"Eric van Lustbader - Sunset Warrior 1 - The Sunset Warrior" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lustbader Eric van)

outside.
Here all was a jumble. Shelves of bound papers and tablets rose like wild ivy
from floor to
ceiling along three walls. Occasionally gaps appeared in the contents of the
shelves, or markers
stuck out at odd angles. Stahlig's desk was set close to the far wall, and it
was covered
completely by mounds of papers and tablets, as were the two small chairs set
before the desk.
Behind the Medicine Man lay glass cases filled with phials and boxes.
Stahlig did not look up from his work as Ronin entered but he reached out
behind him and
got a clear bottle of amber wine, and from somewhere produced two metal cups,
which he blew
into perfunctorily before filling them halfway. He looked up then as he held
one out. Ronin took
it, and Stahlig sat back and waved an arm expansively.
'Sit,'he said.
Ronin had to set his cup down in order to clear away the masses of tablets
from the chair. He
hesitated with them in his arms.
'Oh, drop them anywhere,' said Stahlig with a flick of his thick hand.
Ronin sat and sipped, felt the sweet wine unroll its carpet of warmth along
his throat and
into his stomach. He took a long swallow.
Stahlig leaned forward, elbows on the masses of tablets, fingers steepled, his
thumbs tapping
absently at his upper lip. He said: 'Tell me what happened.'
Ronin, swirling the wine slowly in his cup, said nothing. He sat very straight
because of his
side.
The Medicine Man dropped his eyes, crumpled a sheet of paper, and threw it
into a corner
apparently without caring where it landed. 'So.' He sighed audibly, and when
he spoke again
his voice had softened perceptibly. 'You do not wish to speak of it, yet I
know something
troubles you.' Ronin looked up. 'Oh, yes, the old man still sees and feels.'
He hunched forward
over the desk again.
He stared at Ronin. 'Tell me, how long do we know each other?' His fingers
moved along the
desktop. 'Since you were very young, since before your sister dis - ' He
stopped abruptly and
colour came to his worn cheeks. 'I - '
Ronin shook his head. 'You will not hurt me if you say it,' he said softly. 'I
am beyond that.'
Stahlig said quickly, 'Since before her disappearance,' as if, even in speech,
it was a terrible
thing to linger over. 'A long time we know each other. Yet you will not speak