BooksBarbecue
Back Truth of the Divine Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Also By Lindsay Ellis and Available From Titan Books
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Part 1: It’s A Fool Who Plays It Cool
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. Part 2: Love Has A Nasty Habit Of Disappearing Overnight
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. Part 3: A Crowd Of People Stood And Stared
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. Part 4: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. A Fiction Agreed Upon
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. About the Author

The creature kept staring at him with his demon eyes, straight out of hell. He wasn’t blocking the entrance anymore, so, clueless as to what else he could do and obviously not welcome in here, Kaveh darted to the exit, surprised to have made it out alive for the second time that day. Taking a moment to confirm that, yes, he had not been turned into man-vapor, he ran back up the hill to his Land Rover, not stopping, taking in loud, ugly gulps of air by the time he made it back to the car.

Once inside, he slammed the car door shut, wondering if he actually had made it out, if the creature was really going to let him leave. He put the key in the ignition, turned it, and then he started laughing and did not stop for several minutes.

17

Image

17

“I’m an asshooooyooyoyoooyoyooole.”

Denis Leary’s voice jerked Cora back into wakefulness as it piped from her cell phone, not more than an hour after she’d finally fallen asleep. She flipped the phone open, rolling over onto her back. “Sol?”

“Where the hell are you?” demanded Sol from the other end of the line. It took a few more seconds after that for her to realize she was not alone in the room.

“I . . . I’m still in Temecula.”

It was so surreal, so unexpected, but Ampersand was standing right next to the bed, sunlight reflecting off his amber eyes illuminated by the sun and staring down at her. He looked pissed.

“What the fuck?” said Sol. “Where in Temecula?”

“Pechanga.”

“Your hostage. He was freed. He had your earbud.”

She could practically hear Sol rubbing his face with his hand. “Why haven’t you called me? Why was your phone off?”

“It wasn’t off, it was dead!” Ampersand leaned in, and she backed away. “I didn’t know what else to do, so I just stayed here.”

“Why was he freed? How did he get the earbud?”

She swatted at Ampersand like he was a mosquito, begging him, willing him, Please shut up!

“Why aren’t you here?” demanded Sol.

“It’s Saturday!”

“Yeah, it’s just a normal fucking Saturday, no reason to come in, huh?” He sighed. “I’m coming to get you.”

“No, it’s okay.” She had by now backed herself to the edge of the bed and was almost on the bedside table.

“No, it’s not okay. We need you in here.”

“No, you don’t,” said Cora, her voice heavy with exhaustion, bitter about the sleep she knew she was not going to get. “He doesn’t have anything to say to you, and I’ll just be in the way. I’ll call you later. Please, please just let me sleep. I’m so tired.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I tried!” She was on the verge of tears. “I don’t know why it wasn’t working! Please, just let me sleep.”