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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

“THIS MIGHT BE DANGEROUS FOR YOU, LITTLE COUSIN.”

“He’s not going to hurt me.”

“IT IS NOT OUR DEAR BELOVED THAT CONCERNS ME.”

“Please, take me with you. You know he’s still terrified of you, right? You might need me to reason with him.”

“I DO NOT BELIEVE HE IS AMENABLE TO BEING REASONED WITH.”

He lowered himself to the ground, black ink flowing out of the carapace of his back, enveloping him in less than a second, and then he disappeared, a slight whoosh of wind slightly pulling Kaveh into the wake of his cloaked body zipping San Bernardino–ward.

“No!” Cora cried. “Fuck!”

Kaveh stared at the blank space where Nikola had been, the sudden lack of darkness playing tricks with his eyes. He thought of the manila envelope, the ticking of the clock beating in his mind like a war drum. “I think it’s in God’s hands, so to speak.”

“No,” she said, grabbing the car keys to the Roadster off the key hook.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going, too. If you won’t let me take your car, fine. I’ll take a cab. I will fucking walk, but you can’t stop me.”

He stared at her, agog, feeling as if he were being torn in half, pulled on one side by his girlfriend and on the other by a manila envelope on the opposite side of the country.

She shouldn’t have kept the information about the dead CIA agents from him, but at the same time, there was no mechanism by which she could have safely told him about it, either. Besides, what she had done was nothing compared to what he had done. He’d given Nils incredibly privileged information that he himself had not understood, and done it so carelessly. And he’d done it just as much to spite Kaplan as to protect himself and Cora from Nils’s blackmail. All she’d done was keep quiet as she had been told to do. He’d done the opposite, and his indiscretion might be the cause of all of this.

You don’t know it was Nils, the placating internal monologue assured him. Julian has resources. You don’t know it was Nils who caused this.

But deep in his heart of hearts, in his soul of souls, he knew it was.

“I know I can’t stop you,” he said. “I’m not going to try to. I’m going with you.”

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52

“I think I see movement.”