The Spectre of Alexander Wolf Page 14

  “Never, do you hear? Never!”

  I ran, as if in a dream, along the corridor leading to her room. In the corner I saw Annie’s face, grey from fright, although I recalled this detail only later. Unconsciously, I think, I had already been holding the revolver in my hand for some time. Suddenly I heard the crash and clatter of broken glass; it was followed by a shot and a second cry that was devoid of any words, sounding more like convulsive intakes of breath: “Ah!… Ah!… Ah!…” I was already at the glass door, which was lying half-open; from the threshold I could see Yelena Nikolayevna standing by the window, and, half-turned towards her, the silhouette of a man who was also holding a revolver. Without raising my arm, almost without even taking aim (it would have been impossible to miss at that distance), I shot him twice in quick succession. He spun around, stiffened and then slumped down to the floor.

  I stood motionless for a few seconds, everything spinning in a haze before me. However, I did notice blood on Yelena Nikolayevna’s white dress: her left shoulder had been wounded. I learnt afterwards that, in defending herself, she had thrown a glass vase at her assailant almost at the same time as he pulled the trigger; this accounted for the deflection of his bullet.

  He was lying flat out on the floor, his arms spread wide; his head had fallen next to her foot. I took a step forward and leant over him. Time suddenly seemed to start swirling and disappearing, bearing away the long years of my life in this inconceivably rapid shift.

  There, staring back at me from the grey rug covering the floor of the room, were the dead eyes of Alexander Wolf.

  Also Available from Pushkin Press

  PUSHKIN PRESS

  Pushkin Press was founded in 1997. Having first rediscovered European classics of the twentieth century, Pushkin now publishes novels, essays, memoirs, children’s books, and everything from timeless classics to the urgent and contemporary. Pushkin Press books, like this one, represent exciting, high-quality writing from around the world. Pushkin publishes widely acclaimed, brilliant authors such as Stefan Zweig, Marcel Aymé, Antal Szerb, Paul Morand and Yasushi Inoue, as well as some of the most exciting contemporary and often prize-winning writers, including Andrés Neuman, Edith Pearlman and Ryu Murakami.

  Pushkin Press publishes the world’s best stories, to be read and read again.

  For more amazing stories, go to www.pushkinpress.com.

  Copyright

  Pushkin Press

  71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ

  Despite all efforts, the publisher has been unable to ascertain the owner of the rights to the original Russian text. We welcome any further information on the matter.

  English translation © Bryan Karetnyk 2013

  The Spectre of Alexander Wolf was originally published in 1947–48 as Prizrak Aleksandra Vol’fa in the Russian-language journal Novyi Zhurnal (The New Review), New York.

  This translation first published by Pushkin Press in 2013

  ISBN 978 1 782270 36 2

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from Pushkin Press

  www.pushkinpress.com