"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Bifrost 03 - Dragonrank Master" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

narrow-muzzled animal, uncomfortably close. Silver fur covered the underside of its snout and framed
eyes like live coals. Black hair capped the upper side of its nose, head, and triangular ears. Rows of teeth
as long and sharp as daggers protruded from its open jaw. Its tongue lolled, dripping foul-smelling saliva
onto Taziar's face.

Wolf! Taziar gasped in alarm. His eyes followed the contours of the creature. It stood large as a plow
horse, and its forepaws were planted firmly on Taziar's chest. Hairs of white and gray were interspersed
amid the luxurious thickness of its ebony coat, especially on the legs; they tapered to cream-colored
paws.A ribbon, which seemed scarcely strong enough to hold a house cat, en-wrapped one of the
beast's hind feet. Taziar froze, not daring to move, and hoped a merciful man held the other end of the
unusual leash.

As if in answer to Taziar's unspoken question, a malevolent voice broke the silence."Dessstiny."

Taziar resisted the urge to wipe wolf spittle from his cheeks. "E-excuse me," he stammered carefully.

"Dessstiny."The words were louder, this time accompanied by a burst of the wolf's putrid breath.

Taziar forced a weak smile, and tried to sound matter-of-fact. "Would you mind calling off your dog? It
would make it easier to talk."

The wolf's head drifted closer until Taziar could see only its vast forest of teeth. "But he hasn't eaten yet!"
The furred muzzle opened and closed with each syllable, punctuated the words with blasts of rank,
expelled air.

The same rational portion of Taziar's mind which still did not accept the existence of gods and magic
would not allow him to believe in talking animals. Yet he could find no other explanation.You can speak ?
Taziar cut off his incredulous question before he uttered it. Stating the self-evident could only make him
sound stupid.And this is no time to make a mistake . He met the wolf's fiery gaze as he spoke. "What did
you mean by 'destiny'?"

The wolf's jowls twitched. "You've heard of the Fates, little man?"

"Call me Shadow," said Taziar, becoming annoyed with the references to his size. "And yes, I've heard a
few things."

The wolf backed off slightly.' 'Then you know the Fates determine the length of a man's life." Its red eyes
sparkled. "Yours has come to an abrupt end. It's your destiny to become my dinner." The beast's jaws
stretched wide; it soon became apparent that it could swallow Taziar whole and the world with him.

Taziar flinched to the ground. "Wait!" he called.

The wolf's mouth stopped opening.

Taziar continued quickly. "We could talk more easily if you let me sit up."

There followed a tense and jarring silence.

Then the wolf's muzzle snapped back to its normal size. "Very well," it said.It backstepped so that its
paws no longer held Taziar. "But you had better have something important to say."