Read Online Dog with a Bone by Hailey Edwards - Free Book Online Page B

A black mother púca and her litter huddled in their sleek rabbit forms. An emerald-haired mermaid sunned on a hollow rock, waiting on a tide that would never rise to carry her back out to the sea.
    We lost hours in that room, poring over what Shaw had dubbed humanity’s capacity for greed and cruelty. As fae, our hands were no less bloody. He and I were capable of committing worse acts.
    Already my palm itched in anticipation of the judgments to come while the darker aspect of my nature pondered how human souls tasted. Would they be as filling as the chimera? Would the flavor be as rich? The effects last as long before my own hunger began gnawing my gut, begging to be fed?
    Hesitating before a manticore, its human face twisted with rage on its lion’s body, its enormous batlike wings unfurled in flight, its scorpion stinger poised over its spine, I snapped one last picture.
    We were all monsters here.

Chapter Eleven
    D own the street from the warehouse, Shaw and I found a coffee shop to hole up in until we got a confirmation from the marshals on the ground in Odessa that the Richardsons were heading our way.
    We picked at bear claw pastries while staring at the phone on a napkin in the center of the table.
    It mocked me with its blank display and distinct lack of flashing lights, so I thumped its screen.
    “Feel better?” He spun his empty coffee cup on the edge of its base.
    I huffed. “The phone had it coming.”
    “Clearly.”
    Flicking an almond off my Danish, I switched tactics. “How many marshals are on that team?”
    “Marshal Johnathan Worth is handling the investigation into Mr. Richardson.” His gaze touched on his phone. “He oversees evidence collection onsite. Maybe three others are bagging and tagging.”
    “Who’s your contact?” I pressed.
    “Worth,” he answered. “I’ve worked with him before. Quiet guy. He’s a dhampir.”
    “Half human and half vampire,” I said slowly. “How does that work? Vamps are dead, right?”
    “If you’re thinking I asked him which of his parents was a necrophiliac, you’re wrong.”
    Heat stung my cheeks. “Sorry, nothing should surprise me these days.”
    “You’re young yet.” He chuckled. “Wait until you’ve been a marshal for a few years.”
    Ignoring the age comment, I shelved my vampy curiosity for later. “Can you call anyone else?”
    He shook his head. “I left a message for Mable when you went to the ladies’ room.”
    “What?” Snow in July was almost as likely as Mable missing a phone call. “She didn’t pick up?”
    His cup spun a little faster. “It rang three times then rolled over to voicemail.”
    “I don’t like this.” I sank back in my chair. “What are we supposed to do?”
    “Sit. Wait.” He mirrored my position. “This is also part of the job.”
    “The boring parts were glossed over, much like Paperwork Mountain.” I narrowed my eyes. “Is it too late to turn in one of those instructor-review forms? There were serious gaps in my education.”
    “This coming from the only person in her academy class who graduated,” he said.
    I shrugged. “If I hadn’t wrecked the tower, more cadets might have reached the flag.”
    “No.” His grin turned smug. “I had collected all the flags but yours.”
    A nervous pang tightened my chest. “Tell me that wasn’t on purpose.”
    “You saw me,” he said, voice rough. “It was all I could do not to...” He crushed the foam cup in his hand. “You earned your badge. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. The magistrates sent Watchers in the event the results were contested. You were the only one who fought, did Mai tell you that? The other cadets handed me their kerchiefs.” He snorted. “She threw hers in my face and ran.”
    I barked out laughter. “Mai did that?”
    Massaging the base of his neck, he nodded. “Not everyone is as brave when faced with the hunger.”
    Not his hunger, but the hunger. I wasn’t the only one who craved distance from