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

instruments. And all we have to stop them is a focal point who doesn't understand his own
purpose... and you. If I had anywhere else to go, I'd be packing. I have a horrible suspicion this
town has been designated ground zero for something truly appalling, something that will crack open
all the worlds and let the blood run out. You have to intervene, Gayle, and soon; before it's too
late for all of us.'
'Do you know that for a fact?' said Gayle.
The Waking Beauty sighed, and sank back in her chair. She looked suddenly tired, and older. 'No,'
she said reluctantly. 'I can see the pieces but not the pattern.'
'Sometimes you need to be reminded of that.' Gayle considered the matter in silence for a while.
'All right; something's going on. And Toby isn't just another focal point, or he wouldn't be
linked so closely to me. Could he be the next in line to be Humanity's Champion?'
Carys looked startled for the first time, studying Toby with new eyes. 'I don't know. He could be,
I suppose. It's been so long since Humanity needed a Champion... You know, it does make a kind of
sense.'
'Yes,' said Gayle. 'Unfortunately, it does.' Both the women looked at Toby in a curious but
unsettlingly speculative way.
'If I am Humanity's Champion,' Toby said firmly, 'then we are all in really deep trouble.'
'You should be honoured,' said Gayle, and Toby couldn't quite tell whether she was mocking him or
not. 'True Champions are few and far between. They are heroes, warriors, legends; defenders of
Humanity against the forces of darkness. Of course, most of them end up dying horribly, but...
Toby! Toby, sit down! You're not going anywhere and you know it.'
'Every time I think it can't get any worse, it does,' said Toby, slumping back into his seat. 'I'd
just got my head round being a local point, and now you want me to be a hero and a warrior? Trust
me: you have got the wrong guy.'
'Not even for me?'
'Not even for Kate Bush dipped in honey.'
'If you won't do something,' Carys said suddenly to Gayle, 'I will.'
'If you do,' said Gayle, 'I can't protect you. You're long-lived and you know a lot of things, but
at the end of the day you're still only human, Carys, while Hob and Angel are so much more. You
sit tight and leave this with me. Let me think on it.'
'Time is running out...'
'It always is.' Gayle smiled suddenly. 'You know; I think I'll go and see the Mice. They're bound
to have noticed something.'
'Mice?' said Toby ominously. 'You want to talk with a bunch of mice?'
'Oh, you'll like them, Toby. They're very charming. A bit rough and ready, but then, that's Mice
for you.'
'They're newcomers to the town,' said Carys, frowning. 'What could they possibly know that I


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don't?'
'Outsiders are often better suited to seeing the big picture,' said Gayle. 'And besides, they have
the advantage of not being human. Which should if nothing else at least guarantee a fresh
perspective. As Mice, they're closely attuned to the natural world. Whereas I have allowed myself
to become rather distant, over the years.'
Toby gave Gayle a hard look. 'If they start singing about Cinderella, and dragging in a pumpkin,
I'm going to lay traps and put down poison.'
'They're not that kind of Mice, dear,' said Gayle. 'You'll like them, provided you're not too