"Rajnar Vajra - Passing the Arboli Test" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vajra Rajnar)

"It should not be. The blades are real. You may be injured."
I stared at my host dubiously. If I'd really believed the Tree-person,
I'd have gotten up and walked out the front door, prison or no prison. The
Arboli were famed for their convincing illusions and I was sure that I was
about to experience one for myself.
"This is your test: find something in the room to be used as a weapon
against cutting blades. Drink twice!"
"You mean ... think twice?"
"Meaning is identical. Proceed."
As I left the room, the alien was scrutinizing the shreds of Wheaties
on my plate. Cerealomancy, I suppose.
I hadn't counted on the Test being physically dangerous, and I wasn't
much of a fighter. Still, I was certain the first challenge would only _seem_
to be dangerous. That didn't mean I wasn't nervous as hell as I walked down
the hallway.
Light was shining from under the bathroom door and when I opened it and
stepped inside, I got my first real surprise.
"Excuse me," I stammered. "Hadn't expected the room to be occu..."
I'd trailed off because of the young woman's facial expression: acute
fear. She was staring at my hands and it occurred to me that she might be




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looking for a "sharp cutting blade." Was she taking the same test as me?
"I'm not here to attack you," I said as reassuringly as possible.
"You're not? Good!"
"What are you doing here?"
She still regarded me warily, but a smile abruptly pulled at the
corners of her mouth. "That's a strange question to ask a stranger considering
where we are."
I glanced around uncomfortably for a moment. My companion was boyishly
thin and very small, so small she made me feel big and I'm only five seven.
She might have reached five feet tall in high heels. Her straight dark-blond
hair was cut in a pageboy, framing a heart-shaped face with a broad forehead,
high cheekbones, and a long but delicate nose. Her eyes were a much nicer
shade of green than mine, and a faint yellow stain discolored one front tooth.
Somehow, I found the small imperfection charming.
I had a feeling the woman was older than she looked -- perhaps in her
early thirties. She was wearing jeans, black running shoes, and a loose blue
blouse mostly covering a black tank-top. A tiny gold post was set in each ear.
She wore no other jewelry. Oddly enough, I was sure I'd met her somewhere
before, but I couldn't imagine when or where.
I'd already been staring at her far too long....
"Sorry," I said simply to end the awkward moment. "I hadn't intended
to, uh, intrude. I'm Paul Carter and I'm supposed to be taking the Test. One
of the Arboli sent me in here."
"Me too. I'm Tina Prince. I'm wondering. Do you suppose they expect us
to work together?"