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Back The Drowned Cities Save as PDF
Chapters (53)
  1. Welcome
  2. Dedication
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. PART TWO
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  52. Contents
  53. Copyright

The half-man continued to feed, tearing and gulping. But there was something else there, too… the way the monster crouched over its kill, victorious, dining on the heart of its enemy…

“Ritual,” the doctor murmured.

The monster looked up, gore dripping from its muzzle. The yellow dog eye fixed on him. “We are nourished by victory, Doctor. Life’s blood, from the beating hearts of our foes. Our enemy fortifies us. The more enemies we have, the more we feed. And the stronger we become.”

“And you never stop fighting,” Mahlia whispered.

The monster smiled, all razor teeth and bloody humor. “Conquest feeds itself, girl.” It gulped down the last of the alligator’s heart. “We welcome our enemies, as we welcome life.”

The half-man seemed about to say more, but instead it froze. Its ears pricked up. The monster sniffed the air, broad nostrils flaring. Its ears spread out wider, then snapped back, close to its huge pit-bull skull.

“My name is Tool,” it said. “It seems that your enemies have found something to feed upon as well.”

18

“WHAT ENEMIES?” MAHLIA ASKED.

“I smell a great deal of smoke. Wood. Plastics.” Tool’s nostrils flared. “Flesh. A town is dying.”

“They’re burning Banyan?” the doctor demanded.

Tool was quiet, his ears twitching, listening to things beyond Mahlia’s senses. “People are fleeing—”

Gunfire echoed over the jungle, something even she could hear, despite the distance. Startled ravens and magpies filled the air. Flocks of sparrows rose and swirled overhead. More gunfire. Mahlia exchanged worried glances with Mouse and the doctor.

The half-man was still listening and sniffing the wind. “Our mutual enemies seem to have tired of their failures.”

“So they’re going after the town?”

The doctor was starting to grab his medical tools, throwing them into his hospital bag. “We have to help. Quickly! They’ll need us.”

As Mahlia gathered the last of the much-reduced supplies and handed them to the doctor, she noticed her hand trembling. She remembered other villages where soldiers had swept through, recruiting and burning. Remembered picking her way through blackened homes, with nothing but skinny dogs and coywolv flickering in the shadows.

“Doc?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we be running instead?”

Tool laughed, a low rumbling sound. “The girl shows wisdom. Better to run and live than walk into a tornado.”

The doctor glared at Mahlia and she shrank from his gaze. “You caused this,” he said. “Violence feeding violence. I’ve told you again and again and again, but still you never listen. You loose coywolv on soldiers and now the soldiers burn Banyan Town. Tit for tat until the whole world dies.”

Smoke was starting to blow over them. Acrid scents of the world on fire that even Mahlia could smell.

“Why are you mad at me? I’m not the one burning the town!”

Doctor Mahfouz snapped his bag closed and looked up at Mahlia. “Are you coming or not?”