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

УI hope you guys postponed instead of finishing,Ф Diana snorted as they entered the kitchen, Уbecause if that was it, Claire should file a complaint. I mean itТs not like IТm an expert on these things,Ф she continued, assaulting a leftover roast with the carving knife, Уbut someoneТs getting left a little short. No offense.Ф She grinned up at Dean.
УAnd yet, IТm offended anyway.Ф Grasping her wrist with one hand, he confiscated the knife with the other and jerked his head toward the dining room table. УYou sit. IТll do this.Ф
УI donТt know, Dean. I like my sandwiches made slowly and with care.Ф

УAnd you might want to reconsider further commentary,Ф Claire interjected from the dining room, Уsince heТs eight inches taller than you and holding a knife.Ф
УPlease,Ф Diana scoffed, grabbing a bottle of juice from the fridge and coming around the counter that separated the two rooms, УDeanТs a pussycat.Ф
УNow, IТm offended,Ф Austin muttered.
Sam looked up from his cat food and frowned. УI thought you liked him.Ф
УYeah. So?Ф
УI donТt understand.Ф
УYouТre not supposed to,Ф Claire told the younger cat comfortingly. УLet it go and move on.Ф Pulling out one of the antique tableТs dozen chairs, she folded a leg up onto the red velvet seat and sat, indicating that Diana should do the same.
Diana didnТt so much sit as gang up with gravity to assault the furniture.
Claire winced as the chair protested, but hundred-year-old joints and wood glue held. УYou said something about a shopping mall taking over the world?Ф
УIТm amazed you heard me.Ф
УYou have a talent for attracting attention. I assume this concerns your first Summons as an active Keeper?Ф
УGot it in one.Ф Smiling her thanks at Dean for the sandwich, she waited until he sat down and pulled his seat up close behind ClaireТs before she continued. УIt all started this afternoon on what was, thank God, my very last day of school ...Ф

When the story arrived at the mall, Claire interrupted.
УYou should have called me.Ф
УChill, uberKeeper. You werenТt in Kingston, and until I actually got to the Emporium, all I had was a piece of ugly jewelry. IТd have been further ahead closing down the Home Shopping Network. Unfortunately, once at the Emporium, I discovered weТre talking about a little more than a mere accident siteЧ according to the magic mirror theyТre using for security . . .Ф
УMagic mirror?Ф Dean leaned forward, one hand on ClaireТs shoulder. УLike in the fairy tales?Ф
СJust like. Well, not exactly like,У Diana amended after chewing and swallowing the last mouthful of sandwich. ФHeТs a little pissed about being yanked out of retirement by Gaston the Wondertroll and is willing to do what he can to close the whole thing down.У
УTroll?Ф
She nodded. УTheyТre not just under bridges anymore.Ф
УAccording to the magic mirror,Ф Claire prompted, poking her sister with a Tahiti Sands-tipped finger.
УOw.Ф
УDiana . . .Ф
УOkay, fine. According the mirror, whose name is Jack, itТs a segue.Ф
УA segue?Ф When Diana nodded, her expression making it clear she wasnТt kidding around, the older Keeper ran a hand up through her hair. УI have a sudden need for profanity.Ф

УYeah. That was my reaction. That mallТs got to cover at least four acres. Maybe as much as six.Ф
УSegue?Ф Dean asked, dragging his chair around far enough to see ClaireТs face.
УA metaphysical overlap intended to displace reality.Ф
He switched his attention to Diana.
She scratched thoughtfully at her left elbow and tried to come up with an explanation he could understand. УYou know how the Otherside is neither here nor there? That everyoneЧgood guys, bad guys, the SwissЧcan all get in but can only get back out into their own reality, the one they left from? Well, in a segue, someone, or something, matches up a piece of the Otherside to this reality and blends them together until enough of the copy occupies the space of the original whereupon the copy takes over. That puts a piece of the Otherside inside this reality so that anyone can enter it from their reality and exit here. The Erlking Emporium is anchoring the biggest segue IТve ever heard of.Ф
УThe biggest?Ф
УWell, you canТt count Las Vegas, thatТs a metaphysical heritage site. All that bad taste in one place put a real strain on reality.Ф
It took Dean about half a heartbeat to decide that was one of those comments he didnТt need to understand. УBut how did the segue in the mall get so big without you guys noticing?Ф
УHell,Ф Austin answered before either Keeper could.

He put his front paws up on ClaireТs knee and she lifted him onto her lap. УThey hid a smaller bad inside the noise of the biggest bad. They probably set the anchor last fall while we were closing the hole and after that, it was just a matter of keeping things moving ahead, slow and steady.Ф
УAnd they are?Ф
УYour guess is as good as mine. Oh, wait. No it isnТt.Ф He paused and licked at the quarter-sized bit of black fur on his front leg. УFor simplicityТs sake, letТs just call them the bad guys.Ф
УBut the Otherside isnТt necessarily bad.Ф
УDoesnТt matter; with a segue anything can cross over. Bad, good . . .Ф
УHey!Ф Sam protested, coming out of the kitchen. УThis world could use a little more good in it. I ought to know.Ф
Austin sighed. УYeah, yeah. Light. Angel. Cat. Yadda. We all know the story and youТre missing the point. A little good is fine. A lot of good isnТt.Ф
УKeepers maintain the balance, Sam. A functional segue could tip it in either direction, and if theyТre using trolls, well, IТm guessing weТre not heading for hugs and cheesecake.Ф Claire rubbed her thumb gently over the velvet fur between AustinТs ears. УShutting them down is a tricky business,Ф she added thoughtfully. УIt canТt be done from this side; IТll have to cross over and go to the source.Ф
Diana rolled her eyes. УYouТll have to? Try weТll have to. If I canТt close something this big on my own, you certainly canТtЧBasic Folklore 101, the younger sibling is always more powerful. I have the power, you have the experience. United we stand, divided we fall, yadda yadda. So I suggest you get over yourself, drop the whole IТm-the-only-one-who-can-save-the-world crap, and recognize that weТve got trouble.У
УRight here in River City,Ф Sam added.