"Nina Kiriki Hoffman - The Pulse of the Machine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hoffman Nina Kiriki)

toward the other.

It is larger than I. The hair on the back of my neck rises. I hunch toward it, my legs tight with restrained
pounce. I growl.
It runs, past AnitraтАЩs car, on down the alley, brushing against dumpsters and piles of soiled boxes.

The power, the flux, shudders just beneath my skin; it threads through all my muscles. I draw in breath,
calming all systems that govern change. I retract my claws and silence my growl, then turn to face Anitra,
remembering why I am always careful in company. The glowing mist that fogged my thoughts has gone.

She crouches, her hand closing around the dropped keys on the pavement. тАЬWhat happened? What was
that?тАЭ Her words came out on short puffs of breath. She still surrounds herself with the sharp stink of
fear.

тАЬI think it was a person,тАЭ I say, glancing down the alley where the stalker disappeared.

She rises, flattens against the car. тАЬNot that. Your hand. What happened to it?тАЭ Keys poke out between
the fingers of her fisted hand.

тАЬI think IтАЩm all right to go home now,тАЭ I say. тАЬIтАЩll walk. ItтАЩs not far.тАЭ

тАЬWith the Slasher loose in town?тАЭ She straightens, leans forward just a little to look into my face. тАЬI
drove you here and IтАЩll drive you home.тАЭ Then she leans back. тАЬOh, Terry. Oh, Terry.тАЭ Her keys fall
from her fingers again. тАЬAre you the Slasher?тАЭ

тАЬNo,тАЭ I say. Inside me a battle begins: she knows something, but not much; she is the best friend I have
made since I came down out of the mountains in search of education; no one outside our family must
know, ever, ever, ever again. What am I to do with her? To her? About her?

If I kill her, I know I can stay.

тАЬYouтАЩre sure? YouтАЩre sure youтАЩre not the Slasher?тАЭ She steps away from the car. Her systems begin to
settle, pulse slowing.

тАЬIтАЩm not.тАЭ There have been seven murders in our small town over the past year, and I only committed the
first one. It satisfied me in some way I do not understand. My brother Emelya died at the hands of
humans, but my anger over that has cooled, the appetite it awoke in me satisfied. My landlady feeds me
well enough. I donтАЩt have to forage.

Anitra takes two more steps toward me. She holds out her hands. Confused, I hold out mine. She grips
and examines them, turning them back and forth, touching the narrow nails. I feel calm, human, and cold.

тАЬCome on,тАЭ she says. Releasing my hands, she fetches her keys, unlocks the passengerтАЩs door and holds
it open.

I donтАЩt want to get into her car. The proximity will force a decision on me. I will have to think about
whether she lives or dies. If she will leave without me, I can shrug and say, oh well, too late, she might
forget about it in the morning. If I go with her, she will not leave it alone. She will make it into a memory.

тАЬPlease, Terry. Please come.тАЭ