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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

“Cora!” She heard Kaveh’s voice and ignored it. She followed the woman as quickly as she was able, and the woman moved quickly, quickly enough that she lost Kaveh.

The staffer led her to a part of the building that wasn’t open to the public, and Cora tore into the bathroom. She didn’t say anything else to the woman, jamming the doorstop under the door, then shoving a garbage can under the door handle for good measure. She was breathing heavy and fast now, her skin trying to escape from her body.

“Please, please, Ampersand, please! Please come back, please take me away from here! I’ll do anything, just please, take me away from this godfor-fucking-saken place!”

She fell backward into one of the two bathroom stalls, onto one of the toilets, slamming the old metal door and boxing herself in. She reached, tried to sense him, but her own emotions were too strong for her to sense anything. Could he feel her? Did he know what was going on, what had happened here?

Did he even care?

“Please,” she begged. At this point, she was just as much praying to God. “Please take me away from here, please, please.”

“WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO TAKE YOU AWAY, LITTLE COUSIN?”

She nearly shrieked, and half imagined she’d heard the voice. “Nik!” She tried to quiet her breathing, tried to calm down so she could see or hear anything. “Oh, please still be here. Please, tell me you haven’t left the planet.”

“I AM RIGHT HERE, LITTLE COUSIN.”

A shadow fell on the other side of the bathroom stall, and she tore open the metal door. There he was, in all his terrible, beautiful glory. His posture wasn’t erratic; his eyes were still clear and bright. Despite everything, he hadn’t been altering himself chemically. He hadn’t been “using.”

Cora stood up, breath still coming heavy and fast, spots beginning to form at the corners of her vision. “Please, take me away from here.”

He lowered his head to meet hers and wrapped his fingers around her, not quite touching her, enveloping her like a birdcage. “I have yet to locate our dear Beloved. Would you assist me in finding him?”

“Yes, I’ll do anything you want. Just please get me away from here!”

He examined her, perhaps the only being in the universe that didn’t see her as some sort of traitor. He pulled her close, and the sheet of his dark semiautonomous plating enveloped both of them.

April 19, 2008

The Washington Post

Search Underway for Missing Person Cora Sabino