"Diana Wynne Jones - Chrestomanci 5 - Conrad's Fate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jones Diana Wynne)

borrowed some skis and went down all the steepest and iciest ski
runs, and in the summer I went rock climbing. I felt I was really
following in my fatherтАЩs footsteps. Unfortunately, someone saw me
halfway up Stall Crag and told my uncle.
тАЬAh, no, Conrad,тАЭ he said, wagging a worried, wrinkled finger at
me. тАЬI canтАЩt have you taking these risks.тАЭ
тАЬMy dad did,тАЭ I said, тАЬbetting all that money.тАЭ
тАЬHe lost it,тАЭ said my uncle, тАЬand thatтАЩs a different matter. I never
knew much about his affairs, but I have an ideaтАФa very shrewd
ideaтАФthat he was robbed by those crooked aristocrats up at
Stallery.тАЭ
тАЬWhat?тАЭ I said. тАЬYou mean Count Rudolf came with a gun and
held him up?тАЭ
 My uncle laughed and rubbed my head. тАЬNothing so dramatic,
Con. They do things quietly and mannerly up at Stallery. They pull
the possibilities like gentlemen.тАЭ
тАЬHow do you mean?тАЭ I said.
тАЬIтАЩll explain when youтАЩre old enough to understand the magic of
high finance,тАЭ my uncle replied. тАЬMeanwhileтАжтАЭ His face went all
withered and serious. тАЬMeanwhile, you canтАЩt afford to go risking
your neck on Stall Crag, you really canтАЩt, Con, not with the bad
karma you carry.тАЭ
тАЬWhatтАЩs karma?тАЭ I asked.
тАЬThatтАЩs another thing IтАЩll explain when youтАЩre older,тАЭ my uncle
said. тАЬJust donтАЩt let me catch you going rock climbing again, thatтАЩs
all.тАЭ
I sighed. Karma was obviously something very heavy, I thought,
if it stopped you climbing rocks. I went to ask my sister, Anthea,
about it. Anthea is nearly ten years older than me, and she was
very learned even then. She was sitting over a line of open books on
the kitchen table, with her long black hair trailing over the page
she was writing notes on. тАЬDonтАЩt bother me now, Con,тАЭ she said
without looking up.
SheтАЩs growing up just like Mum! I thought. тАЬBut I need to know
what karma is.тАЭ
тАЬKarma?тАЭ Anthea looked up. She has huge dark eyes. She opened
them wide to stare at me, wonderingly. тАЬKarmaтАЩs sort of like Fate,
except itтАЩs to do with what you did in a former life. Suppose that in
a life you had before this one you did something bad, or didnтАЩt do
something good, then Fate is supposed to catch up with you in this
life, unless you put it right by being extra good, of course.
Understand?тАЭ
тАЬYes,тАЭ I said, though I didnтАЩt really. тАЬDo people live more than
once, then?тАЭ
тАЬThe magicians say you do,тАЭ Anthea answered. тАЬIтАЩm not sure I
believe it myself. I mean, how can you check that you had a life
before this one? Where did you hear about karma?тАЭ
Not wanting to tell her about Stall Crag, I said vaguely, тАЬOh, I
read it somewhere. And whatтАЩs pulling the possibilities? ThatтАЩs
another thing I read.тАЭ