Читать книгу The Gargoyle Overhead - Philippa Dowding - Страница 13

Ambergine:

Among University Students

The little gargoyle shook her wings...

They were heavy and tired. She huddled deep into the marble wall behind the soldier from a long-ago war. She was looking out over another busy street, but far from the water now. She had looked for days in the houses and backyards and gardens around the angel but found nothing. The statues she had found to hide her this time were in the middle of a large university. It was a group of soldiers and angels, some with wings like hers, or with guns or swords. She liked the students walking below her: they all looked busy and had much to say.

Tonight she was going to search along the road called Queen Street, where she knew there was a store called the Golden Nautilus. She had already seen it from overhead, and it looked like the kind of place that had gargoyles.

She yawned. She would have to get ready to fly soon. Night was coming.

If Ambergine had peeked out from her hiding place, she might have noticed an old man standing at the foot of the soldier statue she was hiding in. But it’s just as well that she didn’t.

He was wearing thick glasses, a white straw hat, and a big baggy brown jacket. He was looking straight up, right at her hiding spot, as if he were waiting for something. The setting sun shining right into his eyes didn’t seem to bother him one bit.