"Diana Wynne Jones - Howl's Moving Castle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jones Diana Wynne)

There was a poppling, blazing silence while the orange eyes in the demon's wavering blue
face traveled up and down Sophie. "it's a strong spell," it said at length. "It feels like one of the Witch of
the Waste's to me."
"It is," said Sophie.
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Jones, Diana Wynne - Howl's Moving Castle.txt
"But it seems more than that," crackled the demon. "I detect two layers. And of course you
won't be able to tell anyone about it unless they know already." It gazed at Sophie a moment longer. "I
shall have to study it," it said.
"How long will that take?" Sophie asked.
"It may take a while," said the demon. And it added in a soft persuasive flicker, "How about
making a bargain with me? I'll break your spell if you agree to break this contract I'm under."
Sophie looked warily at the demon's thin blue face. It had a distinctly cunning look as it
made this proposal. Everything she had read showed the extreme danger of making a bargain with a
demon. And there was no doubt that this one did look extraordinarily evil. Those long purple teeth.
"Are you sure you're being quite honest?" she said.
"Not completely," admitted the demon. "But do you want to stay like that till you die? That
spell had shortened your life by about sixty years, if I am any judge of such things."
This was a nasty thought, and one which Sophie had tried not to think about up to now. It
made quite a difference. "This contract you're under," she said. "It's with Wizard Howl, is it?"
"Of course," said the demon. Its voice took on a bit of a whine again. "I'm fastened to this
hearth and I can't stir so much as a foot away. I'm forced to do most of the magic around here. I have to
maintain the castle and keep it moving and do all the special effects that scare people off, as well as
anything else Howl wants. Howl's quite heartless, you know."
Sophie did not need telling that Howl was heartless. On the other hand, the demon was
probably quite as wicked. "Don't you get anything out of this contract at all?" she said.
"I wouldn't have entered into it if I didn't," said the demon, flickering sadly. "But I wouldn't
have done if I'd known what it would be like. I'm being exploited."
In spite of her caution, Sophie felt a good deal of sympathy for the demon. She thought of
herself making hats for Fanny while Fanny went gadding. "All right," she said. "What are the terms of
the contract? How do I break it?"
An eager purple grin spread across the demon's blue face. "You agree to a bargain?"
"If you agree to break the spell on me," Sophie said, with a brave sense of saying something
fatal.
"Done!" cried the demon, his long face leaping gleefully up the chimney. "I'll break your
spell the very instant you break my contract!"
"Then tell me how I break your contract," Sophie said.
The orange eyes glinted at her and looked away. "I can't. Part of the contract is that neither
the Wizard nor I can say what the main clause is."
Sophie saw that she had been tricked. She opened her mouth to tell the demon that it could
sit in the fireplace until Doomsday in that case.
The demon realized she was going to. "Don't be hasty!" it crackled. "You can find out what
it is if you watch and listen carefully. I implore you to try. The contract isn't doing either of us any good
in the long run. And I do keep my word. The fact that I'm stuck here shows that I keep it!"
It was in earnest, leaping about on its logs in an agitated way. Sophie again felt a great deal
of sympathy. "But if I'm to watch and listen, that means I have to stay here in Howl's castle," she
objected.
"Only about a month. Remember, I have to study your spell too," the demon pleaded.
"But what possible excuse can I give for doing that?" Sophie asked.
"We'll think of one. Howl's pretty useless at most things. In fact," the demon said,