"Robert Reed - Night Calls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

тАЬI know it might sound silly,тАЭ she agreed. But she didnтАЩt act joyful or
much in the mood for teasing. тАЬIn our history, for as long as anyone
remembers, my people have met the Night in a very similar way.тАЭ

тАЬHow stupid,тАЭ he blurted.

No lover would tolerate those words or the tone they were delivered
with. But RabiahтАЩs anger was so large and consuming that she couldnтАЩt
speak, giving Ferrum time to begin making amends.

тАЬI donтАЩt mean youтАЩre stupid,тАЭ he offered. тАЬI would never say that.тАЭ

Then he confessed, тАЬIt seems like such a waste, thatтАЩs all.тАЭ

Finally, he snapped, тАЬThis doesnтАЩt make any sense.тАЭ

She worked on him with silence and her eyes.

тАЬThe event of our lifetime,тАЭ he complained, тАЬand youтАЩre letting a tribe
of ignorant nomads dictate what you are going to do...?тАЭ

Rabiah dropped her gaze.
 At last, Ferrum realized how deeply he had hurt her. But he didnтАЩt
offer apologies. With the last of his resolve, he told himself that she
deserved the truth, and maybe in the next Day, she would thank him.

But then his lover suddenly looked up, and with a dry, almost dead
voice, she mentioned, тАЬMy cousin will be there.тАЭ

тАЬThe cousin you slept with?тАЭ

Rabiah didnтАЩt rise to the bait. Instead, she just smiled at him. Then for
the first time, and last, she told Ferrum, тАЬYou are a bright young man,
darling. Well-read and thoughtful. But my cousin is smarter than you, and, in
ways youтАЩll never be, he is wonderfully wise.тАЭ

****

Ferrum lost that fight, and as a result, sold his time on the giant
telescope. Just as Rabiah predicted, he made a fat profitтАФenough to pay
for their coming travels. Despite his carтАЩs age and several worrisome
cracks in the ceramic shell, that is what they drove. Her vehicleтАЩs sordid
history would be too much of a distraction. They pretended to be married,
spending their first evening at an isolated lodge far from the highway. The
nearly full moon was still below the horizon. Even without the benefit of an
eclipse, the sky proved dark enough to use his fatherтАЩs little telescope.
There was a bonewood field nearby, recently harvested and usefully bare.
Ferrum set the telescope on a flat stump, four stubby legs holding the tube
and lenses steady. Then he focused on the narrow crescent of the Lost