"Roger Zelazny - Amber 05 - The Courts of Chaos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

The Courts Of Chaos
Chapter 1

Amber: high and bright atop Kolvir in the middle of the day. A black road:
low and sinister through Garnath from Chaos to the south. Me: cursing, pacing
and occasionally reading in the library of the palace in Amber. The door to
that library: closed and barred.
The mad prince of Amber seated himself at the desk, returned his attention
to the opened volume. There was a knock on the door. "Go away!" I said.
"Corwin. It's me - Random. Open up, huh? I even brought lunch."
"Just a minute."
I got to my feet again, rounded the desk, crossed the room. Random nodded
when I opened the door. He carried a tray, which he took to a small table near
the desk.
"Plenty of food there," I said.
"I'm hungry, too."
"So do something about it."
He did. He carved. He passed me some meat on a slab of bread. He poured
wine. We seated ourselves and ate.
"I know you are still mad..." he said, after a time. "Aren't you?"
"Well, maybe I am more used to it. I don't know. Still... Yes. It was
sort of abrupt, wasn't it?"
"Abrupt?"
I took a large swallow of wine.
"It is just like the old days. Worse even. I had actually come to like him
when he was playing at being Ganelon. Now that he is back in control he is
just as peremptory as ever, he has given us a set of orders he has not
bothered to explain and he has disappeared again."
"He said he would be in touch soon."
"I imagine he intended that last time, too."
"I'm not so sure."
"And he explained nothing about his other absence. In fact, he has not
really explained anything."
"He must have his reasons."
"I am beginning to wonder, Random. Do you think his mind might finally be
going?"
"He was still sharp enough to fool you."
"That was a combination of low animal cunning and shapeshifting ability."
"It worked, didn't it?"
"Yes. It worked."
"Corwin, could it be that you do not want him to have a plan that might be
effective, that you do not want him to be right?"
"That is ridiculous. I want this mess cleared up as much as any of us."
"Yes, but wouldn't you rather the answer came from another quarter?"
"What are you getting at?"
"You do not want to trust him."
"I will admit that. I have not seen him - as himself - in a hell of a long
time, and..."
He shook his head.
"That is not what I mean. You are angry that he is back, aren't you? You