"Simon R. Green - Nightside 1 - Drinking Midnight Wine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

say anything. Leo pressed his ear against the window pane, though his cheek crawled and jumped at
the contact, and listened as they spoke.
'I understood you were banished from this town,' said Angel. 'Where have you been all these
years?'
'Travelling the world, and walking up and down in it,' Hob said easily. 'Dabbling in politics and
revolution, just for the hell of it. Mostly in parts of the world where politics and revolution
are the same thing. People will rape, torture and kill each other for the most amusing reasons, if
you know the right buttons to push. I always feel most alive when everything else is dying all
around me. And I was never banned. I chose to leave, to avoid... unpleasantness. I hadn't thought
of dear old Bradford-on-Avon in a long time, but my father called me back, so here I am. One
doesn't say no to the Serpent.'
Angel leaned forward in her chair, suddenly interested. 'Your father. Have you ever seen him? Do
you know what he is?'
Hob frowned, and looked away, developing a sudden interest in his coffee cup. 'No. My father is as
much a mystery to me as anyone else. I don't think there's anyone now living who knows for sure
what the Serpent actually looks like. Except for dear Luna, of course. And she's still crazy.
That's what looking in the eyes of ultimate evil will do to you, even if you are a Power or a
Domination. Poor Luna. My father has never shown me his face, and I have never been tempted to ask
to see it. But sometimes he talks to me. I hear his voice, in my mind.'
'What does it sound like?' asked Angel, sipping coffee daintily with her little finger crooked.
'He sounds like a sword cutting through flesh. Like the sounds of children dying. Like everything
we dream of in our worst nightmares. It is not a human voice, or even a living voice, in any way
that you or I could comprehend. Though since you were once of the immaterial...'
Angel scowled, and put her cup down sharply. 'I am material now, and much less than I was. Any
memories I might have had of things other than the material were taken from me. That was part of
my punishment. Or perhaps my reward. It's so hard to be sure.'

'Ah well!' said Hob. 'Easy come, easy go. All you need to know is that I follow my father's
wishes; and as long as we follow his plan, you and I will bring down both the worlds of reality
and magic, and watch as my father tramples them beneath his ancient spite. The Serpent In The Sun
will bring an end to Veritie and Mysterie, and you and I will have ringside seats as our reward,
and afterwards we shall frolic in the ruins and glory in the damnation of our enemies.'
'You say the sweetest things,' said Angel. 'Just as long as I'm not bored. I do so hate to be


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bored.'
They both looked round as the door behind them opened and Reed walked in. Hob checked his Rolex
and sniffed. 'About time you got back. Off you go and join the others in the woods. Usual rules;
if it moves and it isn't us, kill it. And don't go wandering off again, or I'll cut you off at the
ankles.'
The dead man turned and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Leo let out his
breath slowly. He'd been wondering if Reed would report being followed, but it seemed his dual
nature was still protecting him.
'What was the little thunder god doing at the railway station this morning?' said Angel. When she
spoke, she sometimes put emphasis on unusual words, as though she was still struggling to
understand the subtler mechanisms of speech.
'Being a bloody nuisance, mostly,' said Hob. 'I suspect the Waking Beauty's hand in his presence.