City of the Dead by James Patterson

Author:James Patterson [Patterson, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2021-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 36

I can’t go right to Langford, not after what I’ve learned.

If she really is planning a coup against the rest of the Council, I can’t stand the thought of letting her think I’m still her little pet. I might flat-out be stupid sometimes, but I’d still have a hard time pretending to be that dumb. I need to clear my head, so I aim for my apartment balcony, the cool fog of the evening beginning to settle. The glass doors slide open as I land, Max and Fang coming out to greet me. I’m surprised, and stumble a little on the landing, bringing a blush to my cheeks.

“That was fast,” I say. “Langford sent for you?”

“Yes,” Max nods, ruffling Ridley’s chest feathers, while my falcon nuzzles her fingers. What a traitor.

“Langford said that the situation here in the city between the populace and the hybrids was out of control,” Fang explains, leaning against the balcony railing and airing his wings. “She said you weren’t up to the task of keeping any kind of peace between them.”

“Well, I can tell you a few not-so-nice things about her, too,” I say, walking into my apartment and kicking off my shoes. “Where should I start?”

“How about with where you’ve been and why you’re bleeding?” Max says, grabbing my wrist.

“That’s a longer story,” I tell her. “You should both sit down. And where the hell are Calypso and Rain?”

“I moved them over to our apartment, so that the three of us could talk,” Max says easily.

“You’ve got your own rooms here?” I ask, embarrassed that I didn’t know. Of course, Max and Fang have a room. They’ve probably got a suite just as nice as Langford’s, because they’re everyone’s favorite hybrid couple.

They settle on the couch, and Ridley comes to my shoulder, nudging my ear as I stroke her neck. “There’s a colony of hybrids in the forest,” I begin. “Calypso and I discovered them after Langford put me in charge of figuring out what lived there. They aren’t exactly the nicest hybrids I’ve ever met, and a few of them are hard to look at.”

“What kind of hybrids are they?” Max asks.

“Reptiles,” I tell her. “Chammy is a chameleon, Gila is a lizard, and Tut is a turtle. But there’s also a fish girl, and a crocodile.” I shudder, remembering the crocodile and the screams from the forest, as it took humans out at the ankles.

Max turns to Fang, her eyebrows furrowed. “Almost makes you wonder if those old rumors about alligators in the sewer system were actually true.”

“Probably,” I say. “Langford and her team dumped them down drains.”

“Wait,” Max says. “Her team?”

I nod. “She was one of the scientists working here in the City of the Dead to create hybrids. When the plug was pulled on their lab, they did away with the specimens in the easiest way possible. Now their children want revenge for what happened to their families.”

“Revenge,” Fang repeats, his eyes darkening. “How many of them are there?”

“Maybe two hundred, total,” I say.

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