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

'Not if you like living,' said Gayle, thinking hard. 'We're dealing with the immaterial here...
the higher realities, the shimmering realms, the Courts of the Holy. You really don't want to go
there. Especially not with your attitude. No; it's up to us to try to figure out why you're so
important, or why you're going to be. Focal points can bring about change by their actions, or
inaction, or simply by interacting with others. The reasons usually only become clear in
retrospect, after everything's gone to hell in a handcart and we're all busy trying to pick up the
pieces.'
'But... I'm just me!' Toby protested. 'I don't feel any different. I certainly don't feel at all
powerful.'


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'That's the worst kind,' said Gayle darkly. 'The subtle ones. You'd better come with me, and meet
some of the movers and shakers in this town. Maybe between us we can figure out what you're
supposed to do, or be, so we can either defuse you, or at least point you in the right direction
so you do the least possible damage. You're going to have to stick close to me for a while.'
'Suits me,' said Toby, trying not to grin too widely.
'Please don't smile like that. You don't have a single clue what's lying in wait for you. There
are forces in Mysterie who would quite cheerfully rip your guts out if they knew you existed, just
to keep you from upsetting their precious status quo. Come on; finish your tea. We're going
visiting. Try to make a good impression. You're going to need friends and allies if you're to
survive long enough to do whatever it is you're supposed to do.'
'This is Saturday,' Toby said firmly. 'I am not putting on a suit and tie for anyone. Besides;
good impressions aren't exactly what I do best. With me, what you see is pretty much what you
get.'
'Oh hell,' said Gayle. 'In that case, we're in real trouble.'
'Cheer up,' said Toby. 'I can pretend to be civilised, if I have to. What I can't take seriously
is the idea that anything I might do could possibly change the world. Worlds. Now don't look at me
like that; I am taking your warnings seriously. There are people out there who want to kill me.
Got it.'
'Not necessarily people,' said Gayle.
'All right; that's scary. But it was my decision to follow you through the door, and I wouldn't
take it back if I could. I wanted to meet you, and be with you, and here I am. That's all that
matters. You really are rather special, you know.'
'Trust me,' said Gayle. 'You have no idea how special.' She stopped and looked at him
thoughtfully, appraisingly. 'Toby... there are alternatives. You're only in danger as long as you
remain a focal point. And you can only be that here, in the magical world. I could make you forget
everything. I could send you back through the door into reality, into Veritie, back to where you
belong. You'd just wake up in your own bed, a little later than usual, and remember none of this.
You could resume your old life, an ordinary man in an ordinary world. Safe from the burden of
destiny, no longer a threat to the powers that be.'
'Go back to my old life?' said Toby. 'I'd rather die. And it would mean forgetting you, wouldn't
it? I won't do that. You're the only special, beautiful thing that ever came into my life; and I'd
rather die than give that up. I didn't choose to fall in love with you; I just looked at you one
day on the train and that was it, done. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. And
just when I was beginning to think that love was something that happened to other people. Giving
you up would be like giving up the only part of my life that matters. You can't make me forget,
can you? You need my consent. And I don't give it.'