"Linnea Sinclair - Gabriel's Ghost" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sinclair Linnea)

Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine

About the Author




Chapter One
^┬╗
Moabar

Only fools boast they have no fears. I thought of that as I pulled the blade of my dagger from
the Takan guardтАЩs throat, my hand shaking, my heart pounding in my ears. Light from the
setting sun filtered down through the tall trees around me. It flickered briefly on the dark gold
blood that bubbled from the wound, staining the TakaтАЩs coarse fur. I felt a sliminess between
my fingers and saw that same ochre stain on my skin.
тАЬShit!тАЭ I jerked my hand back. My dagger tumbled to the rock-strewn ground. A stupid
reaction for someone with my training. It wasnтАЩt as if IтАЩd never killed another sentient being
before, but it had been more than five years. Then, at least, it had carried the respectable label
of military action.

This time it was pure survival.

It took me a few minutes to find my blade wedged in between the moss-covered rocks.
After more than a decade on interstellar patrol ships, my eyes had problems adjusting to
variations in natural light. Shades of grays and greens, muddied by MoabarтАЩs twilight sky,
merged into seamless shadows. IтАЩd never have found my only weapon if I hadnтАЩt pricked my
fingers on the point. Red human blood mingled with Takan gold. I wiped the blade against my
pants before letting it mold itself back around my wrist. It flowed into the form of a simple
silver bracelet.

тАЬA Grizni dagger, is it?тАЭ

I spun into a half-crouch, my right hand grasping the bracelet. Quickly it uncoiled
againтАФalmost as quickly as IтАЩd sucked in a harsh, rasping breath. The distinctly masculine
voice had come from the thick stand of trees directly in front of me. But in the few seconds it
took me to straighten, he could be anywhere now. It looked like tonightтАЩs agenda held a second
attempt at rape and murder.

I tuned out my own breathing; listened to the hushed rustle of the thick forest around me
and farther away, the guttural roar of a shuttle departing the prisonтАЩs spaceport. I watched for
movement. Murky shadows, black-edged yet ill defined, taunted me. IтАЩd have sold my soul
then and there for a nightscope and a fully-charged laser pistol.