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

Which would be high. Dumarest said, "When are you
leaving?"

"On the Yegor. It leaves at midnight. Be on the field an hour
before then."
 A rendezvous Dumarest hadn't made and wouldn't keep.
Luftman's scheme held little appeal, and the only one to gain
would be the entrepreneur himself. If he could find willing
healersтАФeven on Baatz trusting fools were rare.

On the ground the writhing boy shrieked, twisted, shrieked
again as the mandibles of the insect fed healing venom into his
blood. A convulsive heave and he slumped. Head tilted to one
side, lips parted to bare the teeth, the rod clamped between
them.

In the comparative silence Dumarest heard the rattle of
clashing ceramics, the whine of a female voice broken by the
brittle sound.

"тАж gather to hearтАж clash тАж the ancientтАж clashтАж songs ofтАж
clash тАж clashтАж Terra."

Terra?

Earth!


She stood in a ragged circle of semi-curious spectators, a girl
little more than a child with long, straggling hair the color of
sun-bleached bone, eyes like bruises, a mouth of bloodless lips
and down-curved corners. Her skin matched the color of her
hair, pale, waxen. The limbs were brittle appendages, nails of
hands and naked feet rimmed with dirt. A frayed skirt hugged
boyish loins and a halter shielded nascent breasts. Her waist,
bare, was circled by a metal belt from which hung strands
ending in spooled grips.

"Melome!" The woman standing beside her rattled her cluster
of ceramic shards. "Who dares to test her powers? What man is
brave enough to yield to her skill and taste the acid burn of
remembered fears? What woman has the strength to shred the
veil hiding her secret dreads?" Again the brittle chiming. "You,
sir? You? You, my lady?"

A grifter and a good one; gaining attention, building a pitch,
selecting the marks even as she spoke. A boy, blushing, looked at
the spooled grip she thrust into his hand. A woman frowned as
she was given another. Two men, grinning, took their places.