Read The Devil's Backbone (A Niki Slobodian Novel: Book Five) for Free Online

turned to a look of concern. “What is it?”
    “It’s too strong. The dead. There’s too many. I think whatever is loose might be doing something. I have to go, Bobby.”
    “What’s happening, Niki?” Gage said.
    “They’re dying,” I said. “Something’s killing them. It’s just like when Michael came here. It feels like war.”
    “Wait, Niki. I found something,” he said. He dragged a book out of a nearby pile in front of him and pushed it toward me. “Can you hang on another minute?”
    “Do you have whiskey?” I said. He raised an eyebrow. “Shut up, it helps. Makes it hurt less.”
    “I think I might have some rum,” he said.
    “Bring it.”
    The cheap booze burned my throat and threatened to come back up again, but I managed to keep it down. The pull in my chest became muted, but I still had trouble breathing.  
    “What is it?” I said. “What did you find?”
    Gage opened up the book and pushed it toward me. It was in a language I didn’t recognize. I’d been working on a few with Lucifer, but this one didn’t even look recent. There was a black and white picture of what looked like a beautiful Asian woman, eyes burning through the page, surrounded by snow.
    “Your monster,” said Gage.
    “I can’t read it.”
    “Of course you can’t read it. It’s a pre-biblical language. Only three people in the world can read it.”
    “I’m assuming you're one of them?” I said, through clenched teeth. The warm effects of the cheap rum were wearing off and I took another drink out of the bottle. “God, this stuff is awful.”
    Gage shrugged. “Do you want to hear this, or insult my booze?”
    “Go ahead,” I said.  
    “I think you’re looking for a Yuki-onna.”
    “A Yuki-what?” I said.
    Gage grabbed another book, rifling through the pages, until he stopped, a satisfied expression on his face. “Here. It’s a Japanese myth.” He held the book out to me.
    “Can you give me the short version?”
    “Snow. Death. Evil.”
    I closed my eyes. “Okay. Maybe a longer short version.” I took another swig of horrible rum.
    “There are a lot of varying stories, so it’s hard to say,” said Gage, setting the book down. “Some say she’s like a vampire and sucks blood. Others say it’s the life force she wants. And then there’s the stories where she just kills for the reason any nasty thing kills.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “Because she can.” Gage shrugged. “It’s all myth. I had no idea any of this stuff was possible.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Well you know about the bloody footprints. You know she’s killing people, obviously. Other than that, I’m sorry, Niki. I got nothing. It’s all stories. I don’t know how to help you. Maybe I could come with you and Cast on her. Would that help?”
    “I don’t know if you’d survive the journey,” I said. “The only other person I’ve ever taken is Lucifer. And he’s, well, you know.”
    “You any closer to finding him?”
    I looked away. “One crisis at a time.”
    “So how are you going to stop her? The Yuki-onna, I mean. Any ideas?”
    I met his eyes. His brow was furrowed with concern.  
    “Don’t worry, Bobby. I’ve taken down gods before. A little monster like this shouldn’t be a problem.” I tried to look unfazed by what he had told me. I wasn’t, though. Something about all this was unsettling. My guts were twisted up thinking about it.
    “Well be careful, sis. There’s also the kid to consider.”
    “The kid?” I said.
    “The boy she took,” said Gage. “You do remember the boy, don’t you?”
    “Matthew,” I breathed. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten about him already. “Of course. I’ll save the kid. Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.”
    As I let the dead pull me back into my invisible world of death, Gage called out to me.  
    “Don’t forget what it was like,” he said.
    “Forget what?” I called back. I could feel myself fading.
    “Don’t forget what it was like to be