Poison's Kiss (Poison's Kiss #1)(39)

When we get to our street, Mani tries to run ahead, but I catch his hand in mine and pull him behind me.

“Me first,” I say. Even though we’re not yet at the deadline, there’s always a chance someone could be here waiting, and I want my body solidly between Mani and Gopal’s rage.

I slide the key into the lock and ease the door open.

My heart plummets.

The flat has been ransacked. Our drawers are gaping open like a mouth with missing teeth, and what few clothes we have are strewn about the floor. The mattresses are askew and the floorboards are ripped up. I know before I look that I won’t find the coins, but I check anyway—nothing. The money I’ve saved for years, the money that was going to save us, is gone.

Mani makes a strangled noise behind me. I follow his gaze and stop cold.

On the other side of the flat, Smudge is stretched out in a sticky puddle of blood. Her belly is sliced open from her chest to her tail, and her entrails spill onto the floor. Her paw rests on the corner of a blood-smeared note written in script large enough that I don’t even have to bend down to read it: Mani is next. We look forward to your compliance.

I grab Mani’s hand and pull him out of the flat so I can retch in the alley. I can’t stop gagging, even when there’s nothing left in my stomach. I press my back against the wall, gasping for air. I think of Smudge suffering—of her tiny mews of pain or fear—and I start to heave again. It takes me several minutes to catch my breath, and then the full weight of the note hits me. I need to get Mani out of here. Gopal must already know I defied him, and that means we’re out of time. I race back into the flat, grab a bag and fill it with as many clothes as it will hold. I wish that I could take the time to give Smudge a proper burial, but I don’t dare stay longer. I crouch down and rub my fingers between her ears just how she liked.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly as I stroke her fur. “I’m so sorry.”

Mani is sobbing silently behind me. “Bye, kitty,” he says, but he’s not looking at her. His face is pressed against my back, his tears soaking through my sari.

I stand up and sling my bag over my shoulder. “Come on, Mani,” I say. “Time to run.”



We sprint all the way to Gali Street. Now that we have no money and no supplies, it’s the only place I can think to go. Last week Japa told me I could come to him if things were ever bad. I hope he’s willing to keep his promise.

By the time we’re standing in front of the bookshop, Mani’s lips are blue. The shops have all closed, but I’m hoping Japa is still here. I haven’t been back since the day I was searching for Deven and found the CLOSED sign dangling in the window. For a sickening moment I worry that Japa never came back, that he’s gone forever. I hold my breath as I rap on the door, and when it finally opens, I sigh in relief. But as soon as I see Japa, I know that Deven has already been here. Japa is eyeing me warily and his whole face is turned down. It’s an expression I’ve never seen him wear before and it makes him seem years older. I swallow hard. “I’m in trouble.”

His whole body is rigid and he doesn’t answer right away. Then his gaze slides to Mani and his expression softens a little.

“Please,” I say.

He sighs deeply and rakes his fingers through his silver hair. Finally he opens the door wider. “Come in,” he says. “Hurry.”

The bookshop looks different in the dim light. Long shadows climb the walls, and the same silence that is restful in daylight feels ominous now. Mani shivers beside me and I squeeze his fingers. Japa locks the door before he turns to us.

“What kind of trouble?”

I ignore his question and ask my own. “Have you talked to Deven?” It isn’t my only question, just my least desperate one. There are so many things I want to ask: Is he alive? Has he left Sundari? Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?

Japa scowls. “I’ll ask the questions,” he says tersely. “What kind of trouble?”

My head is pounding and I press my fingers to my temples. “Mani and I can’t go home,” I say finally.

“And why is that?”

“I can’t tell you,” I say. “But we’re in danger. You said that I could come to you if things…if things were bad.”

He shakes his head. “That was before I knew who you were.”

I wince. I’m not surprised he said it, only surprised at how much it hurts. Until this moment I didn’t realize how much Japa’s approval meant to me. It takes me a moment to find my voice. “I know you must hate me, but Mani didn’t do anything. Will you help him? I’ll leave if you’ll just promise to keep him safe.”

“No,” Mani says sharply. “You can’t leave me.” He grabs my wrist with both of his hands, but I ignore him and keep my gaze fixed on Japa.

“He’s only a child,” I say. “Please, Japa. He could stay in the room behind the bookcase. Just until I can gather supplies so we can leave Sundari.”

At the mention of the secret room, his eyes narrow. “How do you know about our safe room? Is this something you learned from your contacts—something to help you kill Deven?”

“What? No,” I say. “I know because you leave it dusty and there are fingerprints where it slides open. And the door clicks softly. And sometimes there’s cool air that slides beneath the shelving.”