"02 - Torment" - читать интересную книгу автора (McGough Scott)

the porch, which shuddered and swayed beneath him. Chainer

grunted and scouted the entire first floor for a safe route

down into the basement.

Finding none, he sheathed his knuckle dagger and took

his weapon and tool of choice-a ten-foot length of black

metal chain-from his belt. He looped the hard, polished

chain around the broken base of a statue that guarded the

front doorway, and with the simplest spell he knew,

connected the chain to itself.

"Link," he whispered, and the spot he was staring at

shimmered, then coalesced into a new link that was

indistinguishable from the rest of the chain. Chainer

leaned backward to cinch up the metal noose and test its

strength. Then he lowered himself down into the still,

musty debris.

It was incredibly dark, the kind of darkness that

caused him to wonder if his eyes were still open. He

listened for any other movement and waited in vain for his

eyes to adjust. The sound continued to call him, growing

higher and more excited as he got closer. Methodically, he

made his way across the basement toward the sound, testing

the stone floor before putting any weight on it.

By a pile of moth-eaten fabric and random junk, he lit

one of his flare candles and immediately noticed the

sphere. In a small bubble of bright light, Chainer stared