"Anthony, Piers - Incarnations 04 - Wielding A Red Sword" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

Startled, he looked at her. He hadn't realized that she
spoke English. Normally she didn't speak at all, because
it was difficult to do when her lungs were full of water.
But she could drain it from her gills and breathe air when
she chose, as she was an amphibian.

She patted the side of the tank. "Here," she said, smil-
ing. "You must be tired; you deserve a rest."

He was tired, as well as being soaked and dirty. He
, climbed up on the wagon, holding onto the edge of the
tank. The mermaid clicked to the mahout, and the mahout
urged the elephant forward. The wagon began to gain on
the others.

Mym's hands were occupied, holding on as the wagon
bumped along, but the mermaid's hands were free. She
took hold of his head and turned it to please her. Then
she kissed him. "My thanks for your service, sir," she
said. "Should you ever require something novelЧ"

He blushed, and she laughed. "I'm only teasing,
maybe. But you are a good man."

Finally the wagon caught up to the others, and he
dropped off, for his help was needed elsewhere. But his
mind was whirling, for this was the second time an at-
tractive woman had made him an offer. He had no prej-
udice against halflings, and the mermaid had known this;

had his situation been otherwise, he would have been in-
terested. But what intrigued him most was the evident




12 Wielding a Red Sword

fact that he had sex appeal for these women. He had
known many women beforeЧmore than he cared to
countЧbut had never considered himself attractive in
that sense. The others had been made available to him
because of his position; he had assumed that they would
not have offered so from their own personal choice. But
here in the group, women were making themselves avail-
able by choice. True, he had done them favors of a sort;

but he had not acted with the thought of such reward.
Their interest had to be genuine, and that flattered him
in a profound manner. Perhaps his stutter was not the