ssible into the dark. "I cant see much, but it looks all open down here. I think I can see some offices upstairs. "
"Show me. "
Spyder led Shrike upstairs and she checked all the rooms until she found one that was still locked.
"Move back," she told Spyder.
Faster than his eye could register, Shrike bought her sword arcing down and sliced the padlock off the door. The lock clattered to the floor noisily. Half of it skipped way and rattled down the stairs. Spyder heard low voices from the edges of the room.
Shrike turned toward the darkness and leaned casually on her sword. "Youre all welcome to stay here, but anyone stupid enough to come through this door will end up like that lock. "
The interior of the office was dusty and littered with paper and rat turds. It looked as if it might have been a records office. Old filing cabinets stood against one wall along with a tilting, three-legged desk. Spyder had stayed in worse places, but not recently. He described the scene to Shrike, who walked from wall to wall, pacing off the room.
"Would you push the old furniture into a corner?" she asked.
When hed dragged the rusting junk out of the way, Spyder said, "There were some old sofa cushions and maybe a futon out there. Ill go get them. "
"If you want to sleep on mildewed trash, feel free. I prefer something clean. "
Shrike had her pop-up book open to a page that, in the dark, looked like a scene from The Thief of Baghdad. She whispered a few words and the storage room was flooded in light and warmth.
The light came from burning braziers set at each corner of the room. The floors were covered with Persian carpets and bright pillows. There was an en
Страницы: << < 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 > >>