"James C. Glass - Shanji" - читать интересную книгу автора (Glass James C)

Toregene froze where she stood, withdrawing her blade from the sheath at her side, feeling the rush of
blood and adrenaline bring The Change upon her.

Her vision brightened, and she saw the big cat clearly, hunched over the carcass of a small goat on the
trail. She felt the ache of incisors thrusting forth in her mouth, the sudden tension around her eyes. The
shizi crouched as if to spring at her, then sat upright with sudden recognition. Toregene growled softly, a
low rattle coming from deep within her, then held out her single steel claw and waved it towards the west.
"I will pass through here," she said. "Take your kill with you, and go."

The cat paused only an instant, then grasped the dead goat's neck in its mouth, dragging it easily off the
trail and down the skree slope to a log which lay there. Only after it was settled watchfully did Toregene
move again, treading softly past the pool of blood on the trail, the blade still in her hand.

As her enhanced vision began to fade, she looked back to see that the animal had begun to feed again.
The throbbing of her pulse lessened, tension leaving her mouth and eyes as she squinted again at the trail,
adjusting once more to her normal night vision. She returned her blade to its sheath, and hurried on.



She descended to a series of bluffs leading to the knife-ridge which made a great arc to where the signal
fire had been placed. By the time she reached the second bluff, Toregene's fear had not totally
disappeared, and she still had the feeling she was being watched. She tried to blank her mind, but failed.
Now she was leg-weary, her feet sore from treading on sharp skree, and Temujin's face was suddenly in
her mind, his wry smile, finely-arched nose and laughing eyes, the long braid of black hair that fell over his
chest when they made love.

She held that vision, and plunged ahead down a grassy slope to the final bluff before the ridge. But the
disquieting feeling still would not go away, as if there were a watchful presence nearby, and Toregene
wondered briefly if theshizi had a mate which was now following her. She avoided the center of the bluff,
and crossed near the trees lining its edge, picking up her pace with sudden apprehension.

A twig snapped, and she turned to see three dark shapes rushing towards her from the trees.

She turned to run, the final ridge only meters away, but she was tackled from behind, landing on her
stomach with an explosion of breath and a terrible weight on top of her. Lights danced before her eyes as
her arms were pulled roughly behind her, and she felt the bite of leather thongs on her wrists. Rough
hands secured her ankles as well, then seized her shoulders and flipped her over on her back as she
gasped for breath.

Toregene found herself looking up at the grinning faces of three soldiers of the Emperor. Two stood over
her, the third kneeling at her feet and holding her blade in his hand. Young men, eyes glittering
dangerously, yet amused. The one with the knife leaned over and dragged the flat of the blade across her
throat.

"Look what we've found; a changeling bitch all alone, and far from home on such a cold night. I think
 Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html