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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

She placed a hand to her stomach, and her expression curdled like she was going to be sick. “He skewered me, ripped my guts out. No, I’m not exaggerating, that’s what happened. It happened, that happened. But then it looked like— I thought— Obelus’s own subordinates killed him—”

“Are those the three he mentioned are here, somewhere on Earth, looking for Obelus, too?”

She nodded. “Ampersand kept me alive. And I disappeared for two weeks.”

“I heard about that,” said Kaveh. “Nils thought that you were being held at a CIA black site or something.”

“No, it took him two weeks to repair the damage. I don’t remember any of it. I know Obelus severed my intestines, large intestine in particular. I got sepsis, blood poisoning. Ampersand’s very good at repairing bodies. Human bodies. But I don’t have any scars, and no way to prove what happened. If you saw . . .” She grabbed her stomach tighter. “There’s no scarring. You wouldn’t believe me.”

“After all I’ve seen, I think I would,” he said.

“I almost died. I think I did die. I think I was dead.” Her hands were trembling, her whole body was trembling. “I’m sorry for telling you all this.”

He gently took the savaged sourdough from her hand, placing it on a bread plate. “Don’t be sorry.”

“I’ve never told anyone what happened.”

“Really?”

“The only other person who knows is Ampersand, and only because he was there. He saw it, he undid the damage. But no one else, no human. He doesn’t get it, he doesn’t understand because . . . they aren’t . . . their bodies aren’t theirs, you know what I mean? Humans are attached to our bodies for our entire lives, amygdalines are not.”

He slid his hand on top of hers, gave it a light squeeze. “Thank you for telling me.”

“It’ll make a good story.”

“It would make a very interesting story, but it isn’t mine to tell.”

She looked at him like he was going to reveal himself at any moment to be a spy for the Soviets. How do I make you believe that I truly, genuinely don’t want to hurt you? he thought. He grazed the tips of his fingers over her palm.