Deviants Read Online Free PDF Page B

homes.Nice ones, given their proximity to the Hub. I wonder if I’ll get in trouble if I’m caught here.
    I don’t care. Not right now. I stop running and press my back against a wall that’s cool and comforting, some kind of sheet metal. Closing my eyes, I wait for my heart rate to slow, for my emotions to come back under control so I can rejoin society and claim my rations.
    Society. Ha!
    Right now, I’m repelled by this society I’m part of—yet not. I may have an employee number. I might follow the P&P Manual—mostly—but since I discovered my curse I haven’t belonged in Haven. As hard as I try, I’ll never fit in, never be a Normal.
    I almost wish I could become a Parasite and hide up on the rooftops out of sight, but I wouldn’t be able to move Drake quickly enough if the Comps came. Plus, while I can do with less food, I’m less sure about the vitamin powders we get to prevent the spread of disease and to compensate for the nutrients from foods humans ate BTD. I’m already concerned that Drake and I aren’t getting enough on half rations.
    I draw long breaths. If Drake and I want to eat this month, I need to get it together and go back to the Hub. Who knows when I’ll find more rats. The Comps might have already discovered the nest on our roof. For all I know, Cal reported them.
    “Glory,” a deep voice says—a voice I don’t recognize. “I’ve got a message for you.”
    Turning, I see a boy who looks about my age, maybeolder. He’s tall, even taller than Cal and much broader, more imposing.
    I draw a sharp breath through my nose and wonder where and how he’s managed to get enough protein to build muscles like that. Muscles that alter the shape of his shoulders and the width of his chest into a form rarely seen in Haven.
    He’s Management. Or a Comp. He must be—even though he’s not only too young, he’s not in uniform or a suit. His oversized coat, made of layers of heavy cloth, is belted loosely at his waist with a rope tied in what looks like a slipknot. Below the rope, the fabric flares out and brushes the tops of his boots.
    It’s too late to run—he’s standing too close and knows my name.
    “Who are you?” I ask, keeping my gaze from his eyes.
    “Name’s Burn.”
    “You have a message?”
    He taps my shoe with his heavy boot. “Look at me.”
    He asked for it . I look up, and he’s so close the heat from his body penetrates my skin. His hair is thick and dark and long, and there’s stubble on his upper lip and jaw. He reminds me of a wolf or a bear or one of the other now-extinct creatures I’ve seen in books or stuffed at the museum.
    My throat closes and I try to look away, but he takes my chin in his thick, strong fingers and forces me to look at him. “The message”—his voice is gruff—“is from your father.”
    I break free to run but he grabs my arm.
    My heart races, my eyes tingle and sting. If I dare look into his eyes, I might kill him.
    I should kill him.
    “Let me go.” I struggle against his grip, his hand a steel trap. “You’re lying. My father is dead.”
    “No, Glory”—he meets my eyes—“he’s not.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    “L IAR .” I STARE at Burn. “My father was expunged three years ago.”
    Burn pulls my face around, and he’s so close it’s impossible to look at him without triggering my curse. I can’t do that. He might eat me.
    “He’s alive. And your brother’s in danger.”
    I raise my chin. “I don’t have a brother.”
    “Then who’s Drake?”
    My chest constricts. “Don’t you dare hurt him.” My words explode.
    “ I’m not the danger.”
    I jerk away, slam into the metal wall, and the vibrations clamber up my spine. My dad’s coming back to finish what he started. To kill me and Drake.
    But rejecting that theory, I banish my fear. This Burn guyis lying. My father’s dead and I hate how this boy has twisted my mind with such ease.
    He runs thick fingers over his jaw. He could crush my neck with one