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Отмена
771
Once
,
as
a
small
boy
walking
home
from
school
,
Richard
had
encountered
a
rat
in
a
ditch
by
the
side
of
the
road
.
When
the
rat
saw
Richard
it
had
reared
up
onto
its
hind
legs
and
hissed
and
jumped
,
terrifying
Richard
.
He
backed
away
marvelling
that
something
so
small
had
been
so
willing
to
fight
something
so
much
larger
than
itself
.
Now
Anaesthesia
stepped
between
Richard
and
Varney
.
She
was
less
than
half
his
size
,
but
she
glared
at
the
big
man
and
bared
her
teeth
,
and
she
hissed
like
an
angry
rat
at
bay
.
Varney
took
a
step
backwards
.
He
spat
at
Richard
s
shoes
.
Then
he
turned
away
,
and
,
taking
the
knot
of
people
with
him
,
he
walked
across
the
bridge
and
into
the
dark
.
772
"
Are
you
all
right
?
"
asked
Anaesthesia
,
helping
Richard
back
to
his
feet
.
773
"
I
m
fine
,
"
he
said
.
"
That
was
really
brave
of
you
.
"
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774
She
looked
down
,
shyly
.
"
I
m
not
really
brave
,
"
she
said
.
"
I
m
still
scared
of
the
bridge
.
Even
they
were
scared
.
That
was
why
they
all
went
over
together
.
Safety
in
numbers
.
"
775
"
If
you
are
crossing
the
bridge
,
I
will
go
with
you
,
"
said
a
female
voice
,
rich
as
cream
and
honey
,
coming
from
behind
them
.
Richard
was
not
able
to
place
her
accent
.
He
turned
,
and
standing
there
was
a
tall
woman
,
with
long
,
tawny
hair
,
and
skin
the
color
of
burnt
caramel
.
She
wore
dappled
leather
clothes
,
mottled
in
shades
of
gray
and
brown
.
She
had
a
battered
leather
duffel
bag
over
her
shoulder
.
She
was
carrying
a
staff
,
and
she
had
a
knife
at
her
belt
and
an
electric
flashlight
strapped
to
her
wrist
.
She
was
also
,
without
question
,
the
most
beautiful
woman
that
Richard
had
ever
seen
.
776
"
Safety
in
numbers
.
You
re
welcome
to
come
with
us
,
"
he
said
,
after
a
moment
s
hesitation
.
"
My
name
s
Richard
Mayhew
.
This
is
Anaesthesia
.
She
s
the
one
us
who
knows
what
she
s
doing
.
"
The
rat
-
girl
preened
.
777
The
leather
woman
looked
him
up
and
looked
him
down
.
"
You
re
from
London
Above
,
"
she
told
him
.
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778
"
Yes
.
"
As
lost
as
he
was
in
this
strange
other
-
world
,
he
was
at
least
learning
to
play
the
game
.
His
mind
was
too
numb
to
make
any
sense
of
where
he
was
,
or
why
he
was
here
,
but
it
was
capable
of
following
the
rules
.
779
"
Travelling
with
a
rat
-
speaker
.
My
word
.
"
780
"
I
m
his
guardian
,
"
said
Anaesthesia
,
truculently
.
"
Who
are
you
?
Who
do
you
owe
fealty
to
?
"