Deep Roots by Beth Cato Read Free Book Online Page A

“Can you even get out?”
    Good grief, what was Rivka doing? She stuck her arm out behind her and had the same warm sensation travel over her skin.
    â€œI’m not stuck. I think the magic is only set to contain . . . that.”
    â€œChi killed men! Mr. Cody said so. That’s why its attachment to Miss Leander and Alonzo was so strange.”
    â€œOh. Well, this one is chained down. I don’t think it can reach me.” Rivka forced herself to sound nonchalant. She could easily retreat across the barrier again but remained still. The little gremlins had reacted to her with desperation and yearning. What if this creature was the same?
    In the middle of the circle, the last of the blankets slithered to the floor to reveal green skin and a long, knobby ridge of spine. The beast had to be almost ten feet long. Within the constraint of chains, the body flipped with a coil of muscle. It had no extremities, only stubs where they should be. Seams and welts of stitch marks lined its skin. This creature was cobbled together with flesh, just as Mama used to mend and re-­create Rivka’s tattered clothes.
    She sucked in a breath. “The dead gremlins. That’s why their bodies are being preserved in the cart. They use them to make this big chimera.”
    Were the gremlins injured before they arrived in the laboratory, or were they simply there for harvest? That was the end result, certainly. Their corpses were made . . . useful in this new creation for the sake of entertainment. The sort of violent spectacle that would have delighted Mr. Stout even if he lost a month’s bakery profits to his bookmaker.
    The wrongness of it all caused her fists to clench at her hips.
    The huge chimera’s head resembled that of smaller gremlins. Eyes were the size of round scones, black as a Waster’s soul. The flesh of the brow puckered, an expression of pain. The ears looked short, unfinished. Its lips parted to reveal long teeth as it mewed like cats she had known back home, only ten times louder.
    Rivka stepped closer.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” hissed Tatiana.
    â€œLook at its eyes. It’s hurting.” It was born of suffering, formed of creatures whose bodies lay in a naked tangle in wait of this new life.
    â€œAre you daft ? It’s a beast for the Arena. It’s supposed to tear apart machines. It can kill ­people.”
    â€œIt can barely move. Look at these chains.” Rivka approached in measured steps, a hand outstretched.
    â€œIt has teeth. It’ll bite your arm off. One gulp. Or roll onto you, break all your bones—­”
    â€œWill you kindly shut up? I think the tone of your voice is bothering it.”
    â€œThe tone of my . . . !”
    The creature’s short ears twitched as it glanced between them.
    â€œIt’s okay, it’s okay,” Rivka murmured. “I want to check on you, that’s all. Probably one of the stupidest things I’ve done, but it strikes me as something Octavia Leander would do. But then, she’s a medician. Wait. Did you recognize her name? Do you know Miss Leander?” Each time Rivka repeated the name, the chimera’s entire expression brightened.
    She touched the top of the chimera’s head, the broad span between its long ears. The flesh was smooth yet wrinkled, warm and lightly bristled. She gave a ­couple of quick strokes. The creature’s expression transitioned from shock to squint-­eyed bliss. An unmistakable purr rumbled through her hand.
    The sound of voices carried into the chamber. Rivka turned and sprinted back through the warm veil of the circle.
    â€œHere!” hissed Tatiana. She dragged Rivka behind a wall of crates. Behind them were shelves lined with old hardcover books and clear jars arrayed with a rainbow of herbs.
    Through the gap between crates, they watched a woman enter the room. Her bountiful black hair was constrained by a massive,