"Arthur, Keri - Damask Circle 03 - Circle of Desire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Arthur Keri)

soul and she shivered.
Then the womanТs form disintegrated, becoming little
more than mist that eddied out the open window. Kat
cursed and ran across the room. The woman had regained
shape near the back fence and though the vampire was
nowhere in sight, the scent of his evil stung the night.
The bedroom door burst open and police poured in.
They called to her to stop, but their voices were almost
lost to the childТs continuing screams. She ignored them
and climbed out, simply because she had no other choice.
By the time she stopped to explain what had happened,
the soul sucker and the vamp would have disappeared.
Besides, she doubted the cops would believe her anyway.
The only person who would understand would probably
be scrying right now, staring into her crystal ball in an
effort to track the creatures and perhaps discover their
daytime hideaway.
Smoke swirled up the wooden fence and disappeared
over the top. Kat scrambled after it and sprinted down the
alley, her footsteps a lone echo in the night. Ahead,
streetlights shimmered and traffic rolled, but it was a
bright world theyТd never reach. The creature she chased
wanted seclusion and darknessЧat least for the moment.
It turned left into another small alley. She followed,
leaping the rubbish and battered trash cans strewn across
her path. She was tempted to shift shape and hit the night
sky in her raven form, but she didnТt dare risk it with the
stakes she carried. And she wasnТt about to leave them
behindЧnot when the vampire still lurked.
They ran past one of the gates leading into the old
factory. Metal creaked, as if stirred by a wind that didnТt
exist. Another chill ran down her spine. The vampire was
out there, pacing her. Watching her.
If he was the soul suckerТs partner, why didnТt he
attack?
The smudge of vapor continued on, moving toward a
squat looking building at the end of the alley. Kat slowed
and half wished sheТd brought a flashlight. The moon above
was almost full, yet its light struggled to touch the shadows
lining the small alley. Though her night sight was generally

better than a humanТs, even she would struggle to see
through the pitch blackness inside that warehouse.
The soul sucker wrapped itself around a window and
disappeared. Kat stopped and scanned the outside of the
building. It was a two story brick construction, though
the color of the bricks had long been lost to thick layers of
dirt and graffiti. Most of the windows on the lower floor
had been boarded up, and the upper ones were all
smashed. There was a small door to her right. The thick