A Different Kind of Deadly by Nicole Martinsen Read Free Book Online Page B

unnatural way.
    The zombie shook his head, looked me up and
down, and finally met my eyes.
    "Do you always parade around respectable
establishments half naked?"
    Already, I was getting annoyed.
    "Exactly what part of this establishment is
respectable?"
    "Lookie here, Rook," said the zombie, waving a
mismatched finger at me. "You'd be hard pressed to run any sort of
place with the resources we've got down here. If it's not trying to
kill you, then it's damn hard to find."
    I considered what I'd seen so far in the Moor
of Souls, and nodded.
    "You're right. Sorry."
    He looked as though I'd just spontaneously
combusted. Finally, he smiled. It was a broken thing, just like
everything else around us, but it was the first friendly native
face I'd seen.
    Already, my perception of the world was
changing drastically.
    It had to, I justified to myself, if I wanted
to survive.
    The zombie extended a hand.
    "The name's Duck."
    "Duck?" I asked.
    "Don't ask."
    "I'm Marvin." I reached out and
shook his hand, dismayed when his finger dislodged from his palm.
He roared with laughter as I wilted.
    "Pulled my finger, eh?" He grabbed his
twitching digit while I was frozen in disgust, attaching it with a
flick of the wrist. "You're a good sport, Marvin. Have a seat. How
about some fresh grub?"
    "As long as they're not actual
grubs."
    Leo elbowed me under the table.
    "A little respect, Marv."
    Duck laughed. "Unlike building material, fresh
meat isn't that hard to find. It's not human," he added, catching
my alarmed look. "Canine, I think. If it's good enough for
topsiders, it's good enough for us."
    Whatever he was cooking, it
smelled a lot better than it looked.
    My stomach growled vehemently. I probably
would've eaten it even if it had grubs.
    I turned to Diana, who was applying oil to her
joint sockets.
    She looked quite grim. Something about her was
scarier than the rest of the room.
    "So..." I began casually. "What's the
plan?"
    She threw a shirt at me. It wasn't the finest
thing, but I had no doubts that it was a lot better than most
fabrics in Krisenburg.
    "Cover yourself, eat, and then stay out of
trouble while I run errands."
    "Errands? You've been out all day, Diana.
What's going on?"
    "I need to earn money for
supplies."
    "How?" I asked. Her curtness was starting to
piss me off. "We're bound, together, till death do us part. Do you
think this is reassuring? Because it's not."
    She sighed the length of the room.
    "There are fighting pits, Marvin. It's a form
of entertainment in Krisenburg."
    "And who are you entering? Uhh?"
    "Uhh and myself," she answered. "And before
you start breathing down my neck about it, I can hold my own in a
fight."
    Breathing down her neck?
    Leo saw that I was near boiling point after
that comment. He put a hand on my shoulder and forced me to remain
seated.
    "Let it go, Marvin. Dolls are made for
fighting. Diana'll be fine."
    "Her being fine is besides the
point, Leo," I argued. "We get into a Doll Contract and she
suddenly turns to ice. Yeah, I'm incompetent. I'm a coward, and I'm
weak, but if she wanted to hate me for these things she could've
done it years ago. Why now?"
    Duck set a plate of steaming meat in front of
me. I calmed down, still upset, but willing to let it go while I
ate.
    "Thanks, Duck."
    "No problem."
    "...there's a reason I'm keeping you in the
dark, Marvin," Diana said.
    I rolled my eyes.
    "You know, Diana. I'm getting sick of this. I
may be a coward, but at least I have the nerve to look at what I'm
afraid of."
    Leo shifted nervously between us, like a child
caught between his warring parents.
    Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around me,
cupping my pecs.
    I stopped chewing and furrowed my
brow.
    "Leo, what are you doing?"
    "Defending your honor."
    "What?"
    "Duck's been staring at your naked chest
funny."
    Diana, Leo and I all looked at the zombie, who
shrugged.
    "You've got some good definition
there."
    I immediately pulled on my shirt.
    "I don't swing that way, Duck."
    " You don't? " Leo and