"Rajnar Vajra - Afterburn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vajra Rajnar)

becoming something greater and brighter than mere silver and gold. Call me an
unintentional alchemist! What I have made was once called "electrum": gold and
silver in perfect balance. The door to the inner part of the cathedral gapes
wide and the eerie music becomes frighteningly loud. It seems I am doomed to
encounter the subwoofer choir after all. But I am also vastly relieved. I was
afraid the two beads of pure silver fire still burning might be enough to keep
me trapped.
When I call forth a weapon and step cautiously through the door, I am
awestruck by the sheer size and majesty of the astonishing being who awaits me
in the heart of the cathedral.
****
Dana Huang and Sue Williams
"I see you've been with us for a month now," Dana remarked mildly, her
eyes trained on some notes she'd taken during a recent meeting with Carla
Carroll. Dana was privately amused at her own strong impulse to ask Sue
Williams for her autograph.
"Only a month?" Sue thought for a second and shook her head ruefully.
"You're right. I started on the nineteenth so it's been exactly a month."
"Doctor Carroll tells me you're doing extraordinarily well, that you
have a real knack for anticipating your patient's needs."
"I'm glad Doctor Carroll approves, but having only one patient
simplifies things."
"Is that all there is to it?"
Sue's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps not. The job seems to keep getting easier
every day. In a way, I identify with him."
That last remark was a waving red flag, but Dana carefully kept her
expression neutral. "I bet you're wondering why I called you in."
"Clearly, you're an excellent psychologist, Ms Huang." Sue was smiling
faintly now.
Without lifting her head, gazing over the rims of her reading glasses,
Dana studied the doctor with what appeared to be friendly interest. "I try my
best. Our interview today is just routine hospital policy. We like to check
with our staff now and then and see if there's any way we can make your lives
easier." This was a quarter-truth at best. New employees were usually
interviewed after six months, and then annually. But Troy Dane had expressed




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concerns. And Doctor Suzanne Blake Williams was a most unusual employee....
"You want to improve my life?" Sue's smile was more pronounced. "Then
I'd like to order shorter working hours and more holidays."
The renowned smile was infectious and Dana caught it. "We'll get right
on that. Meanwhile," she kept her voice light and unconcerned, "what did you
mean about identifying with your patient?"
"Well, it's just that he's so ... isolated."
"Because he's inside a tank?"
"That, too. But what I meant was that he's become so different from
everyone else."