Chapters (52)
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Acknowledgments
- Read More from the Market of Monsters Series
- More Books from HMH Teen
- About the Author
- Connect with HMH on Social Media
Nita shifted uncomfortably, and Kovit cleared his throat. “Anyway. I had to stop and just savor it. It was so good. I wanted to bring him home, to keep him forever because someone who can’t scream, can’t move, can’t escape . . .”
It would be a zannie’s dream, Nita thought, trying not to show that the idea made her ill.
“So Pat, she looked at me. And she asked, ‘Are you hungry?’ I said I was, and she tucked me against the side of the building while she went for help. She wasn’t supposed to leave me alone or let me eat while I was in public, but she made sure I was safe and just let me absorb it all.”
He sighed gently. “Of course, she called for an ambulance, and it ended eventually when they took him away. But I didn’t begrudge her, I knew she was like that. I think that was a good day for both of us. My sister, she’s always liked helping people. I think it made her feel good to save that man and to give me something I wanted at the same time.”
Nita was silent for a long moment. She didn’t have any idea where to start in parsing what this story said about either sibling. So she finally settled on “It sounds like a good memory.”
“It is.” He met her eyes. “She was always good to me. Even though I scared her. Even though I think she was too good a person for the family she was in. She was my world as a child. I’d have done anything for her.” Kovit took a long, deep breath. “And she did do everything she could to save me when INHUP finally arrived.”
He straightened and squared his shoulders. “Let’s do it.”
Nita blinked. “Do what?”
“Contact her.” His mouth was firm, and his voice was calm. “I’m not ready to die yet. I may be evil, I may deserve what INHUP plans to do to me, but I don’t care. I want to live. It’s stupid to reject this path. We need to try every option.”
Nita hesitated, and then rose and went to him. “Are you sure?”
His gaze was steady. “I’m sure. Contact her.”
Three
OF COURSE, it wasn’t that easy to call immediately. Nita didn’t want to use her phone in case everything went wrong and they managed to trace her number. Which meant she needed a burner phone.
“I’ll go get the burner phone.” Kovit rose. “I could use the fresh air.”
Nita looked at his bloody hands and raised her eyebrows. “You’re going to go out like that?”
He blinked, as if just noticing the gore. “Good point.”
She followed him down the hall to the small white bathroom. The water turned pink when it touched his hands, wiping away all evidence of what he’d done.