"Zelazny, Roger - Lord Demon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

"Lots of O'Keefes in Ireland."
"This one was born in I611 and he was murdered last night in San Francisco."
"Here. Come sit by me and tell me more."
I did, and he uncorked a small jug of poteen and passed it to me.
"Have a swig of this," he said, and I did, and it was wonderful.
"Thanks."
"Now, I know you for one of the Chinese sidhe, and we have never had much to do with each other one way or the other. So, as I see it, we don't have anything against each other."
"That's how I see it, too."
"Might I be askin' your name?"
"I'm Kai Wren, the bottlemaker," I said.
"Holy shit! Lord Demon himself!" he said. "Call me Angus of the Hills."
"Very well." I withdrew a copy of Ollie's death certificate and passed it to him. "Everything on it's right except for the date of birth," I said, "since humans don't understand these things. I filled it out from what Ollie told me over the years. He was born in your jurisdiction, I believe. Little village, back of beyond."
Angus nodded.
"Then you can take me there and is it proper if you wish to?"
"Oh, yes."
"There is no higher authority that I must go through if I wish to meddle in the humans' affairs? You are the ruling spirit?"
"Yes . . . But what exactly do you have in mind?"
I dug into my pouch and retrieved three cut emeralds the size of thumbnails.
"A gift to thee, mighty Sidhe," I said, "for hearing my petition."
He accepted them, raised them to the moon one by one, and stared through them.
"Damn!" he said. 'They're perfect!"
"Of course. Now, let me tell you of O'Keefe."
Angus of the Hills unstoppered the bottle, took a drink, and passed it to me. It was still a fine brew.
"All right. Now," he said.
"Well, Ollie'd married and his wife bore him twinsЧa boy and a girl," I explained. "But she died in childbirth."
"Sad."
I nodded.
"He left the children with his sister-in-law and went off to sell his family fiddle in Dublin to raise passage to someplace where he could find work to support his family, there being no job in the village.
"But I heard him play, and I asked what else he did, and he told me he was a good handyman.
"So I offered him a job, the kids were taken care of, and we stayed together down the years. Sunday off and any other day he really wanted. I'd even bring him back on occasion to see his family."
Angus nodded. "His descendants are likely scattered all over the world," he said.
"I know. That's why I'd rather give something to an honorable person from his village, to keep a nest egg against somebody's need for a sudden operation or a tractor breaking downЧnot to mention starvation, lapsing mortgages, and sick children."
"You're a good-hearted one, for a Chinese sidhe," he said. "I'll bet you think I'll say the priest or the mayor would know everyone's needs, but that's not true. The George O'Keefe, keeper of O'Keefe's Public House, hears everyone's troublesЧplus he's a direct relation of your friend. Come and meet him. I think you'd better tell him the whole story and be ready with a small miracle or two, to make it convincing."
Angus proved correct on all counts, and the cost of my charity was an arthritis cure and one for a cataract. I'd a feeling Angus might be coming in for a couple of generations' worth of stout.
Finally, I stood, nodded to both of them, and said, "I must be going now."
I stepped around the corner to a private stretch of alleyway.
Angus followed, his beer mug still in his hand. "Good night to you, Lord Demon."
"And to yourself, Angus," said I, and I sped upward.
Later, at home, I decided to sleep. And I did.


THREE


And
so.
And so we made inquiries through third partiesЧLord Swizzlediz, who can be quite charmingЧconcerning Passion Flower, Snow Goon, Night Bride, and the Walker, as well as Devor himself.
It seemed that Devor was living at the very edge of his means, heavy with gambling debt, hounded by creditors. Passion Flower had lived with him for years, until his luck turned. Snow Goon still hung around with himЧfor old time's sake, apparentlyЧand Night Bride was seeing him more and more frequently. I don't know what, if any, role the Walker had in all this, but he did seem to pass through Devor's life with some regularity.
I continued to keep an eye on all of them, but nothing new transpired in the months that followed. I recorded the entire matter and registered it at the Board of Duels. Hardly a necessity, but something that could serve to smooth things out later on.
I began seeing more of Tuvoon and Viss socially. Tuvoon and I started fencing together, with Viss coaching. I got out into the world of humans a little bit more. I resolved to attend this year's Conventicle. I did not start work on any new art projects.