where exactly is ErlkingТs Emporium? Kingston.Ф
УOh, Hell.Ф
УProbably.Ф Leaving the cafeteria, she headed for the main stairs and the front doors. УI figure I just blew a crack through their shielding and that Claire ought to be getting the Summons any minute.Ф
УClaireТs not in Kingston right now; sheТs answering a Summons in Marmora.Ф
УWell, if itТs important, IТm sure the id ... powers-that-be will give it to someone else.Ф
УYouТre not getting anything?Ф
УNope, nothing.Ф There was no one in the main hall. Another fifteen meters and sheТd be out the doors and home free.
УGood. And while I have you, I thought weТd agreed you werenТt going to wear that T-shirt to school?Ф
УSorry, Mom; the school has a Сno cell phoneТ rule. Gotta go.Ф Flipping the phone closed, Diana paused in front of her reflection in the glass of the trophy case. The writing across her chestЧred on blackЧ said, My sisterТs boy toy went to Hell and all I got was a lousy T-shirt. She seemed to be the only one in the family who found it funny.
УMs. Hansen.Ф
Phone still in her hand, Diana spun around and smiled up at the vice-principal. УIt was my mother, Ms. Neal. I had to take the call.Ф
УYes, IТm sure. But thatТs hot what I wanted to speak with you about. YouТre an intelligent young woman, Diana, and while your years here have not been without . . . incident . . .Ф
The pause nearly collapsed under the memory of the whole football team thing. Some changes lingered, even in the minds of the most prosaic Bystander.
УYes, well, your marks are good,Ф the vice-principal continued after a long moment, Уin spite of your frequent absences, and I canТt help but feel itТs a real shame that youТve decided not to go on to college or university.Ф
Diana shuddered. More time spent under academic authority? So not going to happen. УIТm afraid IТm just not the higher education type, Ms. Neal.Ф Sliding sideways, she moved a little closer to the door.
УJob prospects . . .Ф
УI have a job. Family business. Pays well, chance to travel, making the world a better place and all that.Ф Also demons, dangers, and the possibility of dying young but it still beat pretty much any other profession as far as Diana was concerned. Well, maybe not sitcom star or Hollywood script doctor but everything else. УYou might say itТs the kind of job I was born to do,Ф she added reassuringly.
From the sudden contentment on Ms. NealТs face, a little too reassuringly.
УItТs nice to know that at least one of my students will be leaving the school for a bright and beautiful future,Ф she sighed. УIТll never forget you, Diana.Ф
Diana smiled. УActually, youТll forget me the moment I step out the door.Ф
УI donТt think . . .Ф