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

finger. "The King's trying to pin me down to do something else now. Calcifer, if we're not very careful,
he's going to appoint me Royal Magician." Calcifer did not answer. Howl roved back to the fireside and
realized Calcifer was asleep. "Wake him up, Michael," he said. "I need to consult him."
Michael threw two logs on Calcifer and called him. Nothing happened, apart from a thin spire of
smoke.
"Calcifer!" Howl shouted. That did no good either. Howl gave Michael a mystified look and picked up
the poker, which was something Sophie had never seen him do before. "Sorry, Calcifer," he said,
jabbing under the unburned logs. "Wake up!"
One thick black cloud of smoke rolled up, and stopped. "Go away," Calcifer grunted. "I'm tired."
At this, Howl looked thoroughly alarmed. "What's wrong with him? I've never known him like this
before!"
"I think it was the scarecrow," Sophie said.
Howl swiveled around on his knees and leveled his glass-marble eyes at her. "What have you done
now?" He went on staring while Sophie explained. "A scarecrow?" he said. "Calcifer agreed to speed
up the castle because of a scarecrow? Dear Sophie, do please tell me how you bully a fire demon into
being that obliging. I'd dearly love to know!"
"I didn't bully him," said Sophie. "It gave me a turn and he was sorry for me."
"It gave her a turn and Calcifer was sorry for her," Howl repeated. "My good Sophie, Calcifer is never
sorry for anyone. Anyway, I hope you enjoy raw onions and cold pie for your supper, because you've
almost put Calcifer out."
"There's the cake," Michael said, trying to make peace.
The food did seem to improve Howl's temper, although he kept casting anxious looks at the unburning
logs in the hearth all the time they were eating. The pie was good cold, and the onions were quite tasty
when Sophie had soaked them in vinegar. The cake was superb. While they were eating it, Michael
risked asking Howl what the King had wanted.
"Nothing definite yet," Howl said gloomily. "But he was sounding me out about his brother, quiet
ominously. Apparently they had a good old argument before Prince Justin stormed off, and people are
talking. The King obviously wanted me to volunteer to look for his brother. And like a fool I went and
said I didn't think Wizard Suliman was dead, and that made matters worse."
"Why do you want to slither out of looking for the Prince?" Sophie demanded. "Don't you think you can
find him?"
"Rude as well as a bully, aren't you?" Howl said. He had still not forgiven her about Calcifer. "I want to
get out of it because I know I can find him, if you must know. Justin was great buddies with Suliman,
and the argument was because he told the King he was going to look for him. He didn't think the King
should have sent Suliman to the Waste in the first place. Now, even you must know there is a certain
lady in the Waste who is very bad news. She promised to fry me alive last year, and she sent out a curse
after me that I've only avoided so far because I had the sense to give her a false name."
Sophie was almost awed. "You mean you jilted the Witch of the Waste?"
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Howl cut himself another lump of cake, looking sad and honorable. "That is not the way to put it. I
admit, I thought I was fond of her for a time. She is in some ways a very sad lady, very unloved. Every
man in Ingary is scared stiff of her. You ought to know how that feels, Sophie dear."
Sophie's mouth opened in utter indignation. Michael said quickly, "Do you think we should move the
castle? That's why you invented it, wasn't it?"
"That depends on Calcifer." Howl looked over his shoulder at the barely smoking logs again. "I must
say, if I think of the King and the Witch both after me, I get a craving for planting the castle on a nice,
frowning rock a thousand miles away."
Michael obviously wished he had not spoken. Sophie could see he was thinking that a thousand miles
away was a terribly long way from Martha. "But what happens to your Lettie Hatter," she said to Howl,