"Jane Lindskold - Firekeeper Saga 1 - Through Wolf's Eyes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lindskold Jane)

encouragement and cogent editorial comments.

Special thanks go to Dr. Mark Anthony for fixing my shoulder and to Candy Kitchen Wolf Ranch for
giving me a chance to meet several wolves up close and personal.

BOOK ONE
I

AAA-ROOO! AAA-ROOO! Distant, yet carrying, the wolfтАЩs howl broke the late-afternoon stillness.

In the depths of the forest, a young woman, as strong and supple as the sound, rose noiselessly to her
feet. With bloodstained fingers, she pushed her short, dark brown hair away from her ears to better hear
the call.

Aaa-rooo! Aaa-rooo!

It was a sentry howl, relayed from a great distance to the east. The young woman understood its
message more easily than she would have understood any form of human speech.

тАЬStrangers! Strangers! Strangers! Strange!тАЭ

The last lilt of inflection clarified the previous howls. Whatever was coming from the east was not merely
a trespasserтАФperhaps a young wolf dispersing from his birth packтАФbut an unknown quantity. But from
the relay signal that preceded the call, the strangers were far away.

The young woman felt a momentary flicker of curiosity. Hunger, however, was more pressing. The cold
times were not long past and her memories of dark, freezing days, when even the stupid fish were
unreachable beneath the ice, were sharp.

She squatted again and continued skinning a still warm rabbit, musing, not for the first time, how much
more convenient it would be if she could eat it as her kinfolk did: fur, bone, flesh, and guts all in one
luxurious mouthful.


AAA-ROOO! AAA-ROOO!

Derian Carter, the youngest member of Earl KestrelтАЩs expedition, felt his shoulder jerked nearly out of its
socket when the wolf howl pierced the late-afternoon peace. The haunting sound startled the sensitive
chestnut mare he was unbridling nearly out of her highly bred stockings.

тАЬEasy, easy, Roanne,тАЭ he murmured mechanically, all too aware that his own heart was racing. That wolf
sounded close!

As Derian eased the mareтАЩs headstall over ears that couldnтАЩt seem to decide whether to prick in alarm or
flatten in annoyance, he said in a voice he was pleased to discover remained calm, almost nonchalant:

тАЬThat sounds like a big wolf out there, Race.тАЭ

Race Forester, the guide for Earl KestrelтАЩs expedition, looked down his long nose at the younger man
and chuckled. He was a lean fellow with a strong, steady tread that spoke of long distances traveled