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Chapters (62)
  1. Dedication
  2. Contents
  3. Part 1
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-one
  25. Part 2
  26. Chapter Twenty-two
  27. Chapter Twenty-three
  28. Chapter Twenty-four
  29. Chapter Twenty-five
  30. Chapter Twenty-six
  31. Chapter Twenty-seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-one
  36. Chapter Thirty-two
  37. Chapter Thirty-three
  38. Chapter Thirty-four
  39. Chapter Thirty-five
  40. Chapter Thirty-six
  41. Chapter Thirty-seven
  42. Part 3
  43. Chapter Thirty-eight
  44. Chapter Thirty-nine
  45. Chapter Forty
  46. Chapter Forty-one
  47. Chapter Forty-two
  48. Chapter Forty-three
  49. Chapter Forty-four
  50. Chapter Forty-five
  51. Chapter Forty-six
  52. Chapter Forty-seven
  53. Chapter Forty-eight
  54. Chapter Forty-nine
  55. Chapter Fifty
  56. Chapter Fifty-one
  57. Acknowledgments
  58. About the Author
  59. Back Ad
  60. Credits
  61. Copyright
  62. About the Publisher

“One each of the surviving Partial models,” said Kira.

“Exactly.”

“That sounds like he’s collecting DNA,” said Kira. “And no one’s ever talked to him? The Ivies didn’t say anything about him?”

“Just that he needed their blood,” said Green. “And then they told us he’d left to find more.”

Kira’s heart sank. “Don’t say he went south.”

“Where else?” asked Green. “They told us he had all the Partial blood he needed, and it was time to visit the humans.”

“He’s going to hunt humans now? Why does he need their DNA?”

“Why does he need anybody’s?” asked Green, his calm exterior cracking with fear and frustration. “He’s a psychopath with a blood fetish, and an army of super Partials to back him up.”

“We have to stop him,” said Kira, but her words froze in her throat when she heard a loud, sharp click from somewhere below.

“That’s the door,” Green whispered. “They’re here.”

Chapter Twenty-four

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Kira looked to Green with wide eyes.

FEAR.

“Come out,” a voice called from downstairs. “We only want to talk.”

“What do we do?” Kira whispered.

“They’ll be armed,” said Green. “And probably wearing body armor.”

Kira nodded, remembering the fight in Chicago. “They’ll link you and know we’re up here. Is it worth trying to fight?”

“If they wanted you dead, they would have killed you already.”

“Or they’ll kill me after they interrogate me,” said Kira. “With the Blood Man gone, they have no reason to keep us alive.”

“That we know of,” said Green. “They haven’t killed me yet.”

“So you’re just waiting until they do?”

“Don’t make us look for you,” said another voice. “You know that only makes us angry.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Green hissed. “Even if we can overpower multiple armed soldiers, what then? For all we know, this whole lake is crawling with them—there could be hundreds more just under the water.”

A stair creaked, loud and haunting. They’re coming up to find us, Kira thought. We’re running out of time and they’ll have guns and—

“Wait,” said Kira. “You said they’re armed, right?” She thought back to the soldiers in Chicago, who’d been carrying both tranquilizer darts and standard assault rifles. “The Ivies might be fine underwater, but their guns aren’t. Normal firearms can’t fire when wet.”

“We had waterproof rifles in our armory in the Isolation War,” said Green.

“Have you seen any since then?”

“Maybe these guys have them all.”

“Or maybe those weapons are too rare, and the Ivies are carrying the same thing as everybody else.” Kira grabbed his shoulder, whispering urgently in his ear. “They have to store them on land, and they’ve got to transport them somehow.”