"Karl Edward Wagner - Kane 06 - The Book Of Kane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wagner Karl Edward)

throats. To his keen nostrils came the unmistakable sour scent of damp wolf fur. Somewhere ahead of
himтАФdistance was impossible to gauge in the stormтАФlurked a large pack of wolves. Kane was puzzled
once more. From their cries the pack was full in huntтАФbut it seemed impossible that awolfpack would be
foraging in such a raging blizzard. Perhaps the limits of starvation had driven them abroad, he mused. In
that case it was damned lucky that he was downwind.

But this advantage might vanish with a shift of wind and Kane turned his mount away from the invincible
pack, putting the wind to his back. Might as well back-track, he thought grimly. With no more sense of
direction than he now had, any course was as well as another or as pointless. As he forged onward
through the drifts the howling was drowned out in the greater voice of the storm. Just as it was swallowed
up altogether, Kane thought he could also hear mingled in the cries of horses and men. But the sounds
were too faint for any hope of clarity, and Kane was too exhausted to pursue the fantasies of his
tormented senses.
 The horse plodded on and on, stumbling more frequently now, but refusing to fall. Kane doubted if the
beast would be able to rise once it slid down againтАФdoubted if he would be able to remount if it could
regain its feet. Time and distance had no meaning. He was utterly adrift from the world of time and space;
there was only himself and the horse caught up in the rushing blizzard. Whether he moved or only the
wind moved, Kane could not tell. Nor could he distinguish whether the bits of white moved through the
darkness, or flecks of blackness through a sea of white. Now his entire body was growing altogether
numb. Soon he would be unable to feel the horse on which he rode, and then there would only be Kane,
bobbing helplessly, hopelessly in this maelstrom of ice.

This was infinity.

Abruptly something clawed at KaneтАЩs face. He reeled and lashed out at it drunkenly. His frozen hand
encountered a tree branch. Several more whipped at him, as the horse painfully slipped its way between
several trees.

Kane forced himself out of stupor, gathering together the final dregs of his remarkable strength. If the
horse had blundered into a forest there was hope yet. It seemed unlikely, for there had been no body of
trees in sight before the storm had hitтАФbut how could he know how far the horse had carried him. The
windтАЩs roar became muted, and its force was broken by the trees, causing the snow to fall slowly, sifting
through the branches. The blackness of night became settled, and in this darkness KaneтАЩs eyes could
penetrateтАФalthough another man would still be relatively blind.

It was indeed a forestтАФor at least the grove of trees extended as far as Kane could discover. From the
shelter it provided from thestormblast , it seemed likely that this was at any rate a considerable wooded
area. Kane urged his faltering mount deeper into the woods. If he could reach a place far enough within
to break most of the stormтАЩs force, he might build a sort of shelter and possibly get a fire going.

He caught the smell of wood smoke on the wind and pulled up. Had his hunters also found the trees, he
wonderedтАФor perhaps he had come upon someone else in this wilderness. He followed the smoke
hopefully. Should it be the fire of strangers, he would share it one way or another. If he found the
SatakisтАж Well, he had been hunted long enough. Kane loosened his sword from its ice bound scabbard.
At least the cold iron would then find warmth. They would not expect an attack, and maybe with
surprise, and if his strength had not been fatally drained by the stormтАж

Visions of carnage passed through his mind, as Kane followed the scent of smoke through the sentinel
trees. The ground seemed to rise now, he thought. Revitalized with the tangible before him, hope for
shelter and lust to kill, Kane encouraged his horse. The rugged steed was due to collapse at any step, but