"Linda Evans - Sleipnir" - читать интересную книгу автора (Evans Linda)

I swore solemnly that if I got out of this patrol alive, I'd blood a good steel knife and leave it under
an oak tree for Odin.
It seemed to work for Gary.
Abruptly a small hedgehog, about the size of a well-grown box turtle, waddled out from beside me
into the patch of moonlight. The terrorist stopped and grinned, teeth gleaming whitely for an instant. Then
he raised his rifle and aimed for center of mass on the spiny little body. An angry hiss came from the
trees. The would-be shooter snarled something in reply. The hedgehog reacted to the voices and
snapped into a tightly curled ball, spines bristling.
Another whispered argument broke out. The leader strode over and grabbed his man by the arm.
He gestured angrily toward the missile site, then off toward the little village about two klicks away
through the forest. The subordinate shrugged and kicked viciously at the hedgehog. It squealed and
curled up tighter than ever, skidding to a pathetic stop a few inches from our noses.
My knuckles went white gripping the useless rifle. If it'd been loaded, I wouldn't even have stopped
to think about it. Hurting a hedgehog brought unthinkably bad luck. Not thatI was overly superstitious—
The two terrorists rejoined their group, and the three of us—hedgehog, Gary, and I—lay frozen in
place, waiting. If they searched the immediate vicinity for good measure . . . Fighting it out under halfway
decent odds was one thing. Given three-to-one their favor, Gary probably would've charged in and let
Odin sort it out. But getting shot to pieces because all you had was an empty tube with a flimsy plastic
stock on one end was not my idea of a good time. Even a Berserker would've prayed they just turned
around and walked away.
For once, something came out the way I wanted. The black-clad Palestinians—or whoever they
were—disappeared into the darkness. Gary and I waited until the sound of their footsteps had died
completely away; then I rested my forehead on my arm and started breathing again. I tried not to shiver
too loudly in case the sound carried.
Then, noticing for the first time the wonderful, Christmasy smell of the pine tree, I squeezed Gary's
arm in silent thanks. I nodded when he made a motion with his thumb. We crawled cautiously out from
under the pine tree. The hedgehog still hadn't moved. Poor little guy . . .
Then, like a swimmer coming up from a long dive, I took a deep breath and let it out again silently.
Looked like I owed Odin a knife.
And Gary my life.

Chapter Three
I finally managed to get the sparker going. The carbide lit with a hissing pop. The cave was so quiet
I could hear the silence listening to me, waiting for me to make a move. So I just sat still for a moment
and let my eyes adjust to the grey light pouring from my helmet. There should've been a warm yellow
glow; but the walls swallowed the color, leaving only an eerie, dead grey to light the low-ceilinged
cavern. Even my skin looked grey. The only exception was that deep black hole beside me.
When I got a good look at it . . .
 There was literally no way I could have avoided stepping into that hole.
It was a good four feet across, nearly round, and smack in the middle of the passage Bjornssen
and I'd been following. If it had been there, I would either have seen it or fallen into it. No question. But
a hole that size couldn't have opened up between us without either of us noticing—a cave-in is not a
quiet phenomenon. If it was an illusion, it was a damned good one.
I leaned cautiously forward. The walls were absolutely perpendicular. No ledges, no bumps, no
projections—it plunged straight down like an enormous sewer pipe farther than my light could penetrate
into the blackness. I hadn't heard Bjornssen hit bottom. I sat back again, knowing that I had to stand up,
move, do something; and wished intensely for a cigarette. I hadn't smoked anything in three years.
My lamp flickered; then flared bright again, and sent shadows rippling across the walls. Odd kind
of rock in this part of the cave. Stranger yet, hadn't I just been thinking that when Bjornssen
disappeared? My brows puckered and I chewed at my upper lip, moving my head to play the light