Читать книгу The Grand Dark онлайн | страница 61

She would never fall for something so obvious.

The lamp next to Remy’s bed lit the room with a pale white plazma glow and reflected off her porcelain Trefle. Largo thought of Rainer, whose old Bakelite Trefle wasn’t nearly as impressive. It was going to be a long night standing watch over Remy, and Rainer was older and smarter.

Maybe he’ll know something about Remy’s condition. And after that ridiculous party I wouldn’t mind hearing a friendly voice.

Largo touched Remy’s chest and felt her breathing steadily. When he was satisfied she was stable, he took the Trefle into the living room. Removing the handset, he waited for an operator. When she came on, he spoke Rainer’s number and waited. There was a click as the connection was made and then a soft purr as Rainer’s Trefle rang. Largo let it ring twenty times before hanging up.

He’s probably on the roof with his damned telescopes. Is there a meteor shower tonight?

He looked out the window, but the plazma diffused any light he might have seen streaking across the sky.

He went back into the bedroom and sat down, but the little chair immediately began hurting his back again, so Largo kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed with Remy. He lay down next to her with his hand over her heart and stayed that way until dawn.

An excerpt from the Diaries of Gräfin Beatrice Henke¹

It was a few minutes after ten in the evening. Or perhaps it was eleven. They’d lost track of time.

The airship moved along Lower Proszawa’s southeast border in a light rain. Buffeted by cool crosswinds, it turned slowly, tracing the eastern border over the Krieghund Mountains, heading north. The ship swayed in the updrafts from the somber peaks, but settled again as soon as it reached the open fields of Die Gefallenen.

None of this, however, was of any interest to the partiers in the ballroom, who were focused on Greta, the Chancellor’s wife’s niece—entirely naked and eating a slice of honey cake with her hands as she fell into Orlok’s lap. A handsome man with long ginger hair, he was the singer in one of the city’s most popular dance bands. Greta mashed the cake into his face and proceeded to kiss it off as the rest of the party laughed.