"Leslie What & Nina Kiriki Hoffman - Chain of Command" - читать интересную книгу автора (What Leslie)

The closer I got, the worse its stench grew, though nothing could match the stunning strength of Flower
Power. The troll's b.o. was almost refreshing next to Kayla's perfume. In fact, it startled me to realize I
found it rather intriguing. I did my best to put any thoughts of intrigue out of my mind as I prepared myself
for battle.



The troll sat up.



It was short and dense. Its head was shaped like an eggplant, with the tuft of dark, dread-locked hair
rising from the stem end, its small agate eyes under a shelf of brow in the middle, and its broad,
thin-lipped mouth across the big round part at the bottom. Ears like flyswatters stuck out on either side of
its head. Its neck was invisible. Its shoulders were impressive under all the stinky, filthy hair. Even its
muscles had muscles. It crossed its arms over its broad chest and dared me to come closer by flicking an
agile, snake-split tongue at me.



My growl grew louder. I crept forward, right across my daughter's sleeping bag, until the troll and I were
almost nose to nose. If you could call that little button a nose.



"Grrrr!"



It smiled and licked my nose like a grateful puppy. Disarmed by its friendliness, I didn't react for a
second when it copped a feel. Not easy to do through mail, even light mail.



If it did that to me, what had it done to my daughter? Kayla's tender heart or not, nobody touched me
without an invitation! Choose your issues, the counselor had said. Protected species or not, the beast
was about to become troll sausage. I jumped on the troll, calling on my totem wolf to give me strength.



"Mother!" Kayla screamed. "Stop that this instant! Leave Sticky alone!"



There was something intoxicating about wrestling with the troll. The narrow confines of the cave forced
us totally into each other's personal space. I found myself straining to breathe in its scent, and began to
wonder if it exuded some sort of pheromone that interfered with my warrior abilities.