"Edward L. Ferman - Best From F&SF, 23rd Edition" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ferman Edward L)

her for some distance were empty, she should keep her doors locked. I also promised to call her the next
day to see if she needed anything.
"Not too early, please?" she said. "I like to sleep late."
"Why don't I come over at noon? We'll have lunch somewhere and I can show you the sights."
She smiled. "That sounds lovely."
I lived on the Heliomere myself, just a kilometer away from Amanda's cabin. I don't sleep late, and
the next morning while I was taking my wake-up walk along the beach, I saw no reason not to pass her
cabin. I could take a brief look to make sure everything was all right, then come back for her at noon as
agreed. I was enjoying the frosty bite of the air in my nose and throat and the surreal effect of the steam
rising off the dawn-pink Heliomere when I saw Amanda running up the beach toward me, her hair flying
long and loose around her.
My initial spasm of panic passed as I realized she was wearing an exercise jacket and shorts and only
jogging, not running. She saw me about the same moment. She spun around as though to run away, then
shrugged and waited for me to catch up.
тАЬI thought you like to sleep late," I said.
She started walking. "Mandy does."
I almost missed the next step turning to stare at her. "You're Selene?"
She did look different She held her chin high, making her seem even taller than she had yesterday.
Her eye contact was direct rather than through her lashes, and the color of her eyes themselves was less
goldstone than the feral warmth of topaz. Too, despite her slow walk beside me, she radiated energy so
electric it fairly raised the hair on my arm nearest her. Even her voice was changedтАФhigher, firm, rapid.
"Are you in command today, then?" I asked.
"No." She shook her hair back over her shoulders. "I don't take over officially until January. I just
come early to exercise."
I raised my brows. "That's dedication."
"Trial's necessity. Without daily practice IтАЩll tighten up and my elevations will fall."
"Elevations?"
Without breaking stride, she kicked high over her head and grinned at me. "Elevations." Then she
stopped and turned to face me. "IтАЩll have to ask you for a favor. Mandy doesn't know about my practice
sessions. Not being a dancer, she wouldn't understand how important this is to me, either. She'd just be
upset knowing I was here out of my time. So when you take her to lunch today, please don't mention you
saw me."
I frowned. "If you know I'm taking her to lunch, how is it she doesn't know what you're doing?"
тАЬIтАЩm continuously aware; she's only conscious when she's out."
That hardly seemed fan' to me. As though she read my mind, Selene said, "I didn't plan it; it just
works out that way."
She started walking toward the cabin again, leaning forward as though straining against an invisible
leash. I could almost hear the crackle of contained energy within her.
"You won't tell her, will you?" she asked anxiously.
I thought about it a minute. There seemed to be no harm in Selene being here. "No, I won't tell her."
She sighed in relief. "Gordy, you're a friend. Well meet again."
The leash broke. She bounded away down the sand. As though that were not release enough, she
flung herself into a succession of cartwheels and forward flips. She went around a curve of the beach and
out of sight, still cartwheeling. By the time I reached the curve, she had disappeared.
At noon Amanda was waiting for me out on her deck. She came down the steps toward the
runabout with a regal grace so unlike Selene's bridled energy it was hard to believe they possessed the
same body.
"Good morning, Mr. Gordon." She smiled, leaving me breathless. "Where are we going?"
"To a cafe called The Gallery."
Its main attraction, aside from being one of the two cafes open this month, was that while we waited