"Bud Sparhawk - Magic's Price" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sparhawk Bud)

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Copyright ©2001 by Bud Sparhawk

First published in Analog, March 2001


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Jacob could hardly contain himself as he followed his family toward the spring festival where, he hoped,
he would finally see a magician.

Until this year it seemed that there was always some reason for missing the magician. Sometimes the
magicians did not come to the festival. In other years they came without warning, passing through the
town so swiftly that, by the time Jacob learned of them, they had already departed. Three times they had
arrived after the family had left the winter festival and once the entire family had been so sick that they
had missed the festival entirely.

But maybe this year would be different. Maybe this year he would finally be lucky.

Jacob wondered if even a magician would be able to find his way through the town's dimly lighted
streets. This older section of the town was a confusion of close-packed buildings and immense ancient
devices, most of unknown purpose.

Perhaps the magician had no need to traverse the narrow streets. Perhaps he would descend from the
sky on lightning bolts, amid claps of thunder. Maybe he would suddenly appear in a flash of light or
through some more mysterious, magical method. But no, these were childish fantasies. The magician, if he
arrived, would probably walk the streets like any other man.
 The villagers had decorated the square with orange, red, and blue lanterns for the winter festival. The
colored lights threw a pattern of complementary shadows in every direction. Jacob toyed with his own
shadow for a few moments, observing the way the shadow's colors changed as he shifted position. Why,