"Laura Anne Gilman - Retrievers 03 - Bring It On" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilman Laura Anne)

The body shimmered with a faint silver glow, then disappeared. In the distance, there was the sound of a
faint splash, the kind a fish might make as it leaped into the air and crashed down again. Or a body,
slipping deep into the waters, might make as it sank and was carried out into the ocean.

тАЬItтАЩs too late to change course. Too much has already been done.тАЭ

The woman went back into the mansion, leaving the courtyard completely empty, even the pool of blood
gone as though it had evaporated entirely in the cool autumn air. After a few moments, the lights slowly
began to fade out, until only one illuminated the doorway. Soon enough, it too went out.

1

The demon in her kitchen was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

тАЬHow the hell did things get so bad, so fast?тАЭ Wren asked him, staring down at the sheets of paper on
the table in front of her. Nothing to make her break into a cold sweat, on first or even second glance. It
was just paper. Nice paper, but nothing expensive. Three double-spaced sheets, neatly typewritten, with
decent margins. It had arrived in a manila envelope with her name written on the front in dark blue ink,
carried in a courier bag slung over the shoulder of the demon, who had handed it to her wordlessly and
then gone to investigate the innards of her refrigerator.

тАЬDo you really want me to answer that?тАЭ the demon asked now, curious. The butter knife looked odd in
his clawed paw, as though he should not be able to handle it, but he wielded the dull blade with surprising
dexterity.

тАЬOnly if youтАЩre going to reassure me that everythingтАЩs peaches, and the cityтАЩs about to break out into
spontaneous song and dance,тАЭ she said. тАЬAnd I donтАЩt meanWest Side Story kind of dancing, either.тАЭ

She forced her eyes away from the letter, and looked at her companion. There was a smear of jelly on
the counter, and another one in his coarse white fur. And he had used the last of the peanut butter. So
much for a midday snack. She sighed, and looked away again. Other than that, it was the kind of late
autumn day that Wren Valere loved the most: cool and crisp, the sky a bright blue, what little of it she
could see out her kitchen window and past the neighboring buildings. Almost like Mother Nature was
apologizing for the hell she had put everyone through over the summer.

And, as always, thoughts of that summer made Wren close her eyes and take a moment to center and
ground, emotionally.

The entire summer had sucked. The deal with the devil that her business partner Sergei had made with
his former employers to keep her safe when the Council of Mages had threatened her and her livelihood
had come back to haunt themтАФliterally. The SilenceтАФa group of mysterious do-gooders with a sizable
checkbookтАФhad offered what had seemed like a lifesaver of a job, butтАФ

Her grounding faltered, then came back.
 LeeтАЩs death during that job hadnтАЩt been her fault, no. But it was her responsibility. And the simple fact of
it made her coreтАФthe inner storehouse of magic that every Talent carried within them, like a power
packтАФseethe under the weight of the guilt she carried. It felt like snakes in her gut, tendrils in her brain. It
felt likeтАФ

тАЬOw!тАЭ