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

 "Knowledge, of the family, the Pattern, the Trumps, of Amber. To gain your
trust. To have your child."
"The truth would not have served as well?"
"Hardly. I come from the enemy. My reasons for wanting these things were
not the sort of which you would approve."
"Your swordplay...? You told me then that Benedict had trained you."
She smiled again and her eyes glowed dark fires.
"I learned from the great Duke Borel himself, a High Lord of Chaos."
"...and your appearance," I said. "It was altered on a number of occasions
when I saw you walk the Pattern. How? Also, why?"
"All whose origins involve Chaos are shapeshifters," she replied.
I thought of Dworkin's performance the night he had impersonated me.
Benedict nodded.
"Dad fooled us with his Ganelon disguise."
"Oberon is a son of Chaos," Dara said, "a rebel son of a rebel father. But
the power is still there."
"Then why is it we cannot do it?" Random asked.
She shrugged.
"Have you ever tried? Perhaps you can. On the other hand, it may have died
out with your generation. I do not know. As to myself, however, I have certain
favored shapes to which I revert in times of stress. I grew up where this was
the rule, where the other shape was actually sometimes dominant. It is still a
reflex with me. This is what you witnessed - that day."
"Dara," I said, "Why did you want the things that you said you wanted -
knowledge of the family, the Pattern, the Trumps, Amber? And a son?"
"All right." She sighed. "All right. You are by now aware of Brand's
plans - the destruction and rebuilding of Amber...?"
"Yes."
"This involved our consent and co-operation."
"Including the murder of Martin?" Random asked.
"No," she said. "We did not know who he intended to use as the - agent."
"Would it have stopped you had you known?"
"You are asking a hypothetical question," she said. "Answer it yourself. I
am glad that Martin is still alive. That is all that I can say about it."
"All right," Random said. "What about Brand?"
"He was able to contact our leaders by methods he had learned from
Dworkin. He had ambitions. He needed knowledge, power. He offered a deal."
"What sort of knowledge?"
"For one thing, he did not know how to destroy the Pattern - "
"Then you were responsible for what he did," Random said.
"If you choose to look at it that way."
"I do."
She shrugged, looked at me.
"Do you want to hear this story?"
"Go ahead."
I glanced at Random and he nodded.
"Brand was given what he wanted," she said, "but he was not trusted. It
was feared that once he possessed the power to shape the world as he would, he
would not stop with ruling over a revised Amber. He would attempt to extend
his dominion over Chaos as well. A weakened Amber was what was desired, so