"03 Dance of the Dead" - читать интересную книгу автора (Golden Christie)

"Liza's brilliant tonight, isn't she?" Sardan whispered
to Larissa as he watched the star of the show perform.

The white-haired young woman glanced up at Sardan
with a happy smile and nodded enthusiastically.

Liza Penelope, the star of The Pirate's Pleasure, was
alone on the stage of the showboat La Demoiselle du
Musarde. in the midst of a set created by a mage skilled
in illusion. Liza's bare feet'were dug into white sand,
and swaying palm trees arched over her. There was
even the distant lullaby of the waves to be heard, if one
cared to ignore Liza's soaring voice. Such attention to
detail—and Liza's vocal skill—had made La Demoiselle
extremely popular with the port cities it visited.

The beautiful soprano flung back her head and sang
with full-throated enthusiasm. Her red hair flamed in
the glow of an illusionary tropical sun. To Larissa, every
note seemed to be even more pure, more powerful than
usual.

The young dancer and Sardan, the male lead, were
watching Liza from behind the curtains. Larissa's part in
the play was finished, but she lingered to listen to this
last duet. Handsome Sardan adjusted his costume,
brushed distractedly at his blond hair one last time,
then strode onstage, arms outstretched to Liza.

CHRISTIE GOLDEN

"May, fear not, beioued Rose,
Thy loue's returned to thee,
By forgiving hand and broken heart
Of the Lady of the Sea"

"Rose" turned, joy flooding her face as she ran to her
beloved "Florian." Their voices, soprano and tenor,
twined together.

They kissed passionately, and the audience whooped
and applauded its approval. Larissa grinned in the dark-
ness, safely hidden from view by a curtain that ap-
peared to be a palm tree. Here was acting indeed, she
thought wryly. She herself was fond of the rakish tenor,
but it was well-known that Liza couldn't stand Sardan.
As a result, Sardan made it a point to turn every on-