"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Deus X" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

"Hello, Phil," Lita said from the top of the stairs. "Have you got the
straightjacket ready?"

He reddened. "I, um --"

"She's being a real clown this morning," Marcus said. "Come on, Lita. Your
appointment is at ten."

She descended the stairs slowly, the wood creaking beneath her weight. The
slanting line of photographs on the wall -- their parents' wedding picture,
their graduation pictures, and that last family photograph --caught her
attention. "Good-bye," she told them as she passed. "Good-bye, good-bye,
good-bye." When she got to the bottom of the stairs, Phil opened the front door
for her, and she paused to say good-bye to the entire house. Then on the way to
the car she said good-bye to a Mugo pine, and to three people who weren't there.

After a bit of wrangling, Phil and Lita put the plants in the trunk of the gray
Oldsmobile along with the suitcase. Lira slid into the back and Marcus sat
beside her, his wool suit catching on the fabric upholstery. He missed the BMW
and its leather seats, but Phil had told him a mayor should drive an American
car. Marcus hadn't actually driven it much; Phil usually did all that while
Marcus read his reports and memorized speeches.

"Look out!" Lita gasped when Phil pulled out into the street. He stomped on the
brake, jerking them all forward against their safety belts, but there was
nothing in front of the car.

"What?" Phil asked.

She shook her head, her long hair catching on her bottom lip. "I keep
forgetting. You can't see them. He's out of the way now. Go ahead."

Phil drove on without answering, his back and shoulders rigid. Marcus brushed
the hair out of Lita's mouth, and then used the moment to caress her cheek,
something he hadn't done since she was a baby.

"We'll get this taken care of, sis. You'll be as good as new in no time."

"That'll be a relief."

"You don't have to get sarcastic."

She laid her hand on his arm. "I wasn't. Not entirely, anyway. It really would
be a relief if they'd just go away. They're all so demanding, and they want
something I can't give them." The implication was clear, in light of earlier
conversations. She thought there was something Marcus could do, if he'd just
accept her invisible people as real.

The houses and trees streaming past were a blur beyond the windows. Phil was