Shadowrun - Novel - 18 - Worlds Without End.pdf

Recommendations

Info

Shadowrun Caroline Spector - Worlds Without End Last night I dreamt again of Ysrthgrathe. And when I awoke, the stench of death and corruption still lingered in the air. Through my bedroom window moonlight poured cold and blue. I rubbed my eyes, trying to convince myself that it had only been a dream. That the demons lurking in the shadowed comers were in my imagination. A conjuring of my mind only. I shoved the covers away, letting the night air 13 Caroline Specter send gooseflesh across my arms and down my legs. Here by the sea on the northern coast of Scotland the weather stays chill and damp all year long. It had never bothered me before. But tonight, I felt the cold straight to my bones. All the better to keep me awake, I thought. My feet shrank as they touched the cold bare floor. Grabbing my thick robe, I wrapped it tightly about me. It was made of real, heavy, woven cashmere fabric, not that horrid synth stuff they sell nowadays. I went downstairs and made myself some tea. It warmed my body, but I still felt chilled. I wanted to read, but I hated using the foul contraption Caimbeui had given me. The vidscreen gave me a headache and I could never bring myself to have cyberware implanted. Bodmod, cyberjunk, ticklewires—whatever they're calling them this week. Hadn't I done enough of that sort of thing to myself in the past? I shuddered as I thought about Ysrthgrathe. Too soon, I thought. It's too soon. But I knew it wasn't. The very thing I'd sought to prevent seemed to be happening. That is, if dreams could be trusted. I dumped the tea into the sink and went and pulled a bottle of scotch from the pantry and splashed a hefty portion into a tumbler. It burned going down and brought tears to my eyes. I suppose the elves in Tir na n6g would be offended at my traitorous choice of beverage, but frag them. I hadn't been on speaking terms with either Tir for quite some time. 14 WORLDS WITHOUT END But what to do about the dreams? Perhaps the shamans in NAN would be willing to listen. But then I remembered the dustup we'd had before the Great Ghost Dance. They hadn't been too happy to hear my predictions about the magical fallout from all the blood they'd planned to spill. Idiots. If only they'd listened. I suspected then Página 4
Shadowrun Caroline Spector - Worlds Without End that this would be the result. Like bees to honey, it would draw the creatures again. And we'd had no time to plan. To prepare. This time the monsters from the past would lay waste to the whole world. 15 Are you waiting/or me? Have you been waiting for me? Does your flesh crave my caress? Do you remember? Remember the centuries of pain and humiliation? Do you know how I have missed you? 1 The sound of his voice echoed inside me. I went to the thermostat and pushed it up. To hell with the regs about fuel waste, I thought. A century ago, Caimbeui had given me a Renoir. I liked to look at it when I felt like this. Afraid and lonely in the dark hours before dawn when the past spreads before me like a black spill of ink. I flicked my hand and the illusionary wall I'd created long ago vanished. It was a simple enough spell, though in the past few centuries there'd been little enough magic to go around. That was changing. The last few years—a human life span—just a drop to me—had seen such a burst of magical energy and growth. The Awakening, they called it on their ugly little trids. Oh, I know Dunkelzahn found this brave new world far too fascinating, but he'd 16 WORLDS WITHOUT END been dreaming for more than five thousand years. What would he know of it? He hadn't seen what the world had become. I stepped into my room. The walls were windowless and covered in heavy oak paneling. Artwork and bookcases covered every available space, crammed full of everything I found precious. Centered on the north wall was the Renoir. It was of a young woman and a little girl sitting on a balcony. The woman was wearing a brilliant red hat and she had a face of such sweetness that just looking at her almost hurt. I remembered when he'd painted it. A beautiful copy used to hang in the Chicago Art Institute, but I think it might have been destroyed during the riots in 2011. So much beauty was lost then. Here in my secret room I kept the relics of so many dead worlds. Of course dead worlds are all around us. They're just so much a part of our lives that we stop thinking about it. In London, fivehundred-year-old buildings snuggle next to glass columns built yesterday. Asphalt poured in nineteen- Página 5
Page 1 and 2: Foreword Shadowrun Caroline Spector
Page 3: Shadowrun Caroline Spector - Worlds
Page 7 and 8: Shadowrun Caroline Spector - Worlds
Page 13 and 14: "Not often." Shadowrun Caroline Spe
Page 19 and 20: 38 WORLDS WITHOUT END Shadowrun Car
Page 27 and 28: as patient as time itself? Shadowru
Page 33 and 34: ous mojo. Shadowrun Caroline Specto
Page 43 and 44: WORLDS WITHOUT END Shadowrun Caroli
Page 55 and 56:
Shadowrun Caroline Spector - Worlds
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
108 WORLDS WITHOUT END Shadowrun Ca
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
say. Shadowrun Caroline Spector - W
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
plied. Shadowrun Caroline Spector -
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
181 Caroline Spector "I hope you're
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
he said. Shadowrun Caroline Spector
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
"Aithne," I said. "Yes." Shadowrun
Page 123 and 124:
ed. Shadowrun Caroline Spector - Wo
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
able." "One can only hope." Shadowr
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145:
show all

Shadowrun - Novel - 18 - Worlds Without End.pdf

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?