"Zelazny, Roger - ComingToACord" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

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 realized something he may need to know. Also, I want to get
back on his wrist._
"I'll give his Trump a try," she said, "though if he's in the Courts
I'll probably not be able to reach him."
I heard her open a drawer, and moments later I listened to her
fumbling with cards. I tried to tune in on her thoughts as she
manipulated them, but I could not.
"Sorry," she said, after a time. "I can't seem to get through to