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Chapters (79)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Forty-Three
  47. Forty-Four
  48. Forty-Five
  49. Forty-Six
  50. Forty-Seven
  51. Forty-Eight
  52. Forty-Nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty-One
  55. Fifty-Two
  56. Fifty-Three
  57. Fifty-Four
  58. Fifty-Five
  59. Fifty-Six
  60. Fifty-Seven
  61. Fifty-Eight
  62. Fifty-Nine
  63. Sixty
  64. Sixty-One
  65. Sixty-Two
  66. Sixty-Three
  67. Sixty-Four
  68. Sixty-Five
  69. Sixty-Six
  70. Sixty-Seven
  71. Sixty-Eight
  72. Sixty-Nine
  73. Seventy
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. Praise for Destroy All Monsters
  77. Books by Sam J. Miller
  78. Back Ad
  79. About the Publisher

“With no word yet on her whereabouts—and in light of recent violent incidents all over the city—the Darkside Police Department has been conducting raids on known othersider gathering places.” Ms. Jackson sounded as unhappy as we were, about this abuse of authority. “Queen Carmen has so far not responded to Commissioner Bahrr’s call for a sunset curfew on all othersiders, and while the police department has no power to take a step like that without royal approval, the commissioner maintains that the city charter does grant him full authority to ask all uniformed officers to conduct random stops of Darkside citizens, and detain any othersiders for further questioning—”

Ash switched the radio off.

“He can’t do that,” I whispered.

“He’s doing it,” she said. “He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time, and the Shield finally handed it to him. If I hadn’t—”

“Stop saying that this is your fault,” I said. “This city was full of hate and fear long before the Night of Red Diamonds.”

She did not look convinced.

“We have to get in touch with your mother,” I said.

Fifty-Five

Ash

After the fifth time I nodded off, standing there in the darkroom with my fingers in the tray of stop bath, I decided I needed a nap. Solomon said that sounded like a great idea. We went up to my room, spooned together on the bed. I set my alarm for two hours.

What I needed was some good deep empty dreamless sleep, but as soon as I shut my eyes I was . . . somewhere else.

I was not in my bedroom. Not in Hudson.

Solomon and I still lay together. His forehead was still pressed into the back of my neck. But we were in a weird little hut that smelled like sweet milk tea. And there were birds calling outside that sounded like no birds I’d ever heard.

I got up and went to the window. Thinking I was ready for what I would see.

I was not ready.

Not for the massive bridge that arced overhead, a hundred times bigger than any bridge in the real world. Not for the old woman pushing a shopping cart, accompanied by a velociraptor. And not for the little kids practicing magic, summoning up images of monsters.

The other side. Where I was the Refugee Princess.

And it wasn’t just the world around me that was different. I was different too. I felt it inside. Some of it felt like weird fuzziness, as if I was drugged or half asleep.

Some of it felt . . . amazing. My arms tingled.

And I could see things. Whatever I wanted to see.

The Truth, even.

I lay back down beside Solomon. Still asleep, he wrapped his arms around me again. I shut my eyes to breathe in the smell of him. Of this moment.

I cannot keep you safe, I thought.

Fifty-Six

Solomon