"Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus 3 - Ptolemy's Gate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stroud Jonathan)

"Your job is to destroy anyone entering my study without authority. No more, no less."

The door guard considered. "True. But I seek to preempt entry by scaring trespassers away. To
my way of thinking, deterrence is more aesthetically satisfying than punishment."

Mr. Mandrake snorted. "Trespassers apart, you'll likely frighten Ms. Piper here to death."

The face shook from side to side, a process that caused the nose to wobble alarmingly. "Not so.
When she comes alone, I moderate my features. I reserve the full horror for those I consider
morally vicious."

"But you just looked that way to me!"

"The contradiction being . . . ?"

Mandrake took a deep breath, passed a hand across his eyes and gestured. The face retreated
into the metal to become the faintest of outlines; the door swung open. The great magician
drew himself up and, ushering Ms. Piper along before him, walked into his study.

It was a functional roomтАФhigh, airy and white-painted, lit by two windows looking out upon the
square. It had no excess decoration. On this particular morning thick clouds covered the sun, so
Mandrake switched on the ceiling lights as he entered. Bookcases ran along the entirety of one
wall, while the opposite side was bare except for a giant pin board, covered in notes and
diagrams. The wooden floor was smooth and dark. Five circles were inscribed upon it, each with
its own pentacle, runes, candles, and incense pots. Four of these were of a conventional size,
but the fifth, nearest the window, was significantly larger: it contained within it a full-size desk,
filing cabinet, and several chairs. This master-circle was joined to the smaller ones by a series of
precisely drawn lines and rune-chains. Mandrake and Ms. Piper crossed into the largest circle
and sat behind the desk, spreading out their papers before them.

Mandrake cleared his throat. "Right then. To business. Ms. Piper, we will deal with the ordinary
reports first. If you would activate the presence indicator."

Ms. Piper spoke a brief incantation. Instantly the candles around the perimeters of two of the
smaller circles flickered into life; wisps of smoke rose to the ceiling. In the pots beside them,
flakes of incense stirred and shifted. The other two circles remained quiet.

"Purip and Fritang," Ms. Piper said.

The magician nodded. "Purip first." He uttered a loud com-mand.The candles in the leftmost
pentacle flared; with a queasy shimmering, a form appeared in the center of the circle. It was

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 Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus 3 - Ptolemy's Gate

shaped like a man and respectfully dressed in a sober suit and dark blue tie. It nodded briefly in
the direction of the desk and waited.

"Remind me," Mandrake said.