"Maria V. Snyder - Poison 1 - Poison Study" - читать интересную книгу автора (Snyder Maria V)

lantern in one quick motion, I peeked around the corner. Two soldiers stood in front of my door. The
soft light of their lantern reflected the green-and-black colors of their uniformsтАФBrazellтАЩs colors.

Chapter Four
тАЬS hould we check if sheтАЩs dead?тАЭ asked one of BrazellтАЩs soldiers. He held the lantern up to my door, his
overloaded weapon belt jingling with the motion.

тАЬNo. That housekeeper checks every morning and gives her a potion. WeтАЩll hear about it soon enough.
Besides, it stinks in there.тАЭ The other soldier waved his hand in front of his face.

тАЬYeah. If the smell donтАЩt kill the mood, taking off her vomit-soaked uniform would make any man gag.
AlthoughтАжтАЭ The lantern soldierтАЩs hand briefly touched the manacles hanging from his belt. тАЬWe could
drag her down to the baths, clean her up, and have some fun before she dies.тАЭ

тАЬNo, someone would see us. If she survives, weтАЩll have plenty of time to peel off her uniform. ItтАЩll be just
like opening a present, and definitely more entertaining when sheтАЩs awake.тАЭ He leered. They laughed.

They continued down the hallway and were soon out of sight. I clung to the wall and wondered if what I
had just witnessed had been real. Was I still having paranoid hallucinations? My head felt as if it had
soaked too long in a pool of water. Dizziness and nausea rippled through my body.

The soldiers were long gone before I worked up the nerve to go back to my room. I pushed the door
wide and thrust my lantern in front of me, shining the light into every corner and under the bed. A harsh,
acrid odor was the only thing to attack me. Gagging, I unlocked the shutters and threw them open, taking
deep breaths of the cool, cleansing air.

I looked at the noxious puddle on the floor. The last thing I wanted to do was clean up the mess, but I
knew I would never be able to sleep while breathing in that foul smell. After raiding housekeepingтАЩs
supplies, and stopping for the occasional bout of nausea, I managed to scrub the floor without fainting.

Exhausted, I stretched out on the bed. It felt lumpy. I turned in my blankets, hoping to find a comfortable
position. What if BrazellтАЩs soldiers came back? Asleep in bed, I would be an easy target. I had cleaned
myself up so there was no need to drag me to the baths. The room smelled like disinfectant, and I had
forgotten to put the chair under the doorknob.

Imagination kicked in, a vivid scene of me manacled to the bed, helpless while the soldiers stripped me
slowly to heighten their anticipation and savor my fear.

The walls of my room seemed to thicken and pulse. I bolted out into the hallway, expecting to see
BrazellтАЩs soldiers lurking around my door. The corridor was dark and deserted.

When I tried to reenter my room, I felt as if someone pressed a pillow against my face. I couldnтАЩt get my
feet to move past the doorway. My room was a trap. The paranoia effect of My Love or common
sense? I wondered. Indecision kept me standing in the hallway until my stomach growled. Guided by my
hunger, I searched for food.

Hoping to find the kitchen empty, I was dismayed to see a tall man wearing a white uniform with two
black diamonds printed on the front of his shirt mumbling to himself as he lurched around the ovens. His
left leg didnтАЩt bend. I tried to sneak back out but he spotted me.