"Joan D. Vinge - Eyes of Amber" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Joan D)

spearing light far off above the windswept tide of the trees . . . the saffron
and crimson and aquamarine of ammonia pools, bright with dissolved
metals, that lay in the gleaming melt-surface of her family's land, the land
that stretched forever, like the summer ... "I know its value." Her voice
hardened. "And that Klovhiri is still the Overlord's pet. As you say,
Klovhiri has many powerful friends, and they will become your friends
when he dies. I need more strength, more wealth, before I can buy enough
influence to hold what is mine again. The odds are not in my favorтАФnow."
"You are carved from ice, T'uupieh. I like that." Chwiul leaned forward.
His amorphous red eyes moved along her outstretched body; trying to
guess what lay concealed beneath the rags in the shadowy foxfire-light of
the room. His eyes came back to her face.
She showed him neither annoyance nor amusement. "I like no man who
likes that in me."
"Not even if it meant regaining your estate?"
"As a mate of yours?" Her voice snapped like a frozen branch. "My
lordтАФI have just about decided to kill my sister for doing as much. I would
sooner kill myself."
He shrugged, lying back on the couch. "As you wish . . ." He waved a
hand in dismissal. "Then what will it take to be rid of my brotherтАФand of
you as well?"
"Ah." She nodded, understanding more. "You wish to buy my services,
and to buy me off, too. That may not be so easy to do. ButтАФ" But I will
make the pretense, for now. She speared berries from the bowl in the
tabletop, watched the silky sheet of emerald-tinted ammonia water that
curtained one wall. It dropped from heights within the tower into a tiny
plunge basin, with a music that would blur conversation for anyone who
tried to listen outside. Discretion, and beauty. . . . The musky fragrance of
the mossy couch brought back her childhood suddenly, disconcertingly:
the memory of lying in a soft bed, on a soft spring night. . . . "But as the
seasons change, change moves me in new directions. Back into the city,
perhaps. I like your tower, Lord Chwiul. It combines discretion and
beauty."
"Thank you."
"Give it to me, and I'll do what you ask."
Chwiul sat up, frowning. "My town house!" Recovering, "Is that all you
want?"
She spread her fingers, studied the vestigial webbing between them. "I
realize it is rather modest." She closed her hand. "But considering what
satisfaction will come from earning it, it will suffice. And you will not need
it, once I succeed."
"No . . ." He relaxed somewhat. "I suppose not. I will scarcely miss it
after I have your lands."
She let it pass. "Well then, we are agreed. Now, tell me, where is the key
to Klovhiri's lock? What is your plan for delivering him тАФand his
familyтАФinto my hands?"
"You are aware that your sister and the children are visiting here, in my
house, tonight? And that Klovhiri will return before the new day?"
"I am aware." She nodded, with more casualness than she felt; seeing
that Chwiul was properly, if silently, impressed at her nerve in coming