"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Chimera" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

wrist.

He woke her in the middle of the night, yowling and running through the house.
She sat up in bed, just as he vaulted across it. His hind paws caught her
right arm, scratching her so deep that she cried out in pain. But he didn't
seem to notice. He was running like a demented thing, screaming as he did so,
disappearing down the hall, and then coming back at full speed.

She turned on the bedside lamp and examined the scratch. It ran along her
forearm, deep and bleeding. The pain was just as deep and constant, but
nothing like the pain she had endured only a few months ago. She sighed, got
out of bed, and went into the bathroom to cleanse and seal the wound.

Cedric yowled past once more, his long brown hair trailing behind him. He ran
like a creature pursued by unseen demons. No wonder Anna kept him caged at
night. He would have disturbed the other animals tremendously.

But there was only Gen here, and she didn't mind having her sleep interrupted.
She had been dreaming of the accident anyway, like she always did, the moments
just before impact as she turned her head and saw the car careening down the
street. In her dreams, she would remind herself: Get Dar. Get Dar. But she
could never find him. And then the car would hit them anyway before skidding
to the side.

The dream was not how she remembered things. But then, dreams never were.

The pain in her arm had eased. She stepped out of the bathroom, and turned on
the hall light. Cedric skidded to a stop and then froze.

It was as if the muted hall light had the effect of a spotlight, illuminating
him and revealing him at the same time.

He looked terrified. The fur on his back stood on end, his tail was swollen,
and his eyes were enormous. She sat down on the carpet and held her hand out
to him.

His gaze went to the scratch on her arm. She glanced down at it, touched it
gingerly, and said, "It's all right. I medicated it."

His little body shivered, and his gaze came back to her face. Those were his
only movements. He remained frozen, crouched, protected, on the floor of the
hall.

She sat across from him, arm outstretched for a long time. Finally, he sighed
and stretched out on the brown carpet. Strange. Either her presence or the
light itself had calmed him. His breathing was even long before his eyes
closed.

She remained in position for a while, watching him sleep. Even now, he didn't
look like he was rested. He seemed like he would spring to his feet at the