"Krinard, Susan - Prince of Shadows" - читать интересную книгу автора (Krinard Susan)

Prince of Shadows
Susan Krinard


Prologue
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Maheengun County, Minnesota, 1979
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The beast stalked her silently, its paws drifting among the pine needles as if it were no more than the merest wraith.
Alex knew the wolf was there, right behind her, as it had been for the past hour. She had caught a glimpse of it once: black as midnight, yellow-eyed, frightening in its single-minded intensity.
Granddad had told her almost no one ever saw a wolf in the wild, even fourteen years after the wolf bounty had ended in Minnesota. But the old wolf hunters still told tales of massive brutes with glaring eyes, cunning and unpredictable and unfailingly dangerous.
Those stories were exaggerations. Alex knew that, even though the first time she heard them she'd felt chills up and down her spine. Granddad and Grandmother had lived in the north woods long enough to know the real truth.
Alex hummed a soft, steady tune under her breath and kept reminding herself that she wasn't afraid.
She had no reason to be. This was her special place. She had been coming here every summer since she was old enough to walk; now, at ten, she knew how to roam these woods like any forest creature. Granddad had taught her to watch and listen and understand, just as he'd once taught Mother. She knew all about the animals that made these woods their home: gray and red squirrels chattering in the pines; snowshoe hares and cottontails; raccoon, bobcat, black bear, and red fox.
But none was as mysterious as the creature that trailed her now.
Alex stopped, her damp tennis shoes sinking in rich, spongy earth, and listened. She'd thought the wolf would go away. They were supposed to be shy, never coming close to people. This wolf clung to her like a lost shadow, always a few yards behind.
I won't look back. I won't. I'm not afraid.
She shivered, though the early summer day was warm even under the trees. She pushed out her lower jaw and stared up through the canopy of birch, aspen, and popple, the deeper green of pine and spruce. A squirrel scolded and fell silent as she passed beneath a spreading sugar maple. A single narrow twig spun down to bounce from her shoulder.
"I hear you, Squirrel," she said defiantly. She listened again, but the wolf would not reveal himself.
She clenched her fists. This is my place. Wolf. Mine as much as yours.
Alex knelt down, a carpet of last year's autumn leaves and old pine needles giving under her knees. Even the birds were quiet. If the wolf wanted to pounce now, it had its chance. She cupped her hands around the petals of a trillium as if the brilliant white flower were so much treasure, wealth beyond counting and far more precious than all the things her parents' money could buy back home.
"Wolf," she said. "Can you hear me?"
She waited uneasily for an end to the silence. It came with a whisper of sound, a hesitation, a soft whuff of air.
"Do you hear me, Wolf? You can't scare me."
The fine hairs rose on the back of her neck. It was closer now; she felt it on the chilled skin of her cheek and in the very earth beneath her. She turned her head carefully, resting her hands flat on the ground. "You can't make me run."
This time the wolf abandoned any attempt at secrecy. A body crashed through the bushes. Alex scrambled around and rocked back on her heels, raising her hands to fend off the attack she knew would come.
It never did. A pair of amber eyes regarded her with bright curiosity. The wolf sat three feet away, huge paws planted squarely under its body, ears pricked and jaws agape, and tongue lolling. Alex felt her own mouth drop open in awe.
A wolf. A real wolf, close enough to touch.
It was not a monster. It wasn't scary at all. She knew in that instant, between one heartbeat and the next, that she had never seen anything so beautiful in all the world. Its coat was still lush and thick, even with the coming of summer, black fur rippling with silvered light. A single splash of white marked its chest.
But the eyes were the best. They were almost human. The wolf looked at her as if it knew every thought that passed through her mind. As she met its gaze its expression changed: ears dropped to the sides, eyes narrowed, and head ducked. It whined deep in its throat.
Alex felt her face unfreeze, her body grow boneless in relief. Without any thought at all she made herself like the wolf, crouching lower, ducking her head, echoing his soft whine.
And then a miracle happened. The wolfs tail, a thick plume of ebony fur, swept to the side and back again. Just like a friendly dog. Alex stared at the tail and watched it wag, a lazy drift back and forth among the pine needles.
She laughed. The sound escaped her before she could stop it, and she clapped her hand over her mouth. But the wolf seemed to understand. He crouched, paws extended, rump in the air, and laughed back at her, flashing teeth and tongue.
"You want to playЕ is that it?" she asked. "Is that why you've been following me?"
The wolf barked, a swift yip of agreement. He hopped toward her, muzzle thrust forward, and then retreated when Alex flinched. He sat up again, an expression on his mobile face that looked like a puzzled frown.
Alex sat back and tugged her knees up to her stomach. "Well, Wolf, you want to play, but I don't know how wolves play. You have sharp teeth, and I don't." She studied the animalЧhis gawky lines and overlarge paws, as if he hadn't quite grown into his skin and bones. He looked the way she felt sometimes.
"You're young, aren't you? I'll bet you aren't supposed to be alone."
The wolf cocked his head. Abruptly he stood, lifted his muzzle to take in some elusive scent, and flashed a glance at Alex that seemed to hold a wealth of meaning.
"Granddad told me you have good families," she said. "You all stick together. You take care of each other, just the way people do."
She could have sworn the wolf nodded. It was eerie and wonderful, looking into those eyes. Suddenly, and with all her heart, she wanted to know this wolfЧevery movement, signal, expression. If she could grow fur and become what he was, even for an instantЕ
A howl, low and quavering and thinned by distance, sliced cleanly through her imaginings. More wolvesЧat least two of them. Her wolf stood like a creature in a painting, perfectly poised, black silhouetted against rich forest color. And then he pointed his muzzle toward the sky and returned the call.
Sensations she didn't recognize washed through Alex from her toes to the roots of her hair. She'd heard that sound before, but never so close or so real. Never with her heart. She closed her eyes and tilted back her head. Just a little push, a little release, and it would come: a cry as full and rich as the wolves'.
Cool wetness touched her cheek; she jerked back just as the wolf retreated, his gaze locked on her face. With a sad little whimper, he backed away and began to melt into the undergrowth.
"Wait!"
Loss overwhelmed Alex, a sense of panic that sent her scrambling after the wolf. Her foot snagged a fallen branch; her fall was cushioned by the padding of leaves, but she lay where she was and sucked air back into her lungs.
A triangular black shadow filled her vision. Amber eyes regarded her from only inches away. A rough wet tongue slapped across her face, filling Alex with a singing joy.аShe sat up, reaching for the wolf. It stepped back and then went very still as her fingers found the lush fur and slipped between the thick guard hairs to the silkiness beneath.
The wolf was afraid of her, as afraid as she'd been of him. She stroked the wolf once and let her hand fall.
"We're kind of the same, aren't we?" she asked. "Maybe you knew that all along."