"Karen Koehler - Slayer 02 - Dragon Blood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Koehler Karen)

the battle? Even now the stink of it made him crave like some kind of stupid beast...

Whimpering, he slammed his fists against the spattering of blood on the cement in front of him, breaking
his knuckles, breaking the cement. But the pain was good...the pain made the craving lessen.

тАЬFucking stupid banpaia,тАЭ the leader said, afraid.

Alek eyed the youth and waited for him to go in for a hit; instead, he shifted uncertainly. His smell
changed from the deep musky man-odor of battle to one of raw, primal animal fear. He met AlekтАЩs eyes
evenly, but whatever he saw there was instigating a flight, not a fight, response. As if disgusted by his own
cowardice, the youth spat on the concrete. тАЬYou want the bitch? SheтАЩs yours.тАЭ

Alek watched the boy edge around him. Only when he had cleared AlekтАЩs circumference completely did
he go to shake his companions awake. Neither of them looked terribly wounded. A little groggy but
otherwise all right. The leader barked some orders to them both in Japanese, something about them
getting their lazy asses in the car. After that, as the three hoods started back toward the entrance of the
alleyway, the leader turned to face Alek one last time.

Alek stood up. He didnтАЩt expect another assault, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Instead of attacking him, the leader only gave him a slit-eyed, sidelong look that said, WeтАЩll have it out
another time, shithead, donтАЩt worry. Then all three of them piled into the Caddy, slammed their doors and
screeched out of the alley, the car lumbering into traffic like a charging elephant, the leader blaring his
horn at a taxi with the right of way.

Alek waited until he was sure they were gone, and then he waited some more and shivered and felt the
last of the craving leave him like a fever burning off. Only then, feeling tired and shaky and very old, did
he turn back to the semi-conscious woman crouched small against the wall.

The young one. The one who had solicited him earlier.

He watched her a moment, waiting until she came around. And he wondered if this was a portent of
some kind and what it might mean to him.

6


Charlie Wing was smart enough to let things be when he had to. It didnтАЩt happen often. Usually, he could
handle anything that came his way, which was the reason Mr. Ashikawa had him in charge of Rich and
Xav. They were great fun, the two of them, but they had maybe half a brain between them. On the other
hand, Charlie was smart, a survivalist. Not like his father who had been nothing, a big Nothing that drove
a garbage truck back in Osaka. He wasnтАЩt his father. He was a warrior. Mr. Ashikawa said so. Now all
that was left was to convince Mr.

Ashikawa that heтАЩd done the right thing in walking away from a fight.

He chewed his tongue and drove the Caddy down Lincoln Avenue with Rich and Xav. Rich was in the
passenger seat beside him, Xav in the backseat. Fuck but Rich should have been busy trying to stanch
the flow of blood running like a bitch from his nose and Xav should have been working on repairing his
busted nunchaku. Instead the two of them just sat there like retarded kindergarten kids, watching him.