"Holly Lisle - Sympathy for the Devil" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lisle Holly)

prayed—she stared straight at them out of the monitor, her eyes
flashing, her jaw clenched, her expression one of both purity and
fierce determination.
“We never appreciate the requests for ponies and puppies when
we have them, do we?” God mused. He pointed at the “Status . . .
Pending” notation at the end of Dayne Kuttner’s request, and sighed
again, then chuckled. “She’s a real firecracker, isn’t she? Gave me
an in-your-face chin-up challenge, too. I like that—no
mealy-mouthed lukewarm bet-hedging there.” God glanced over the
angel’s shoulder at the routing details appended to the request.
“North Carolina, USA. And only a nominal Christian, though she
certainly believes in me.” The Almighty chuckled again. “I like to be
sure of the ground rules before I act.”
The angel cleared his throat. “Holy of Holies—the Fallen can be
redeemed and released from Hell at any time if they only ask for
forgiveness. So too can each and every damned soul. The
Christian milieu is set up that way.”
“I know that, but quite obviously Dayne Kuttner doesn’t know
that.”
“If her request is granted even before she asks, what further
action could possibly be necessary?”
God rested one hand on the angel’s shoulder and said softly,
“This young mortal has, in total seriousness, offered her soul up as
a bartering piece to force me to give the Fallen a second chance.
She doesn’t know all the rules we operate by here, and she has no
way of anticipating how I’ll react. And yet, she believes with
everything in her that I will listen, and she is using the only thing she
knows for sure I value to make me care. That’s no empty gesture.
That’s real love . . . a human who loves the worst and vilest of my
sinners but hates the sin. I find that magnificent.” God paused and
tugged thoughtfully at his beard. He always wore a beard when he
was in the Christian sector of Heaven—his Christian children
expected one. “Not terribly well thought-out, perhaps, but
magnificent.
“Hold her request in the buffer for me. I don’t imagine we’re going
to get another ten in here any time soon, and I want to decide how
to implement this. People who offer challenges to God should
expect challenges themselves.”
God laughed suddenly, and the angel shivered. God was known
for his sense of humor; what few realized but the angel knew was
that God was the first and perfect practical joker. And sure enough,
God said, “Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to stir things up a
little. A few Hellish paroles might make them think. The world has
become far too complacent about me lately.”
“You’re granting her request then, your Glorious Holiness?”
“Of course I’m granting it. I always grant tens. It isn’t as if I think
Lucifer and his filthy hordes are going to come crawling on bended
knee after all this time, anyway. But I reserve the right to implement
tens as I see fit—and this one requires a careful study of the
limitations I need to impose, and the benefits Heaven can gain from