JК
Guilty Pleasures :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 42 из 205I stared at the new ratman, feeling tired and angry.
Dammit, it should have worked. The bad guys weren't allowed reinforcements when I was already outnumbered. This one's fur was black, jet absolute black. He wore a pair of jean cutoffs over his slightly bent legs. He motioned, smooth and out from his body.
I swallowed my heart, pulse thudding. My skin crawled with the memory of small bodies sliding over me. My hand throbbed where the rat had bitten me. They'd tear me apart. “Jean-Claude!”
The rats moved, a flowing brownish tide, away from the stairs. The rats ran squeaking and shrilling into the tunnel. All I could do was stare.
The giant rats hissed at him, gesturing with noses and paws at the fallen giant rat. “She was defending herself. What were you doing?” The ratman's voice was low and deep, slurred only around the edges. If I had closed my eyes, I might have said it was human.
I didn't close my eyes. The giant rats left, crouch-dragging their still unconscious friend. He wasn't dead, but he was hurt. One giant rat glanced up at me as the others vanished into the tunnel. Its empty black eye glared at me, promised me painful things if we ever met again.
The blond ratman had stopped writhing and was lying very still, panting, hands cradling himself. The new ratman said, “I told you never to come here.”
The first ratman struggled to sit up. The movement seemed to hurt. “The master called and I obeyed.”
“I am your king. You obey me.” The black-furred rat began to stride up the stairs, tail lashing angrily, almost catlike.
I stood and put the cell door at my back for the umpteenth time that night.
The hurt ratman said, “You are only our king until you die. If you stand against the master, that will be soon. She is powerful, more powerful than you.” His voice still sounded weak, thready, but he was recovering. Anger will do that to you.
The rat king leaped, a black blur in motion. He jerked the ratman off his feet, holding him with slightly bent elbows, feet dangling off the ground. He held him close to his face. “I am your king, and you will obey me or I will kill you.” Clawed hands dug into the blond ratman's throat, until he scrambled for air. The rat king tossed the ratman down the stairs. He fell tumbling and nearly boneless.
He glared up from the bottom in a painful, gasping heap. The hatred in his eyes would have lit a bonfire.
“Are you all right?” the new ratman asked.
It took me a minute to realize he was speaking to me. I nodded.
Dammit, it should have worked. The bad guys weren't allowed reinforcements when I was already outnumbered. This one's fur was black, jet absolute black. He wore a pair of jean cutoffs over his slightly bent legs. He motioned, smooth and out from his body.
I swallowed my heart, pulse thudding. My skin crawled with the memory of small bodies sliding over me. My hand throbbed where the rat had bitten me. They'd tear me apart. “Jean-Claude!”
The rats moved, a flowing brownish tide, away from the stairs. The rats ran squeaking and shrilling into the tunnel. All I could do was stare.
The giant rats hissed at him, gesturing with noses and paws at the fallen giant rat. “She was defending herself. What were you doing?” The ratman's voice was low and deep, slurred only around the edges. If I had closed my eyes, I might have said it was human.
I didn't close my eyes. The giant rats left, crouch-dragging their still unconscious friend. He wasn't dead, but he was hurt. One giant rat glanced up at me as the others vanished into the tunnel. Its empty black eye glared at me, promised me painful things if we ever met again.
The blond ratman had stopped writhing and was lying very still, panting, hands cradling himself. The new ratman said, “I told you never to come here.”
The first ratman struggled to sit up. The movement seemed to hurt. “The master called and I obeyed.”
“I am your king. You obey me.” The black-furred rat began to stride up the stairs, tail lashing angrily, almost catlike.
I stood and put the cell door at my back for the umpteenth time that night.
The hurt ratman said, “You are only our king until you die. If you stand against the master, that will be soon. She is powerful, more powerful than you.” His voice still sounded weak, thready, but he was recovering. Anger will do that to you.
The rat king leaped, a black blur in motion. He jerked the ratman off his feet, holding him with slightly bent elbows, feet dangling off the ground. He held him close to his face. “I am your king, and you will obey me or I will kill you.” Clawed hands dug into the blond ratman's throat, until he scrambled for air. The rat king tossed the ratman down the stairs. He fell tumbling and nearly boneless.
He glared up from the bottom in a painful, gasping heap. The hatred in his eyes would have lit a bonfire.
“Are you all right?” the new ratman asked.
It took me a minute to realize he was speaking to me. I nodded.