"William Mark Simmons - Undead 2 - Dead on My Feet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Simmons William Mark)

She stared at me for a long moment. Then: "Why don' you ask your wife to join us?"
Now I was angry. "My wife is dead."
"She must be tired of waiting in de car."
Like a flash fire, the anger was suddenly gone but a taste of ashes remained in my mouth. "I don't
believe in ghosts."
"Or vampires? Or werewolves? Or legitimate psychics?" She smiled, white teeth erupting into a
gleaming crescent in her dark face.
"Who are you?" I asked, rising shakily to my feet.
"Mama Samm D'Arbonne. Siddown, ch├иre; I'm not gonna hurt you."
"What do you want?"
"De trut', Mr. Haim. De trut' is always important."
"And what do you do with the truth?"
"Depend on who it help and who it hurt. Keep it secret, mostly."
"Why?"
"We all have our reasons, ch├иre. De Prince of Wallachia had his when he let you liveтАФgave you a
set of new identities and de money to lead a new existence down here in Louziana."
"And what are yours?"
"As I told you before, I have certain clients who are curious."
"Curious?"
"About you. Who you are. What you are. Why you've come here. What you intend to do."
"And now you can tell them, right?" I moved back so that my chair was added to the furniture
between us.
" 'Can tell' is not the same as 'will tell.' As I said, I keep secrets, mos'ly."
"Mostly?"
A cat jumped up on the cushioned arm of her chair unacknowledged as she nodded and repeated:
"Mos'ly." The cat should have been a Chocolate-point Siamese except for one thing. . . .
"Your cat has two tails."
Mama Samm turned to consider the Siamese and it jumped into her arms. "Ah, my Taishi is usually
too shy to enter dis room while a stranger is on the premises. You must have an unusual affinity for cats,
Mr. Haim. It's not every day dat Sh├╢toku Taishi presents himself so boldly." She stroked its head as it
regarded me with pale blue eyes that lent intensity to its cool appraisal.
"It's not every day that one sees a cat with two tails," I said, taking another, shaky step backward.
"An interesting mutation," Mama Samm agreed. "It is extremely rare. Did you know dat de ancient
legends of Japan held dat deir vampires could assume de form of a cat? De one distinguishing difference
between such unnatural felines and normal cats was de Japanese vampires always had two tails."
"No kidding," I said, fumbling for the doorknob behind me.
"Mr. Cs├йjthe. . . ." There was something in her voice, the way she said my name, that locked my legs
on the threshold. " . . . Your name is hers. . . ."
 It wasn't just a chill: an entire army was conducting close order drill on top of my grave.
" . . . But de Loa say that her blood . . . is not yours."
"Who?" I could hardly get the question out again. Maybe because I didn't want to ask it in the first
place.
"You know who, Mr. Cs├йjthe. The legacy you bestow is life. Hers is death. Marinette Bois-Ch├иche
will haunt your dreams until you unmask her. Before she devours you."
"That's not her real name," I said stubbornly. "And if we're talking about who I think we're talking
about, she died in 1614."
"You do not know her real name, you only think you do. Do not forget that she is a liar. She has
always been a liar. Her true power is in those she deceives. Do not give her your power, as well."
"Your accent is slipping," I said.
"The Loa say one more thing. . . ."