SILVER: Acheron (A River of Pain) (The SILVER Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

mob.
    Another glance at the window and the prime steak dangling in the display has her salivating; it doesn’t even matter that it’s covered in flies. Beyond it, there’s a commotion and an exchange taking place amidst a crowd of people, each jostling to be the first in line. Forcing their way to the counter, two Hunters trade a fresh kill for an enormous bag of cannabis and make their exit with wide smiles and laughter, already reaching into their pockets for rolling papers and a lighter.
    Carefree, just as she used to be.
    Ducking back behind the corner of the building, Silver avoids being seen. She’s not ready for that—not yet. Not to be recognized by her peers or, worse, by the men who once served beneath her.
    Once they’re at a safe distance, Silver emerges back into the street and slips inside the meat shop, its regular patrons all eagerly clamoring for the meat not yet sliced. Meat is kept in the back room, for obvious reasons. A single chunk of meat hangs in the window, speared on a meat hook, to let potential customers know the stock is available, albeit sight unseen. You take your turn and wait in line, and when your number’s up, you select a cut of meat from a list of options and name your weight.
    Every part of the animal is for sale. Meat is everyone’s first choice, but if you’re too far back in the line you’ll never get a piece. Liver and kidneys are high in nutrients and come at a cheaper price. Brains can be boiled and eaten, and it doesn’t taste too bad if you ignore the rubbery texture and season it with plenty of salt. Eyeballs, tails and toes can all be thrown together to make soup. If you’re desperate, and plenty are, the intestines are also for sale.
    Any fat not sold to the candle-makers is made into crackling and sold like candy. Sometimes the tails are even sold individually; they can be battered and fried and considered a delicacy. Tongue and heart are often sold together. Mashed up, they can be pummeled into patties and either fried or grilled. Most of the skin is sold to the tanneries, but any leftovers are cured and made into jerky.
    The rest of the innards are ground up and made into sandwich paste. Bones are mostly traded to the local craftsmen who make all manner of cutlery and jewelry—anything that can be assigned a numerical value. Smaller bones are ground up and thrown into the meat pastes and combo-packs. The extra calcium is good for health but harsh on teeth, especially when there’s no licensed dentistry around.
    Ideally, you want to be at the front of the line to get your pick of the offerings. After you’ve been charged accordingly and payment is approved, an armed and guarded stock boy will bring out your order. Wrapped in woven hemp cloth, tied up with a piece of Chimera tendon, it looks almost civilized.
    There’s not much opportunity for thievery, but in the bustle and the madness of bartering and haggling over price, two rump steaks manage to find themselves abandoned on the countertop.
    Silver thinks about it.
    This is why she came here, after all.
    Her heart pounding, a mental list of pros and cons begins to develop, but the lure of food is so strong she can find no downside great enough to outweigh the chance of a free meal. Not even the possibility of being beaten to death by an angry mob.
    In any case, by the time she reaches for the meat, it’s already too late. Committed to the action, there’s no margin for error here. If she’s caught, even in the kerfuffle of the meat madness taking place before her, there will be no avoiding the consequences.
    So focused is she on the two adults trying to keep order behind the counter, she doesn’t even notice the small child watching her from atop the broken vending machine by the doorway.
    “Are you going to pay for that?” the little girl calls her out.
    Silver freezes.
    Should she run?
    “Ma!” the girl screeches.
    Silence.
    Every pair of eyes in the room turns on Silver, and the large, toothless