"Janet Kagan - Mirabile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kagan Janet)

been going on for some time. SheтАЩd only broken silence because of StirzakerтАЩs
panicky report. тАЬOkay,тАЭ I said, still patting her, тАЬI want you to let me know the next
time Susan sneaks out to feed this Monster of hersтАФтАЭ
She blinked at me solemnly. тАЬSheтАЩs out there now, Mama Jason.тАЭ
тАЬOkay,тАЭ I said. тАЬOut there where?тАЭ
The bellow off the loch cut me short and brought me to my feet. Unlike Leo, I
knew that hadnтАЩt been part of a dream. I was already headed for the window when
the sound came again. I peered into the night.
Mirabile doesnтАЩt have a moon, but for the moment weтАЩve got a decent nova. Not
enough radiation to worry about, just enough to see glimmers in the dark.
Something huge rippled through the waters of the loch. I stared harder, trying to
make it come clear, but it wouldnтАЩt. It bellowed again, and an answering bellow came
from the distant shore.
Whatever it was, it was huge, even bigger than the drifted otters IтАЩd seen earlier.
Had they chained up to something already? There was a splash and another bellow. I
remember thinking Elly wouldnтАЩt hear it from her room; she was on the downside of
the slope, cushioned from the loch noises by the earth of the slope itself.
Then I got a second glimpse of it, a huge head, a long body. With a shock, I
realized that it looked like nothing so much as those blurry flat photos of тАЬNessie.тАЭ
I turned to throw on some clothes and ran right into Jen, scaring her half to death.
тАЬEasy, easy. ItтАЩs just me,тАЭ I said, holding her by the shoulders. тАЬRun get LeoтАФand
tell him to bring his rifle.тАЭ I gave her a push for the door and that kid moved like a
house afire.
So did Leo. By the time IтАЩd got my gear together, double-checking the flare gun
to make sure it had a healthy charge left, he was on my doorstep, rifle in hand.
We ran down the steps together, pausing only onceтАФto ask Jen which way Susan
had gone. Jen said, тАЬDown to the loch, she calls it your favorite place! I thought
youтАЩd know!тАЭ She was on the verge of another wail.
тАЬI know,тАЭ I said. тАЬNow you wait here. If weтАЩre not back in two hours, you wake
Elly and tell her to get on the phone to Mike.тАЭ
тАЬMike,тАЭ she repeated, тАЬMike. Two hours.тАЭ She plopped herself down on the
floor directly opposite the clock. I knew I could count on her.
 Leo and I switched on flashlights and started into the woods. I let him lead for the
time beingтАФhe knew the paths better than I did and I wanted to move as fast as
possible. We made no attempt to be quiet at it, either. In the dark and shorthanded,
IтАЩve always preferred scaring the creature off to facing it-down.
We got to the boats in record time. Sure enough, one of them was gone. Leo and
I pushed off and splashed across the loch, Leo rowing, me with the shotgun in one
hand and the flare gun in the other.
Nine times out of ten, the flare gun is enough to turn a DragonтАЩs Tooth around
and head it away from you. The shotgunтАЩs there for that tenth time. Or in case it was
threatening Susan.
A couple of large things rushed noisily through the woods to our far right. They
might have been stag. They might not have been. Neither Leo nor I got a look at
them.
тАЬDuck,тАЭ said Leo, and I did and missed being clobbered by one of those
overhanging branches by about a quarter of an inch. Turning, I made out the boat
Susan had used. There was just enough proper shore there that we could beach ours
besides it.
тАЬAll right, Susan,тАЭ I said into the shadows. тАЬEnough is enough. Come on out. At