"Laura Resnick - Fluff the Tragic Dragon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Laura)

have appalled my singing coach but probably pleased my method acting teacher.
A low, forlorn, hollow moan answered me. It came, of course, from the
ancient, heretofore unnoticed doorway beneath the stairs. I approached it with
stiff legs and dragging feet, terrified, yet too fascinated to turn away, for
surely the moan was followed by a faint glow and another wisp of smoke.
I reached the doorway at last and peered into the stygian darkness
beyond. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dark, I thought I perceived an
enormous, bulky shape about thirty feet away.
"Who's there?" I repeated, leaning forward as I tried to make out more
of that elusive shape.
"_Fluff!" _ came the answer a moment before all hell broke loose.
Flames shot forward, smoke clouded my vision, and the bulky figure moved and
took on the form of my childhood nightmares, a horrible, ferocious,
firebreathing, winged lizard at least fifteen feet high. Never having been the
most coordinated Neanderthal in _Clan_, I tripped clumsily in my terror and
pitched headlong into the subterranean cavern.
I nearly lost consciousness for a moment, and I was so winded that even
with the adrenaline pumping through me, I lay on the cold, damp floor for a
full minute, too stunned to move. I was sure I was going to die.
"Say, are you okay?"




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 That did it. I hopped to my feet. "Who said that?"
"Me. Fluff." When it spoke, it's nostrils glowed.
"You can _talk_?"
"Of, course. I'm a dragon."
It spoke with a faint Chinese accent and sounded vaguely hurt. "Yes, I
see that." I swallowed. "But I... I didn't think you'd _talk." _
"All dragons can talk." It sighed suddenly, and a soft blue fire poured
from its nostrils. "If they have someone to talk to, that is."
"This is incredible." I sat back down rather suddenly and gracelessly.
"Careful. The floor is very damp. I've had rheumatism for thirty
years."
"Is that how long you've been down here?" I asked in amazement.
"More or less. Sometimes I go to Chinatown to hang out and have a few
meals. They have the best produce, and it reminds me a little of the old days.
But... Oh, it's just not like it used to be." He sighed again, looking
directly at me this time.
"Hey, watch it!" I ducked before I could be singed.
He raised a dreadful claw. "Sorry, I forgot. It's been so long."
"Since you barbecued anyone?" I asked carefully.
"No!" He sounded hurt again. "Since I had someone to chat with."
"Chat?" I clenched my jaw to stop my teeth rattling.
"I never see anyone," he said despondently. "I just live down here by
myself, in the dark, with no one to talk to. I was friendly with the landlord
when I first got here. He used to read me the paper, play chess with me, look
at my treasures, ask me to grant him wishes." Fluff's fearsome features looked