Rise of the Poison Moon (35 page)
Read Rise of the Poison Moon Online
Authors: MaryJanice Davidson
Tags: #Magic, #Fantasy fiction, #Dragons, #General, #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Spiders, #Shapeshifting, #Epic, #Good and evil
LOXOS: Convenience has nothing to do with it. He died in a military training exercise at the air base he commanded. He was highly decorated and received a hero’s funeral. I suspect he would be very sad, as are we all, to see the depths to which his daughter sank shortly after his demise.
: The Regiment is all over the military. All over law enforcement. All over every level and agency of government, in schools and hospitals . . .LOXOS: You’re suggesting the Regiment killed
’s highly trained and decorated father during a military exercise. That doing so somehow supported their false case that she should be committed. That she never suffered any delusions about dragons, and enormous spiders, and interdimensional travel, and pixie dust. That these things actually exist. That there is a conspiracy to hide this truth.
’s highly trained and decorated father during a military exercise. That doing so somehow supported their false case that she should be committed. That she never suffered any delusions about dragons, and enormous spiders, and interdimensional travel, and pixie dust. That these things actually exist. That there is a conspiracy to hide this truth.
: Not just hide it, Collin. Destroy it. Murder it.LOXOS: Murder it, like you’ve murdered innocent people?
: I’ve never murdered anyone. Not in this lifetime. Not yet.LOXOS: You believe that will scare me? I don’t know
who
you think you are, but let me tell you
where
you are. First, you’re strapped down in a bed with steel and leather restraints. That bed is in a locked room here with me, inside the most secure wing of the most secure psychiatric facility known to North America, and likely the world. We use highly trained private security forces, at an unprecedented guard-to-guest ratio, to ensure the safety of everyone inside and in the surrounding community. You walked in here,
, but you are not walking out. You’re a woman with deep emotional problems who likes to hurt people to avoid the awful truth.
who
you think you are, but let me tell you
where
you are. First, you’re strapped down in a bed with steel and leather restraints. That bed is in a locked room here with me, inside the most secure wing of the most secure psychiatric facility known to North America, and likely the world. We use highly trained private security forces, at an unprecedented guard-to-guest ratio, to ensure the safety of everyone inside and in the surrounding community. You walked in here,
, but you are not walking out. You’re a woman with deep emotional problems who likes to hurt people to avoid the awful truth.
: What truth is that, Collin?LOXOS: You’re a monster. And you belong in here, in a place far deeper and danker than any cell your friend
will ever experience. You cannot be cured of your need to kill. With luck, whatever unfortunate bastard serves as your public defender will lose his or her bid to plead insanity on your behalf, and they’ll inject poison into your veins within a year or two. Meanwhile, you’ll be our guest here. Get comfortable.
will ever experience. You cannot be cured of your need to kill. With luck, whatever unfortunate bastard serves as your public defender will lose his or her bid to plead insanity on your behalf, and they’ll inject poison into your veins within a year or two. Meanwhile, you’ll be our guest here. Get comfortable.
: Are the authorities here yet?LOXOS: Probably. What does that matter?
: Because escape will be so much more impressive if I’m blowing past not just your vaunted private security guards but a couple of actual police officers as well.
LOXOS: It’s more than a couple. Honestly,
, it’s over. What do you—
what do you think you’re doing?!
, it’s over. What do you—what do you think you’re doing?!
[Snapping sounds.]
: I think I’m rescuing my friend from a lobotomy factory. And if I don’t find her one hundred percent intact, I think I’m contemplating my first murder.
[Crackling noises.]
LOXOS: Oh,
. Nurse!
. Nurse!Other books
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