Read Online Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Free Book Online

Growing up, she’d found it almost impossible to have friends; the need for lies always got in the way. It had been even worse then because she’d lived in the shop—forget about having a friend over to play! She would exit the portal in Manhattan each morning for school, followed by her lessons in karate and aikido, and go back to it each evening.
    It was a boarded-up door of an abandoned building in the East Village, and when Karou was in fifth grade a friend named Belinda had seen her go in and had come to the conclusion that she was homeless. Word got around, parents and teachers got involved, and Karou, unable to produce Esther, her fake grandmother, on short notice, was taken into DHS custody. She was put into a group home, from which she escaped the first night, never to be seen again. After that: a new school in Hong Kong and extra caution that no one saw her using the portal. That meant more lies and secrecy, and no possibility of real friends.
    She was old enough now that there was no risk of social services sniffing around, but as for friends, that was still a tightrope. Zuzana was the best friend she’d ever had, and she didn’t want to lose her.
    She sighed. “I’m sorry about this week. It’s been crazy. It’s work—”
    “Work? Since when do you work ?”
    “I work. What do you think I live on, rainwater and daydreams?”
    She’d hoped to make Zuzana smile, but her friend just squinted at her. “How would I know what you live on, Karou? How long have we been friends, and you’ve never mentioned a job or a family or anything—”
    Ignoring the “family or anything” part, Karou replied, “Well, it’s not exactly a job . I just run errands for this guy. Make pickups, meet with people.”
    “What, like a drug dealer?”
    “Come on, Zuze, really? He’s a… collector, I guess.”
    “Oh? What does he collect?”
    “Just stuff. Who cares?”
    “I care. I’m interested. It just sounds weird , Karou. You’re not mixed up in something weird, are you?”
    Oh no, thought Karou. Not at all. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I really can’t talk about it. It’s not my business, it’s his.”
    “Fine. Whatever.” Zuzana spun on one platform heel and walked out into the rain.
    “Wait!” Karou called after her. She wanted to talk about it. She wanted to tell Zuzana everything, to complain about her crappy week—the elephant tusks, the nightmarish animal market, how Brimstone only paid her in stupid shings, and the creepy banging on the other door. She could put it in her sketchbook, and that was something, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to talk .
    It was out of the question, of course. “Can we please go to Poison?” she asked, her voice coming out small and tired. Zuzana looked back and saw the expression that Karou sometimes got when she thought no one was watching. It was sadness, lostness , and the worst thing about it was the way it seemed like a default—like it was there all the time, and all her other expressions were just an array of masks she used to cover it up.
    Zuzana relented. “Fine. Okay. I’m dying for some goulash. Get it? Dying. Ha ha.”
    The poisoned goulash; it was an old groaner between them, and Karou knew everything was okay. For now. But what about next time?
    They set out, umbrella-less and huddled together, hurrying through the drizzle.
    “You should know,” Zuzana said, “Jackass has been hanging around Poison. I think he’s lying in wait for you.”
    Karou groaned. “Great.” Kaz had been calling and texting, and she had been ignoring him.
    “We could go somewhere else—”
    “No. I’m not letting that rodent-loaf have Poison. Poison’s ours.”
    “Rodent-loaf?” repeated Zuzana.
    It was a favorite insult of Issa’s, and made sense in the context of the serpent-woman’s diet, which consisted mainly of small furry creatures. Karou said, “Yes. Loaf of rodent. Ground mouse-meat with bread crumbs and ketchup—”
    “Ugh. Stop.”
    “Or