"K. D. Wentworth - Hallah Iron-Thighs and the Hall of the Puppet King" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wentworth K D)

Gerta has always been a huge fan of saucy pictures.
"Actually," Zimbolini said, "it's quite a nice avenue. All the best, um, gentleman's clubs, are located
on that street."
I scowled. This was a bizarre setup, but we'd seen worse. "So, King JonquilтАФ"
The puppet promptly retreated out of sight behind the throne.
Zimbolini sighed. "You have to follow court protocol." He pulled out two more sock puppets, one
pink, the other purple.
"You've got to be kidding," I said.
"Oh, I love plays!" Gerta took the purple puppet and her voice rose to a wrenching falsetto. "Hello,
Hallah. Is that a sword under your friend's robes, or is he just glad to see me?"
The king puppet reemerged to conduct our audience.
Feeling like an idiot, I slid the pink sock puppet onto my hand. "All right. Where is this princess who
needs escorting?"
The puppet turned to the ugly lamp. "There."
I examined the floor beside the throne. There wasn't even room for a royal mouse to hide, much
less a princess. "Where?"
"You're not fooling anyone, Aunt Abyssmina!" the king puppet said. "Come out and take your
betrothal like a royal."
The lamp dissolved into a fortyish female in long pea-green robes. "I'm not betrothed!" She glared
at him over an exceedingly crooked nose. "Of course, I don't know why I expected anything better from
you!" She sniffed. "You were a nasty little boy, always disemboweling your sisters' dolls."
"Go away, you stupid old lady!" Prince Vigal crossed his spindly arms. "These are my pirates!"
"Don't even speak to me, you little worm!" She backed away. "I'm not marrying anyone but
Merval!"
Jeez, this play had way more characters than plot. "Merval?"
Zimbolini sighed. "The court magician."
"Not the one who misenchanted the whole kingdom?"
"It wasn't the whole kingdom," came a voice from the hall's edge. "Just the royal seat." A tall young
man with strapping shoulders and curly black hair stepped into view. "Well, and the Avenue of
Immediate Availability in Hagrishia's capital city, but I don't think anyone's noticed it's gone missing just
yet. I am working on a counterspell." His eyebrows quirked in the most appealing way. "Do you know a
rhyme for 'breast?' "
"Merval!" Aunt Abyssmina flushed an almost maidenly pink. "My pet! Let's elope! I've packed my
thongтАФ"
"I'm sorry, Princess," he said, "but I have no time for socializing." He looked wistful. "I do keep
telling you that. Besides, weren't you planning to run off with the royal plumber, the one with all the
muscles?"
"Oh, that was last week," she said crossly. "I've grown spiritually since then. It's all quite clear to me
now. You're the one I want."
"That's very flattering, I'm sure," he said, "but we all know you have to do your royal duty."
"No, I don't!" she cried. "Just tell me what you want! I can transform myself into ninety-six useful
household items!"
"This is all your father's fault," the king puppet said crossly to Merval. "If he hadn't taught my aunt
transformation spells when she was a girl, she'd have been safely married years ago."
Merval donned a red puppet. "Yes, it was rather shortsighted of Pap├а. Mam├а always said no good
would come of it."
"I can be a spinning wheel," Abyssmina said, "or a spanner. How do you feel about spanners?
They're very useful."
"No spanners," I said firmly. "We have to get on the road."
"Can't you do something?" the king puppet said irritably to Merval. "Perhaps cast a spell to make