Bran’s heart was thumping in his chest as he pushed through a waist-high drift to his brothers’ side.
Half-buried in bloodstained snow, a huge dark shape slumped in death. Ice had formed in its shaggy grey fur, and the faint smell of corruption clung to it like a woman’s perfume. Bran glimpsed blind eyes crawling with maggots, a wide mouth full of yellowed teeth. But it was the size of it that made him gasp. It was bigger than his pony, twice the size of the largest hound in his father’s kennel.
“It’s no freak,” Jon said calmly. “That’s a direwolf. They grow larger than the other kind.”
Theon Greyjoy said, “There’s not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years.”
“I see one now,” Jon replied.
Bran tore his eyes away from the monster. That was when he noticed the bundle in Robb’s arms. He gave a cry of delight and moved closer. The pup was a tiny ball of grey-black fur, its eyes still closed. It nuzzled blindly against Robb’s chest as he cradled it, searching for milk among his leathers, making a sad little whimpery sound. Bran reached out hesitantly. “Go on,” Robb told him. “You can touch him.”
Maggot 蛆蟲
Kennel 狗屋
布蘭的心怦怦狂跳，他推開一堆及腰的漂浮物，奔至兄長身旁。
一個巨大的暗黝身形半掩在血漬斑駁的雪堆裡，綿軟而無生息。蓬鬆的灰絨毛已經結冰，腐朽的氣息緊附其間，就像女人身上的香水味，布蘭隱約瞥見它無神的眼窩裡爬滿蛆蟲，咧嘴內滿是黃牙。但真正嚇住他的是這隻狼的體形，它竟比他的小馬還大，是他父親最大的獵犬身軀的兩倍。
"我沒騙你，"瓊恩正色道，"這確實是冰原狼，他們比其他狼都要來得大。"
席恩·葛雷喬伊說："可兩百年來，絕境長城以南沒人見過半條冰原狼。"
"眼前不就是一條？"瓊恩回答。
布蘭努力將視線扯離面前的怪物，這才注意到羅柏懷裡抱著的東西。他高興得叫了一聲，隨即靠過去。那隻幼狼只是團灰黑的毛球，雙眼仍未張開。它盲目地往羅柏胸膛磨蹭，在他的皮護甲上尋找奶頭，發出哀傷的低吟。布蘭有些猶豫地探出手，"沒關係，"羅柏告訴他，"你可以摸摸看。"
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