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

and fevers. The six ways included medicines and herbs he'd never heard of, prayers to someone
called Mannan Mac Lir, and a series of healthy exercises that made Toby wince just to look at the
illustrations. He turned the pamphlet over, to see if it was advertising a book or a film, but
there was just the usual form to fill in, and an address in Findhorn, wherever that was. Toby
blinked at the pamphlet a few times and then put it carefully to one side.
Next up was a sober, businesslike letter from one of the big established pharmaceutical companies,
offering to supply him with the very latest in lust potions, suitable for all occasions. Shouldn't
that be love potions? Toby thought vaguely. He checked the small print for mention of pheromones
and the like, but the letter seemed entirely serious and straightforward. There was even a money-
back guarantee. The sliding scale of prices was entirely reasonable, so Toby put that letter on
one side too, for further thought.
Next: turn lead into gold! Crush coal into diamonds! Split the atom with a single blow! Gain
mastery over the material world with the Junior Alchemist's Set! A philosopher's stone included
with every kit! (Subject to availability.) We take Visa and Mastercard. Parent or guardian's
signature required. Allow six moons for delivery. Toby blinked at that one for a while, and put it
on one side.
Finally: you may already be a Superhero! Send for the origin of your choice. Design your own
costume or choose from our wide range of cloaks, tights and masks. Rubber and leather a
speciality. Return this form before the end of the month and choose two extra powers, one from
Column A and one... Toby screwed that one into a ball and binned it with more than necessary
force. Someone was winding him up. Had to be.
He turned on the radio. The news was almost universally depressing, as usual, and he felt on
firmer ground again.
He pottered around the house for a while, wandering into rooms and out again, but he couldn't
settle. The feeling of restlessness was getting worse. More and more he felt he should be
somewhere else, doing something... important. That this Saturday, this morning, was important.
Which was odd, because he'd never thought of himself or his life as mattering a damn to anyone,
even him. He was just another faceless drone, a small cog in a small wheel that kept other wheels
turning because... well, wheels had to turn, or where would we all be? The sudden bitterness in
that thought surprised him; the teeling that he could have made something of his life, but somehow
never had.


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He sniffed. That was what hitting your thirties did for you. It made you bloody morbid.
He fought the restlessness for another half an hour, but in the end it forced him out of the
house. He pulled on his new leather jacket, and slammed the front door behind him just a little
harder than was really necessary to make the lock catch. Truth be told, it was a bit warm for the
jacket, but he liked the creaking sounds it made as he moved. He looked around him. It was a
bright sunny day, but no one else seemed to be about. An impulse made him look up, and he was
astonished to see an absolutely huge rainbow glimmering against the deep blue sky. The colours
were almost painfully sharp and distinct, and the great arch seemed to fly up into the sky for
ever. The earth-fixed end seemed so close he felt as though he could walk right up to it, and the
whole thing was so damned beautiful his breath caught in his chest like it would never let go. In
all his life, he'd never seen a rainbow like it. In the end, he tore his gaze away and walked off
down the road, heading into town.
Something was calling him.
And as he walked through the town, everything was utterly familiar yet subtly different. The