"Alexis Morgan - In Darkness Reborn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morgan Alexis)

equipment exactly the way Dr. Young preferred it, he walked past the man and deliberately made eye
contact, taking a warriorтАЩs pride in knowing he wasnтАЩt the one whoтАЩd blinked first.

The patient had been conscious for just over an hour and had been cursing Barak the whole time.
Paladins were never easy patients, but having one of their mortal enemies near made them worse. Barak
hated the Paladins enough to take pleasure in seeing his enemy chained down while he walked free.
Drawing a deep breath, he savored the sweet taste of the manтАЩs fury.

When heтАЩd entered this world, heтАЩd fully expected to die at the end of a PaladinтАЩs sword. That hadnтАЩt
happened, leaving him alone in this confusing place. Since he could not defeat his enemy in combat, he
would at least irritate them with his continued presence in their midst.

Dr. Laurel Young stood concentrating on the machines that monitored the PaladinтАЩs progress. Judging
from the frown line between her eyebrows, she wasnтАЩt pleased.

Knowing the request that was coming, Barak started for the door.

The guards manning the lobby desk looked up, preventing him from slamming his fist against the wall.
Any such action on his part would be reported to Dr. Neal, the local head of Research, who in turn
would pass along the information to the Regents. For now, they tolerated BarakтАЩs continued existence, as
long as he did not become too much of a problem. For LaurelтАЩs sake, he behaved most of the time.

It was for Dr. YoungтАЩs sake that he had walked out of the lab; he owed her that much. Roiling with
anger, he decided to work it off in the gym.

He pushed the elevator button, still marveling at the conveniences that humans took for granted. Their
casual use of power appalled him at times. They had no idea how blessed they were. Or how wasteful.

When the elevator doors slid open, a pair of the building guards immediately moved to one side of the
elevator, as if to make room for him. More likely they were avoiding any possible contact.

He forced a small smile, acknowledging their false courtesy. As they traveled in uncomfortable silence, he
wondered if he was wrong to assume everyone had a hidden agenda. Maybe they had problems of their
own and meant no slight. But until he better understood these humans and how their minds worked, he
could only rely on his instincts, and it was safer to assume they were the enemy than to be stabbed in the
back by a false friend.
Several seconds later, he escaped the close confines of the elevator. Pausing outside the locker room, he
reached out with his senses to see if anyone was inside. The gods were with him; the whole place was
empty. Inside, he stripped down and pulled on the shorts he kept in his assigned locker. After tying back
his shoulder-length hair, he entered the gym.

He closed his eyes, searching for the silence deep within to let go of the dayтАЩs frustrations. Moving slowly
at first, he lost himself in the haтАЩkai, the тАЬdeath danceтАЭ of his people. Through its familiar rhythms, he
could almost imagine himself back home. The origin of the dance was lost in antiquity, but those who
learned its graceful, lethal maneuvers kept the practice alive in his world. Here, in this land of too much
light, it was an unknown art. There was so much confusion in this new life that he drew comfort from
bringing this one little part of his world with him. His peace was short-lived as four Paladins came
swaggering into the gym. They dropped their weapons cases on the tiled floor and drew their swords.

The closest one groused, тАЬHell, nobody told me that they let that gray-haired bastard roam free. Hey,