Read Délon City: Book Two of the Oz Chronicles for Free Online Page B

eye. “Why is that?”
    “Because, Mrs. Chalmers.” I hesitated. “Because nothing is as it should be.” I turned to leave, but stopped. Without looking back I said, “I’m going to fix this. I’m going to find Nate. I’m going to find them all, every last Storyteller, and I’m going to fix this.” I don’t know if she understood what I was saying, but it didn’t really matter. I wasn’t really talking to her. They were listening. I could feel it. Every Délon knew my every move. They heard my every word, my every thought. There was no escaping them. They were inside my head, and I was inside theirs. I wasn’t going to hide from them. I was going to kill them, and I wanted them to know there was nothing they could do to stop me.
    I didn’t want to go home. As I stood there in the middle of the street, I could think of only one place I could go.

FOUR
    Every step of the mile walk to Stevie Dayton’s house felt as if millions of tiny knives were being shoved through the bottoms of my feet. I stood at the front door, trying to catch my breath, to put the pain out of my mind, to summon the courage to actually knock. My biggest fear was that Stevie would somehow answer the door. That he would stand there looking at me, making me feel intolerably guilty for the way I had treated him. Worst of all, I was afraid he would forgive me, and it would mean nothing to me because of what the marking had done.
    Unable to put it off any longer, I knocked. Heavy footsteps approached. The door swung open, and Délon Reya stood there, chuckling at my stunned expression.
    “What are you doing here?” I said.
    “Welcome to our little home away from home.” She stepped back and invited me to enter.
    I thought about running, but I knew chasing me down would give them too much pleasure. They loved it when you ran. I moved past her and turned to the living room. Mrs. Dayton sat stiff and nervous on the couch next to General Roy. Lou sat on the floor chained to a large antique bookcase. Mrs. Dayton was as I remembered her, a plump woman aged beyond her forty plus years, her grayish blonde hair disheveled, her hands spotted and rough.
    “Mrs. Dayton...”
    “Ahhh, our conquering hero,” General Roy said. “My, my, you really are a strong one, aren’t you? Most humans take days before they can even sit up after their marking. You’ve managed to take a spin around the neighborhood after only a few short hours.”
    “He stinks of halfer.” Reya shoved me into the room and took a seat on the other side of Mrs. Dayton.
    “What is this?” I said.
    “This?” General Roy smiled. “This is a party.”
    “Are you all right, Mrs. Dayton?” My concern for her pained me. It felt as if I were being poked in the heart with a flaming needle. I grabbed my chest.
    Mrs. Dayton did not answer. She could not. She moaned and gurgled. It was horrific.
    Reya laughed. “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” She grabbed Mrs. Dayton’s face and forced her to open her mouth. Her tongue had been removed.
    The general stuck his finger in Mrs. Dayton’s mouth and twirled it around. “I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s missing.” He laughed at his own sick joke. He turned to me. “You see I have a sense of humor, too. We will make a good team, you and me.”
    Reya’s expression soured. She didn’t like me when she was a human. She didn’t like me now. Some things never change.
    “Why did you cut out her tongue?” I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
    “We didn’t,” Reya said. “Not our style.”
    “Not at all,” General Roy said. “This is the work of a silencer.”
    “Silencer?”
    “Canter is its name.” The general stood. “Oh, yes, I keep forgetting. You’ve missed so much. Silencers, the invention of our second Storyteller.”
    My already frozen blood went even colder. “Second Storyteller?”
    “Don’t look so surprised. They’re not that hard to find really. They are stupid, whimpering,