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

'Cruel to be kind,' said Gayle. 'Be grateful you only got a glimpse of the lines, Toby. You have
seen what links the material and the immaterial worlds, what holds existence together. It is said
that if you could see the source and origin of those lines, see from where and what they draw
their power, the sight alone would blast the reason from your mind.' She hesitated, and then
offered Toby a neatly folded handkerchief. 'Here. Wipe your face. It's wet.'
'I know.' Toby mopped clumsily at his sweat-covered face with an unsteady hand, and then gave back
the hanky. 'So; have you ever seen the source of the ley lines?'
'No, she hasn't,' said Carys. 'Neither have I. I don't know anyone of the material planes who has,
and survived it. Some mysteries are hidden even from the greatest of us, and it's best we don't
ask why, for our own protection and peace of mind.'
'We don't know everything,' said Gayle. 'Which is just as well, really. Think how boring life
would be, if there were no more surprises.'
'Some surprises I can do without,' Toby said darkly. 'From now on, keep your hands to yourself.
Though I never thought I'd hear myself saying that. My eyes feel like they've been scoured with
wire wool.'
'Very well,' said Gayle. 'Let's get back to business. You've been very free with your advice just
lately, Carys Galloway. Why don't you tell Toby all about yourself. Who and what you are, and why
your words are worth listening to. And maybe along the way I'll remember some reason why I
shouldn't make you rue your distant birth, for interfering in my affairs. Pay attention, Toby.
It's a cautionary tale.'
'I'm older than I look,' Carys said to Toby, ignoring Gayle with admirable thoroughness. 'I'm
older than the town, older than the races that have lived in it; so old the very language I spoke
as a child no longer exists. Britons, Romans, Celts, Saxons and Normans have come and gone, and I
was here before and after all of them. But I have paid a terrible price for my longevity. I cannot
sleep. Cannot, dare not, sleep or dream or really rest. I don't sleep because something is waiting
for me in my sleep. It waits for me, on the other side of consciousness, and if ever I weaken and
allow myself to sleep or doze even for a moment, it will be there, and it will take me at last.'
'What is it that's waiting for you?' said Toby. 'Death?'
Carys laughed briefly. 'If it were just death, I wouldn't be half as scared. No, it's something
worse than death. Something from my ancient past, old and awful and unrelenting. My longevity must
be paid for and promises must be kept. I'm always tired, Toby. Always. Weary, even to my bones. I
can't remember what it was like to be able to sit down and relax, to close my eyes and rest. I
must always be alert, ready, prepared.'
'Then die,' said Gayle. 'I can help you, if you like. One time pays for all. And material
contracts have no power in the immaterial realms.'
'I can't die yet,' Carys said immediately. 'Not when there's still so much left to see.' She
smiled at Toby, suddenly seeming a lot younger. 'When you've been around as long as I have, you
can't help hearing things, interesting things. Bradford-on-Avon is an open book to me, and has
been for centuries. I know all its history, the light and the dark, the official records and the


file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Sim...side%201%20-%20Drinking%20Midnight%20Wine.txt (37 of 118) [10/16/2004 5:28:20 PM]
 file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Simon%20R.%20Green%20-%20Nightside%201%20-%20Drinking%20Midnight%20Wine.txt

secret deals, the sacred and the profane. I've seen a lot of it first-hand. Because of who and
what I am, I can exist in both worlds, the real and the magical. Everyone in Veritie just accepts
my presence, and never even thinks to question it; though generations of families have known my
company down the years. I'm here because I've always been here, and no one ever thinks beyond that
point. It's part of my nature. Luckily I don't show up on recording devices. I think I'm too weird
for them.