Read Online Zom-B Angels by Darren Shan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Darren Shan
Tags: Speculative Fiction
Ads: Link
snap.
His right hand flickers and before I can react, his fingers are tightening round my throat. I slap at his arm and try to pull free, but he holds firm.
‘Because I will kill you if you do not,’ he says without changing tone.
‘Don’t . . . need . . . breath,’ I growl. ‘You . . . can’t . . . choke . . . me.’
‘No. But I can rip your head from your neck and dig into your brain. I could do it now. I would not even need to alter my grip. Do you doubt that?’
I stare into his dark brown eyes – one of them is badly bloodshot – and shake my head stiffly.
‘Good,’ he says, releasing me. ‘That is a start. Now you will stand, bow and say my name.’
I want to tell him to get stuffed, but I’ve a feeling my head would be sent rolling across the floor before I got to the end of the insult. I don’t think this guy plays games, that
he’s someone you can push to a certain point. You show him respect or he rips your apart, simple as that.
Pushing my chair back, I stand, bow and mutter as politely as I can, ‘Master Zhang.’
‘Good,’ he says again, then turns to face Carl. ‘You will bring her to me when you are finished here. I will test her.’
‘Yes, Master Zhang,’ Carl says, bowing again.
Zhang leaves without saying anything else. Once he’s gone, the Angels sit and conversation resumes as if we were never interrupted.
I rub my throat and glare at the others. ‘You could have warned me,’ I snarl.
Carl waves away my accusation. ‘We all have to go through that. Master Zhang likes to make his own introductions.’
‘Do you really think he would have ripped my head off?’ I ask.
‘If you were dumb enough to assume he was joking, yes,’ Carl says. ‘But so far nobody’s made that mistake. Even Shane knew better than to give Master Zhang any
grief.’
‘I’d like to see him tear someone’s head off though,’ Shane says. He shoots me a quick look. ‘I was hoping
you
might talk back to him, just to see what
he’d do.’
‘Good to know you have my back if things ever get ugly,’ I snarl. For a few seconds I consider walking out the door and leaving — in some ways this place is just as bad as the
underground complex where I was held prisoner. But where would I go? Who could I turn to? Grumbling darkly, I sit down like the rest of them. ‘So that guy’s your mentor?’ I ask,
recalling what Awnya said when she mentioned him.
‘Yes,’ Ashtat says. ‘He teaches us how to fight and fend for ourselves, so that we are ready for the missions on which we are sent.’
‘Just him?’
‘Yes. He is the only tutor we need.’
‘And the test he mentioned?’
Ashtat snickers. ‘Every Angel trains with Master Zhang, but some are deemed more worthy of his attention than others. He will take your measure when you spar with him. If he is impressed,
you will train to join the likes of us on life-or-death missions.’
‘If you disappoint him,’ Carl says, ‘you’ll end up rooting through shops for supplies with the twins.’
‘Or mixing up brains with Ciara to put in the gruel,’ Shane giggles.
‘It’s time to find out if you’re a lion or a lamb,’ Ashtat says.
‘I’m no bloody lamb,’ I growl.
She purses her lips. ‘No, I do not think that you are.’ Then her expression softens and she adds hauntingly, ‘Although if you are cleared to come on missions with us, you might
end up wishing that you were.’
FOURTEEN
When everyone’s had their fill, they stack up the bowls and leave them on the tables, then file out of the dining room. Carl tells me to accompany him to the gym for my
test with Master Zhang. I expect the others to come with us, but they head off to do their own thing.
‘This won’t be the gladiatorial showdown of the year,’ Carl smirks, noting my disappointment.
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s not going to be some amazing duel, with you pushing Master Zhang all the way. The test for newbies is pretty boring. That’s why no
His right hand flickers and before I can react, his fingers are tightening round my throat. I slap at his arm and try to pull free, but he holds firm.
‘Because I will kill you if you do not,’ he says without changing tone.
‘Don’t . . . need . . . breath,’ I growl. ‘You . . . can’t . . . choke . . . me.’
‘No. But I can rip your head from your neck and dig into your brain. I could do it now. I would not even need to alter my grip. Do you doubt that?’
I stare into his dark brown eyes – one of them is badly bloodshot – and shake my head stiffly.
‘Good,’ he says, releasing me. ‘That is a start. Now you will stand, bow and say my name.’
I want to tell him to get stuffed, but I’ve a feeling my head would be sent rolling across the floor before I got to the end of the insult. I don’t think this guy plays games, that
he’s someone you can push to a certain point. You show him respect or he rips your apart, simple as that.
Pushing my chair back, I stand, bow and mutter as politely as I can, ‘Master Zhang.’
‘Good,’ he says again, then turns to face Carl. ‘You will bring her to me when you are finished here. I will test her.’
‘Yes, Master Zhang,’ Carl says, bowing again.
Zhang leaves without saying anything else. Once he’s gone, the Angels sit and conversation resumes as if we were never interrupted.
I rub my throat and glare at the others. ‘You could have warned me,’ I snarl.
Carl waves away my accusation. ‘We all have to go through that. Master Zhang likes to make his own introductions.’
‘Do you really think he would have ripped my head off?’ I ask.
‘If you were dumb enough to assume he was joking, yes,’ Carl says. ‘But so far nobody’s made that mistake. Even Shane knew better than to give Master Zhang any
grief.’
‘I’d like to see him tear someone’s head off though,’ Shane says. He shoots me a quick look. ‘I was hoping
you
might talk back to him, just to see what
he’d do.’
‘Good to know you have my back if things ever get ugly,’ I snarl. For a few seconds I consider walking out the door and leaving — in some ways this place is just as bad as the
underground complex where I was held prisoner. But where would I go? Who could I turn to? Grumbling darkly, I sit down like the rest of them. ‘So that guy’s your mentor?’ I ask,
recalling what Awnya said when she mentioned him.
‘Yes,’ Ashtat says. ‘He teaches us how to fight and fend for ourselves, so that we are ready for the missions on which we are sent.’
‘Just him?’
‘Yes. He is the only tutor we need.’
‘And the test he mentioned?’
Ashtat snickers. ‘Every Angel trains with Master Zhang, but some are deemed more worthy of his attention than others. He will take your measure when you spar with him. If he is impressed,
you will train to join the likes of us on life-or-death missions.’
‘If you disappoint him,’ Carl says, ‘you’ll end up rooting through shops for supplies with the twins.’
‘Or mixing up brains with Ciara to put in the gruel,’ Shane giggles.
‘It’s time to find out if you’re a lion or a lamb,’ Ashtat says.
‘I’m no bloody lamb,’ I growl.
She purses her lips. ‘No, I do not think that you are.’ Then her expression softens and she adds hauntingly, ‘Although if you are cleared to come on missions with us, you might
end up wishing that you were.’
FOURTEEN
When everyone’s had their fill, they stack up the bowls and leave them on the tables, then file out of the dining room. Carl tells me to accompany him to the gym for my
test with Master Zhang. I expect the others to come with us, but they head off to do their own thing.
‘This won’t be the gladiatorial showdown of the year,’ Carl smirks, noting my disappointment.
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s not going to be some amazing duel, with you pushing Master Zhang all the way. The test for newbies is pretty boring. That’s why no
Similar Books
