"Kate Forsyth - Eileanan 05 - The Skull Of The World" - читать интересную книгу автора (Forsyth Kate)

Nila hung in the water, his hands moving deftly among the clusters of ugly gray shells that clung beneath
the rock shelves. He took a sharp-edged coral knife from between his teeth and used it to pry open the
shells, swallowing whole the live tissue within. Every now and again he grinned as he tucked a little shining
orb inside a bag woven of seaweed that hung around his naked waist.

Something made him turn. A tiger shark swam toward him, the jagged rows of teeth bared. The tiny eyes
were fixed with terrible intent upon the Fairge.

Nila turned and dived, his tail undulating gracefully behind him as he plunged through a curtain of
seaweed and sea anemones into a deep grotto. The tiger shark had to turn abruptly, almost ramming its
nose into the reef. Nila watched its shadow pass back and forth, back and forth, until at last it slunk away
and there was only the blue glimmer of water.

The Fairge prince waited, his heart hammering uncomfortably. He had been too long underwater, but he
dared not swim to the surface to breathe until he was sure the tiger shark had gone. He looked about the
grotto, searching for another way out, and saw a great corrugated shell, all encrusted with weed and
barnacles. He pried it open with his coral knife and found nestled within a large opaque sphere. He
grasped it and then, with a twist of his silvery tail, swam for the surface.

The light filtered down all about him. He glanced at the pearl in his hand and suddenly stilled, even though
his lungs were burning for air. Unlike the other pearls he had found, this one was a dark, smoky color,
unusually large and perfectly formed. He rolled it in his fingers, frowning, then tucked it carefully inside the
pouch.

Through the light-dappled water he saw the wavering face of a girl, her brown hair hanging down as she
peered anxiously into the sea. He beat his tail more vigorously, leaping up out of the water to seize her in
his arms and drag her in. Her anxiety melted into relieved laughter, and he kissed her smiling mouth,
sliding his hands down her brown naked flesh, transforming into his land-shape so he could tangle his legs
with hers.

She clung to,him, saying rather tremulously, "You were so long, Nila. What were you doing? I was
worried ..."

He mocked her gently. "Afraid I had drowned? Fand! You know I am the best deep-diver in my family.
As if I could have drowned in these shallow waters!"

"Even those of the Fairgean royal family can drown," she replied. "You could have hit your head, or been
taken by a giant octopus. I wish you would not swim where you know I cannot follow."

Fand was a slim girl with the full-lipped mouth and brightly colored eyes of a human, though her fingers
and toes were as webbed as any young Fairgean. Her straggles of wet hair hung down to her knees, and
she wore only a belt of seaweed and shells hung with a little curved dagger. The daughter of a Fairgean
warrior and a human concubine, she was a slave to the royal family and had accompanied the Fairgean
queens down to the southern waters to assist in the birthing. Nila was there with the other young warriors
to protect the women and newborn babies until they were strong enough to brave the long journey back
to the icy seas of the north.

Nila kissed away her fears, turning so they could drift together into the shore, the gentle waves lapping
against their bodies, the sand warm beneath them. The little cove was protected from spying eyes by high
bluffs of rock, so for once they felt free to take their time exploring each other's bodies, whispering and