"Rjurik Davidson - Passing of the Minotaurs" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davidson Rjurik)

the water-parks to the south of the city, where waterfalls and canals cut their way through light woods
and the statues were seven, eight feet of white marble, muscles sculpted beneath their stone cloaks. But it
was the minotaurs' heads, those most valuable of trophies, that emanated majesty: the flaring nostrils, the
wiry and scented hide, and most especially, the deep and dark eyes, mesmerizing and inhuman. Kata was
afraid to look into the eyes, but she would have to.

To one side along the bar sat a slightly smaller minotaur with a dark hide. He did not speak but seemed
to be brooding.

That one, she thought.

She slid down the bar and stood next to him.

"Why are you watching us?" he asked.

She could not look him in the eye; she felt guilty. "How far is it to Aya, across the sea?"

"Five days, if the wind is good."

"Why don't you use steamers? You could be sure to arrive in time."

"Tradition. Anyway, I do not trust steamers. What if they break on the open sea? What if those wheels
along their sides fall off? Give me the wind any day. It cannot be conquered but offers its gifts freely. It is
a trusty partner, at times."

She looked up into his left eye and then away from its glistening darkness. Its inky magnificence horrified
her.

"What have you here, Aemilius?" The booming voice came from another minotaur. She forced herself to
look up at the massive head, towering over her. She held his eye for a moment before looking away.

"You know," he said, stepping toward her so his chest came close to her face, "there was a time when a
minotaur could stay wherever he liked during the Festival of the Bull."

The smaller one sat impassively. "Those days are gone, Cyriacus."

Kata stood up and placed her hand against Cyriacus's chest, which was like a solid wall close to her
face. His presence was magnetic, his strength palpable. She pushed against him. He didn't move. She
pushed harder, and he took a step backward. "It's rude to stand so close to someone you do not know,"
she said.

Cyriacus laughed and turned. "Hey, Dexion. We have a spirited one here."

Aemilius leaned into her and said, "It is not wise to play with minotaurs. They are unpredictable and
dangerous."

"I can hold my own," she replied. He nodded, turned, and walked away, leaving her with Cyriacus.

"Have a drink," the minotaur said, handing her his own tankard.