"George R. R. Martin - Dying of the Light" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

It was a short hug. No sooner had Dirk wrapped his arms about her than Gwen pulled back. After the break they
stood very close, and each looked to see what the years had done.
She was older but much the same, and what changes he saw were probably only defects in his memory. Her wide
green eyes were not quite as wide or green as he remembered them, and she was a little taller than he recalled and
perhaps a bit heavier. But she was close enough; she smiled the same way, and her hair was the same, fine and dark,
falling past her shoulders in a shimmering stream blacker than an outworld night. She wore a white turtleneck
pullover and belted pants of sturdy chameleon cloth, faded to night-black now, and a thick headband, as she had
liked to dress on Avalon. Now she wore a bracelet too, and that was new. Or perhaps the proper word was armlet. It
was a massive thing, cool silver set with jade, that covered half her left forearm. The sleeve of her pullover was
rolled back to display it.
"You're thinner, Dirk," she said.
He shrugged and thrust his hands into his jacket pockets. "Yes," he said. In truth, he was almost gaunt, though still
a little round-shouldered from slouching too much. The years had aged him in other ways as well; now his hair had
more gray than brown, when once it had been the other way around, and he wore it nearly as long as Gwen, though
his was a mass of curls and tangles.
"A long time," Gwen said.
"Seven years, standard," he replied nodding. "I didn't think that.. ."
The other man, the waiting stranger, coughed then, as if to "remind them that they were not alone. Dirk glanced
up, and Gwen turned. The man came forward and bowed politely. Short and chubby and very blond-his hair looked
almost white-he wore a brightly colored silkeen suit, all green and yellow, and a tiny black knit cap that stayed in
place despite his bow.
"Arkin Ruark," he said to Dirk.
"Dirk t'Larien."
"Arkin is working with me on the project," Gwen said.
"Project?"
She blinked. "Don't you even know why I'm here?"
He didn't. The whisperjewel had been sent from Worlorn, so he had known not much else than where to find her.
"You're an ecologist," he said. "On Avalon..."
"Yes. At the Institute. A long time ago. I finished there, got my credentials, and I've been on High Kavalaan since.
Until I was sent here."
"Gwen is with the Ironjade Gathering," Ruark said. He had a small, tight smile on his face. "Me, I'm representing
Impril City Academy. Kimdiss. You know?"
Dirk nodded. Ruark was a Kimdissi then, an out-worlder, from one of their universities.
"Impril and Ironjade, well, after the same thing, you know? Research on ecological interaction on Worlorn. Never
really done properly during the Festival, the outworlds not being so strong on ecology, none of them. A science ai-
forgotten, as the Emereli say. But that's the project. Gwen and I knew each other from before, so we thought, well,
here for the same reason, so it is good sense to work together and learn what we can learn."
"I suppose," Dirk said. He was not really overly interested in the project just then. He wanted to talk to Gwen. He
looked at her. "You'll have to tell me all about it later. When we talk. I imagine you want to talk."
She gave him an odd look. "Yes, of course. We do have a lot to talk about."
He picked up his bag. "Where to?" he asked. "I could probably do with a bath and some food."
Gwen exchanged glances with Ruark. "Arkin and I were just talking about that. He can put you up. We're in the
same building. Only a few floors apart."
Ruark nodded. "Gladly, gladly. Pleasure in doing for friends, and both of us are friend to Gwen, are we not?"
"Uh," said Dirk. "I thought, somehow, that I would stay with you, Gwen."
She could not look at him for a time. She looked at Ruark, at the ground, at the black night sky, before her eyes
finally found his. "Perhaps," she said, not smiling now, her voice careful. "But not right now. I don't think it would
be best, not immediately. But we'll go home, of course. We have a car."
"This way," Ruark put in, before Dirk could frame his words. Something was very strange. He had played through
the reunion scene a hundred times on board the Shuddering during the months of his voyage, and sometimes he had