"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 28 - Melome" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

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Melome by E.C. Tubb
CHAPTER ONE

Dumarest heard the scream of a tortured child and turned,
eyes searching, relaxing as it came again and he recognized the
source. A hundred yards to his right, raised high above the
decorated surface of the boulevard, a painted crone lolled on a
gilded throne standing on a platform of massive timbers
supported by a dozen stalwarts. They, in turn, stood on another
platform, larger, borne by twice their number. Overseers lashed
them on with whips which left carmine streaks on naked,
sweating flesh.

A show as false as the screams; a mature beauty lay beneath
the masking paint and the massive timbers were thin cladding
over buoyant rafts. Props for the actors demonstrating their
skills; the grimaces, the fatigue, the grunts of pain. The whips
were thin tubes containing dye but the men wielding them were
clever as was the woman with her screams.

She shrieked again as Dumarest watched, the cry now
accompanied by the clash of beaten metal, the harsh
tintinnabulation prolonged by the chime of tiny bells. A score of
girls ran from the shelter of the lower platform, weaving among
the spectators, one coming to a halt before Dumarest.

"My lordтАФdo I please you?" She was young, lithe, radiating
unabashed femininity. Bells circled her ankles and wrists, more
caressing the column of her throat, the narrow cincture of her
waist. The long skirt, slit to the hip, displayed naked, slender
legs, the hint of unclothed loins. Paint accentuated the luster of
her eyes, the soft fullness of her lips. Curled hair the color of gold
held the glint of metal and gems. "My lord?"

A girl demanding his attention as the screams of the crone
had caught it. The girl smiled as he nodded, chiming as she
moved, the bound of unfettered breasts an enticing invitation.

"You are gracious, my lord." Her eyes were frank in their
appraisal. "It would pleasure me to serve you. At the circus of
Chen Wei. A spectacle of marvels culled from a thousand worlds.
Things which will amaze you, amuse you, puzzle you, fill you with