"Robert Weinberg - Logical Magician 02 - A Calculated Magician" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weinberg Robert)

тАЬOf course,тАЭ said Boris, reaching again into the case. тАЬKarsnov wore this pocket watch for
years. In his haste to escape, he left it behind.тАЭ
Boris put the files and the watch onto the table. Carefully, he pushed them forward into the
darkness. Someone picked up the file and then the watch. He could hear it being passed around.
Bronsky shuddered in anticipation, knowing what came next. His every encounter with the three
mysterious hunters ended the same way.
тАЬLabe, labe, labe,тАЭ chanted the three assassins in unison, their horrifying voices blending into a
monstrous chorus of sound. тАЬPhradzou!тАЭ
An instant later, an unseen door opened and closed and they were gone. The hunters were off on
their mission to seek and destroy.
Boris rose to his feet, scratching his head in bewilderment. Dull and unimaginative, he still wished
he understood the purpose of that final burst of noise.
Years before, he had smuggled into the meeting a compact tape machine and had recorded the
mysterious words. A KGB language specialist had identified the phrase as ancient Greek and translated it
for him as тАЬSeize him, seize him, seize him; mark him!тАЭ
The translation left Boris as much in the dark as before. He had no idea what the statement
signified or why the three assassins pronounced it at the end of each meeting.
A plain, simple man, not educated in the classics, Boris had never studied the famous Greek
playwrights. He had never heard of Aeschylus or his most famous play. Which, all things considered, was
probably for the best.

8
1
Stretching both arms high over his head. Jack Collins inhaled deeply, pulling lungfuls of fresh air into his
chest. He smiled. It felt good lolling in bed with no thoughts of rushing off to an early-morning class. After
attending college nine years straight, a little laziness never hurt anyone.
Idly, Jack checked the clock by the side of his bed. It was a few minutes after nine in the
morning. Under normal circumstances, he would have shaved, dressed, and breakfasted an hour and a
half ago. Right about now, he would be greeting the shuffling, half-asleep zombies who constituted his
first mathematics lecture class of the day. But times and circumstances were anything but normal.
Jack Collins, graduate teaching assistant in mathematics and logic at the local university, no longer
existed. Vanished along with that persona were his dreams of obtaining his doctoral degree and
becoming a full-time professor. Instead, in a dramatic change of fortunes, Jack had joined the investment
firm of Ambrose and Associates, Ltd., and become a hero. Through his efforts, aided and abetted by a
group of unlikely friends and allies, he had saved the world from the forces of everlasting night. And in the
course of his quest, met and romanced the most beautiful girl in the world.
The thought of Megan Ambrose, daughter of his boss, Merlin the Magician, made Jack smile.
Extremely bright and visually stunning, Megan was everything any man could ask for. That she cared for
him was one of those mysteries Jack was willing to accept with no questions asked. After his adventures
dealing with Dietrich von Bern, the Lord of the Wild Hunt, master of the monstrous Gabble Ratchets,
Jack felt he deserved a few breaks.
Besides, like himself, Megan was a halfling---a child of a supernatural being and a human parent.
As such, they were able to communicate with each other in their dreams. It was a talent that had saved
JackтАЩs life more than once during the past month, and it had forged unbreakable bonds between him and
Megan. Bonds that had led to their engagement and plans to be married in the reasonably near future.
Jack rubbed his eyes, banishing the last remnants of sleep from them. He yawned and blinked
several times, trying to focus his vision. Even though it was several weeks since his adventures had first
begun, he still had not completely adjusted to seeing the world through a pink haze. The rose-colored
contact lenses he wore enabled him to distinguish between normal people and supernatural beings.
Humans had auras, clearly visible with the magical eyewear. All other beings, which included trolls,