"Zelazny, Roger - Amber Short Stories 04 - Coming To A Cord" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

tied me there. On the other hand, it was a tight knot, and I squirmed for a
long while to get myself unlooped. Finally, the thing was loosened and I was
able to undo it. Once I had freed myself from its subtle geometries, I
slithered down the bedpost to the ground. This left me in a position to slip
away, should a gang of furniture movers suddenly appear. In fact, it suddenly
seemed a good idea to get out of the fast traffic lane now.

I moved away from the bed--out of Brand's room and into Merlin's--wondering
what had been the secret of that ring he'd found and put on--the spikard thing.

That it was extremely powerful and drew its energies from many sources was
obvious to a being such as myself. That it seemed a thing of the same order as
the sword Werewindle was also readily apparent, despite their varied forms to
the eye of a human. Suddenly, it occurred to me that Merlin might not notice
this, and I began to think that it might be necessary he should.

I crossed his room. I can move like a snake when I would. I have no
ability to transport myself magically like almost everyone else I know, so I
figured it were best to find someone who did. My only problem was that, in
keeping with the family's general policy of personal secrecy on everything from
magic to souffle recipes, many of them did not even know I existed.

...And for that matter I didn't know the location of their apartments, save
for Merlin's, Brand's, Random and Vialle's, and Martin's--which Merlin sometimes
visited. Random and Vialle's would be hard to reach, with all the work that was
going on. So I headed off in the direction of Martin's rooms and slithered
under the door when I got there. He had rock posters on most of his walls, as
well as the speakers for a magically powered CD player. He, alas, was absent,
and I had no idea when he might return.

I went back out into the hall and slithered along it, listening for a
familiar voice, checking under doors, into rooms. This went on for some time
before I heard Flora say, "Oh, bother!" from behind a door up the hall. I
headed in that direction. She was one of the ones privy to my existence.

Her door was closed, but I was able to make my way beneath it into a highly
decorated sitting room. She seemed in the process of mending a broken
fingernail with some sort of goo.

I crossed the room to her side, maintaining my invisibility, and wrapped
myself about her right ankle.

_Hello,_ I said. _This is Frakir, Merlin's friend and strangling
cord. Can you help me?_

Following a moment of silence, she said, "Frakir! What's happened? What do
you need?"

_I was inadvertently abandoned,_ I explained, _while Merlin was
under the influence of a peculiar spell. I need to get in touch with him. I've