"Aldridge, Ray - The Spine DiversV1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Aldridge Ray)

"Yes," I answered. "Of course."

She smiled, for the first time, and it was an expression as soft and sweet and surprising as her voice. "I'm a diver," she said. "Odorini said you would be more interested in that than in my beauty."

"You're a diver? Really?"

The smile faded. "Yes, yes. So what? Here there are many divers, but only one Mirella."

"That is your name? Mirella?"

"My name, yes." Now she seemed impatient. "Come. We will go back to Loomp's house and talk, or luck. Whatever you want."

I drew back slightly, an involuntary gesture of fright, and she made a sound of exasperation. "You are far too slow for me," she said, and went away, walking fast.

When I returned, the house was silent and dark, and I found my way to my room with the aid of my remote's camera lights.

I took breakfast at the Ripper Room, of course; curiosity and paranoia demanded I immediately interview Odorini. Unfortunately, he wasn't there when I arrived.

When I came to pay my bill, Odorini had appeared, looking bright-eyed and respectful. I was disarmed, and unsure of how to proceed.

Finally I ventured a remark. "I think I met your daughter last night."

He raised his hairy eyebrows in mild inquiry. "Ah. Mirella, you mean?"

"You have other daughters?"

"Many," he said modestly. "Sons, too."

He seemed polite and receptive, but not particularly eager for conversation. I tried again. "She said you wanted her to seek me out. May I ask why?"

He shrugged, but not at all insolently. "I thought you might find her unusual. And of course I wanted her to have an opportunity to meet a well-known artist from the larger universe. The village is such a small world, you see."

"I suppose," I said. "She told me she was a diver."

"Yes. That is so." Odorini looked quite sad, suddenly.

"You don't approve?"

Another shrug a sorrowing gesture. "The divers . . . they all die young. What can I say? Hers is a glorious profession, of course, but . . . she is a sweet child; one's children should live forever, no?"

A silence passed, while I struggled to think of something to say. The recorders were running though today Odorini seemed to take no notice of my remote camera, which hovered slightly to the side, automatically recording shots of each speaker in turn. It occurred to me that an interesting story was rising from the anonymity of the village.

If only I could find the wit to draw it forth, my professional difficulties might be over.

"Well," I said. "You mentioned that you might be available. To guide me into the caverns?"

"Yes, of course." He brightened a bit. "You could watch the divers make their leap, or if you prefer, we could go to the Well of Rebirth, to see the survivors emerge with their trophies. The hunting tide runs tonight."

"I knew," I said; my arrival had been planned to coincide with a hunting tide, as there are only three suitable tides per week, on average. "Does Mirella hunt tonight?"