"Asprin, Robert - Sweet Myth-tery of LifeUC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

"Thanks a lot, Gleep old boy," I said, smiling
wryly despite my ill humor. While I obviously
hadn't really expected any glowing words of ad-
vice from my dragon, I had at least thought my
problems were serious enough to hold his atten-
tion. "I might as well be talking to Aahz. At least
he looks at me while he's chewing me out."

Still smiling, I picked up the goblet of wine I
had brought with me for moral support and started
to take a sip.

"Oh, Aahz isn't so bad."

For a startled moment, I thought Gleep had
answered me. Then I realized the voice had come

4 Robert Asprin

from behind me, not from my pet. A quick glance
over my shoulder confirmed my worst fears. My
partner, green scales, pointed teeth and all, was
leaning against the wall not ten feet from where I
stood, and had apparently been listening to my
whole oration.

"Hi, Aahz," I said, covering my embarrassment
with a forced smile. "I didn't hear you come in.
Sorry about that last comment, but I've been a
little ..."

"Don't worry about it, Skeeve," he interrupted
with a wave of dismissal. "If that's the worst
you've had to say about me over the years, I figure
we've been doing pretty well. I do lean on you
kinda hard from time to time. I guess that's gotten
to be my way of dealing with stress."

Aahz seemed calm enough ... in fact, he
seemed to be suspiciously calm. While I wasn't
wild about his shouting at me, at least it was
consistent. This new display of reasonability was
making me uneasy . . . rather like suddenly no-
ticing the sun just rose in the west.

"So . . . what are you doing here, partner?" I
said, trying to sound casual.

"I was looking for you. It occurred to me that