Read Online Blood Moon by Jackie French - Free Book Online
Authors: Jackie French
Tags: General, Juvenile Fiction
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and making friends with the future leaders of the City. Eleanor was no fool.
She smiled at me. ‘No, I’m no fool,’ she said.
I blinked. She laughed delightedly. ‘I read it in your face. And in your smell. Another something from the wolf genes. Often you can tell as much from someone’s smell as from their words—hate, love, fear, envy, admiration. A lot of the scent clues are lost in Virtual of course—the receptors are sensitive enough to satisfy human noses. Not nearly enough for a wolf. A pity—scent is useful. It helps to be able to read your opponent, without them realising what you’ve done. But you and I aren’t opponents, are we?’ She smiled. ‘Despite the fact that we are both dominant females, who like to be…will you be insulted if I say “top dog”?’
It was impossible not to smile back. ‘I’m not insulted.’
‘Then you’ll help us?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I’ll help.’
She stood up slowly. ‘Well then, if you’ll excuse me, I need a rest before dinner.’ She grinned. ‘There are drawbacks to having kids, no matter what I said earlier. Pregnancy is one of them. I’ll get someone to show you to your room.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’ll see you at dinner then. It’s in the living room at seven.’ I heard the unspoken word ‘promptly’. ‘And breakfast is at 6 a.m. in the kitchen.’
‘6 a.m.!’
She laughed. ‘You can’t keep the cubs in bed once it’s light! I’d like to say politely, do sleep as long as you like. But the cubs make so much noise…’ She shrugged that not-quite-human shrug. ‘You know what children are like. Or perhaps you don’t. Well, you will by tomorrow lunch time.’
Her smile was really very charming. ‘I’ll see you soon. Perhaps you’d like a nap too. You’ll find we werewolves have the most comfortable beds.’
Chapter 11
T he curving staircase had been shaped as the Tree grew. Each stair was wide but almost imperceptibly uneven. I could see the veins of the Tree on either side, the grain of the wood, the striations that said this wood was still alive.
The Tree narrowed as I climbed. What had Eleanor said? The second branch…the first was a rounded hollow on my right, the low, brown corridor leading to three or four gaping shadows that must be rooms. Werewolves, I remembered, didn’t like doors.
The second branch seemed to be the last of the Engineered living space, as the stairs stopped there. I imagined the great height of the Tree above me, swaying above the valley.
I stepped along the corridor. No attempt had been made here to do more than make the floor roughly even. I had to be careful I didn’t trip on gnarls and twists of wood.
The first room…and yes, as Eleanor promised, it did have a door. It even had a doorhandle. Doors and handles for those with hands, I thought, and the floor below for paws…
Something—someone scurried behind me. I turned to see one of the cubs, Bonnie? No, Connie, scrambling up the stairs on all fours with her ball in her mouth. She stood up hurriedly and removed it. ‘Mummy said I was to show you to your room! But you found it!’
She grinned at me. I had to resist scratching her ears. Cubs were cuter than kids. ‘I found it,’ I agreed. ‘But thanks anyway.’
She raced down the stairs again, this time on two legs, throwing the ball into the air as she went. I wondered if she caught it with paws or mouth or both…
As I opened the door, I could hear the happy yelps of cubs playing catch below.
Chapter 12
W e ate in the cavernous living room, at the low table by the unnecessary fire. The room was still dim; neither the firelight nor the round, moon-like lamps above us seemed to do more than make the shadows darker as they danced about the walls. Wolves, I assumed, had better night vision than human beings. Or maybe they liked the leaping shadows.
Dinner was meat, as Yorik had promised. A giant haunch of roasted venison, dripping bloody juices onto its platter, with potatoes
She smiled at me. ‘No, I’m no fool,’ she said.
I blinked. She laughed delightedly. ‘I read it in your face. And in your smell. Another something from the wolf genes. Often you can tell as much from someone’s smell as from their words—hate, love, fear, envy, admiration. A lot of the scent clues are lost in Virtual of course—the receptors are sensitive enough to satisfy human noses. Not nearly enough for a wolf. A pity—scent is useful. It helps to be able to read your opponent, without them realising what you’ve done. But you and I aren’t opponents, are we?’ She smiled. ‘Despite the fact that we are both dominant females, who like to be…will you be insulted if I say “top dog”?’
It was impossible not to smile back. ‘I’m not insulted.’
‘Then you’ll help us?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I’ll help.’
She stood up slowly. ‘Well then, if you’ll excuse me, I need a rest before dinner.’ She grinned. ‘There are drawbacks to having kids, no matter what I said earlier. Pregnancy is one of them. I’ll get someone to show you to your room.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’ll see you at dinner then. It’s in the living room at seven.’ I heard the unspoken word ‘promptly’. ‘And breakfast is at 6 a.m. in the kitchen.’
‘6 a.m.!’
She laughed. ‘You can’t keep the cubs in bed once it’s light! I’d like to say politely, do sleep as long as you like. But the cubs make so much noise…’ She shrugged that not-quite-human shrug. ‘You know what children are like. Or perhaps you don’t. Well, you will by tomorrow lunch time.’
Her smile was really very charming. ‘I’ll see you soon. Perhaps you’d like a nap too. You’ll find we werewolves have the most comfortable beds.’
Chapter 11
T he curving staircase had been shaped as the Tree grew. Each stair was wide but almost imperceptibly uneven. I could see the veins of the Tree on either side, the grain of the wood, the striations that said this wood was still alive.
The Tree narrowed as I climbed. What had Eleanor said? The second branch…the first was a rounded hollow on my right, the low, brown corridor leading to three or four gaping shadows that must be rooms. Werewolves, I remembered, didn’t like doors.
The second branch seemed to be the last of the Engineered living space, as the stairs stopped there. I imagined the great height of the Tree above me, swaying above the valley.
I stepped along the corridor. No attempt had been made here to do more than make the floor roughly even. I had to be careful I didn’t trip on gnarls and twists of wood.
The first room…and yes, as Eleanor promised, it did have a door. It even had a doorhandle. Doors and handles for those with hands, I thought, and the floor below for paws…
Something—someone scurried behind me. I turned to see one of the cubs, Bonnie? No, Connie, scrambling up the stairs on all fours with her ball in her mouth. She stood up hurriedly and removed it. ‘Mummy said I was to show you to your room! But you found it!’
She grinned at me. I had to resist scratching her ears. Cubs were cuter than kids. ‘I found it,’ I agreed. ‘But thanks anyway.’
She raced down the stairs again, this time on two legs, throwing the ball into the air as she went. I wondered if she caught it with paws or mouth or both…
As I opened the door, I could hear the happy yelps of cubs playing catch below.
Chapter 12
W e ate in the cavernous living room, at the low table by the unnecessary fire. The room was still dim; neither the firelight nor the round, moon-like lamps above us seemed to do more than make the shadows darker as they danced about the walls. Wolves, I assumed, had better night vision than human beings. Or maybe they liked the leaping shadows.
Dinner was meat, as Yorik had promised. A giant haunch of roasted venison, dripping bloody juices onto its platter, with potatoes
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