"Kristine Katheryn Rusch - Alien Influences" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

Her expression froze for just a moment, and then she had the grace to flush. John crossed his arms. Too
many clients tried to cheat him. He took them on anyway. If he tried to avoid those who treated him like
a Dancer, he would have no business.

тАЬI'm not a Dancer.тАЭ He kept his tone soft, but made sure the sarcasm was there. тАЬI wasn't even raised by
them. Just influenced. The trial is over, and I've served my time. When they released me, they declared
me sane, and sane for a human being means an understanding of time and an ability to remember. After
that little stunt, I won't work with you for anything less than five times my rate, one month payable in
advance.тАЭ

The flush grew, making those spectacular eyes shine brighter. Not embarrassment after all. Anger. тАЬYou
tricked me.тАЭ

тАЬNot at all.тАЭ John didn't move. He felt more comfortable now with this little hint of emotion. He could ride
on emotion, play it. That he had learned from the Dancers. тАЬYou had expectations. You shouldn't believe
everything you hear.тАЭ

For a moment, she drew herself up, as if she were going to renounce him and leave. But she didn't. She
reached into her pocket and removed a credit flask. She must have needed him badly.

She handed him two chips, which he immediately put into his account. One hundred and twenty thousand
zepeatas. Perfect. He smiled for the first time. тАЬWhat do you want from me?тАЭ he asked.

She glanced at the portals, as if the stars would give her strength. The story was an embarrassment, then.
An illegality perhaps or some mistake she had made. тАЬSeveral weeks ago,тАЭ she said, тАЬI acquired a
Bodean wind sculpture.тАЭ

Awe rippled through him. He had seen Bodean wind sculptures once, on their home planet. The deserts
were full of them, swirling beautifully across the sands. No one knew how to tame them; they remained
an isolated art form, on a lone planet. Someone must have figured out a way to capture them, wind
currents and all.

тАЬThat's not the best part,тАЭ she said. Her tone had changed. She still wasn't treating him like an equal, but
she was closer. тАЬThe best part is the mystery inside the sculpture. My equipment indicates a life-form
trapped in there.тАЭ

No, no. Not allowed to leave the room, the wing.тАФIf we grow up, we'll be able to leave, never see
Bountiful again. If we grow up....

He shook the memory voices away, made himself concentrate on her words. Something inside the
sculpture. A bodeangenie? But they were the stuff of legends. Traders to Bodean claimed that the
sculptures originated to capture little magical beings to prevent them from causing harm to the desert.
When the Extra-Species Alliance went to study the sculptures, however, they found no evidence of life in
or around them.

His hands were shaking. She trapped things and called them art. тАЬYou don't need me,тАЭ he said. тАЬYou
need a specialist.тАЭ

тАЬI need you.тАЭ She turned, her hair spiraling out around her. Beautiful, dramatic. тАЬThe wind sculpture's