Read Online Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey - Free Book Online
Authors: Richard Kadrey
Tags: Science-Fiction
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didn't ever talk much after that. I think I broke some kind of sacred bond I didn't even know was supposed to be there. It was his own fault. He took me to see Journey into Fear . The old man had James Dean, but on my planet, Orson Welles was the man."
"I've heard of him. Tell me more."
" Citizen Kane 's still the greatest movie ever. People don't even know that it's a pure special effects flick. It all looks so real, so natural. But there's also Journey into Fear . Most people haven't even heard of that one. Welles directed it, but the studio fucked him and he didn't get credit. He plays a Turkish cop. He looked ten feet tall. I wanted him to be my father and I wanted to be him at the same time." Spyder sat up and fumbled in his pockets for a cigarette. The wine had left him lightheaded, but happily so. He found half a pack of American Spirits and lit one. Shrike held out two fingers in a V shape. Spyder placed the cigarette there. She took a drag and handed it back to him.
"He was just a little older than me and had already made the greatest movie ever, and was instantly washed up," Spyder said. "I always wanted to do something like Welles."
"Be washed up at an early age?"
"No, dummy. Do something great. Something permanent. Even if it was just a new tattoo style. Something that would tag some little part of the universe so that I could say, 'I did that.' That's mine."
"And here you are, huddled in a warehouse with a blind stranger surrounded by snoring winos."
Spyder brushed stray hairs from Shrike's face. "I'm not complaining."
"What's it been, two minutes?"
"Thank you for pointing that out, princess. Okay, I told you my shameful film-geek secret. Tell me yours."
"You already guessed it. I'm a princess."
"Like with a crown or did your daddy just dote on you?"
"Both. I even had my own castle. Well, a wing of my father's. Before it all came down around us."
"Let me guess: the bastard lover?"
She nodded. "He was a general in my father's army. Unfortunately, we were in a period of prolonged peace. Without anything to conquer, some generals can grow restless. When he wasn't screwing the king's daughter, he was studying magic with the most powerful wizards he could bribe or blackmail. He studied hard enough that he became a powerful wizard himself. Powerful enough to depose my father, throw my lands into chaos and make himself king."
"Damn. He's still running things?"
"No. He went completely mad. Some of his senior officers were still sane enough to see this. They banded together and killed him, burning his body and scattering his ashes in three different oceans."
"Why didn't you go home?"
Shrike frowned. "He still has potent allies in power. And I don't even have a business partner, much less an army." Shrike held out her hand and Spyder again placed the cigarette in her fingers. She smoked quietly. "I didn't intend to tell you because I thought you'd laugh at a princess caught up in a nasty little fairy tale."
"How does the fairy tale come out?"
"The princess dies," said Shrike, handing the cigarette back to Spyder. "If the story goes on long enough, that's how they all end. It's what happens in between that matters."
"I never kissed a princess before."
"You think you're going to kiss one now?"
"Pretend I'm a ten-foot-tall Turkish cop. That's your type, right?"
Shrike laughed and when Spyder leaned down to her, she didn't pull away. Spyder felt her hand in his hair and she kissed him back hard, as if she hadn't kissed anyone in a long time and had missed it. She rolled on top of him, grinding her crotch into his as they tasted each other's mouths. Spyder slipped his hands under her shirt, sliding over smooth skin and hard muscle, to cup her small breasts. Whatever cord or clasp was holding Shrike's hair back came undone. Her hair fell in fat dreads and braids halfway down her back and brushed Spyder's cheeks. Mostly black, her hair was streaked purple, crimson, yellow and grasshopper green. Spyder
"I've heard of him. Tell me more."
" Citizen Kane 's still the greatest movie ever. People don't even know that it's a pure special effects flick. It all looks so real, so natural. But there's also Journey into Fear . Most people haven't even heard of that one. Welles directed it, but the studio fucked him and he didn't get credit. He plays a Turkish cop. He looked ten feet tall. I wanted him to be my father and I wanted to be him at the same time." Spyder sat up and fumbled in his pockets for a cigarette. The wine had left him lightheaded, but happily so. He found half a pack of American Spirits and lit one. Shrike held out two fingers in a V shape. Spyder placed the cigarette there. She took a drag and handed it back to him.
"He was just a little older than me and had already made the greatest movie ever, and was instantly washed up," Spyder said. "I always wanted to do something like Welles."
"Be washed up at an early age?"
"No, dummy. Do something great. Something permanent. Even if it was just a new tattoo style. Something that would tag some little part of the universe so that I could say, 'I did that.' That's mine."
"And here you are, huddled in a warehouse with a blind stranger surrounded by snoring winos."
Spyder brushed stray hairs from Shrike's face. "I'm not complaining."
"What's it been, two minutes?"
"Thank you for pointing that out, princess. Okay, I told you my shameful film-geek secret. Tell me yours."
"You already guessed it. I'm a princess."
"Like with a crown or did your daddy just dote on you?"
"Both. I even had my own castle. Well, a wing of my father's. Before it all came down around us."
"Let me guess: the bastard lover?"
She nodded. "He was a general in my father's army. Unfortunately, we were in a period of prolonged peace. Without anything to conquer, some generals can grow restless. When he wasn't screwing the king's daughter, he was studying magic with the most powerful wizards he could bribe or blackmail. He studied hard enough that he became a powerful wizard himself. Powerful enough to depose my father, throw my lands into chaos and make himself king."
"Damn. He's still running things?"
"No. He went completely mad. Some of his senior officers were still sane enough to see this. They banded together and killed him, burning his body and scattering his ashes in three different oceans."
"Why didn't you go home?"
Shrike frowned. "He still has potent allies in power. And I don't even have a business partner, much less an army." Shrike held out her hand and Spyder again placed the cigarette in her fingers. She smoked quietly. "I didn't intend to tell you because I thought you'd laugh at a princess caught up in a nasty little fairy tale."
"How does the fairy tale come out?"
"The princess dies," said Shrike, handing the cigarette back to Spyder. "If the story goes on long enough, that's how they all end. It's what happens in between that matters."
"I never kissed a princess before."
"You think you're going to kiss one now?"
"Pretend I'm a ten-foot-tall Turkish cop. That's your type, right?"
Shrike laughed and when Spyder leaned down to her, she didn't pull away. Spyder felt her hand in his hair and she kissed him back hard, as if she hadn't kissed anyone in a long time and had missed it. She rolled on top of him, grinding her crotch into his as they tasted each other's mouths. Spyder slipped his hands under her shirt, sliding over smooth skin and hard muscle, to cup her small breasts. Whatever cord or clasp was holding Shrike's hair back came undone. Her hair fell in fat dreads and braids halfway down her back and brushed Spyder's cheeks. Mostly black, her hair was streaked purple, crimson, yellow and grasshopper green. Spyder
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