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“It was perfect—a place I could start testing my theories until my assistant let it slip where we were.” Dr. Novikov’s lips thinned.
“My brother worked with a scientist in the Georgia Territory.” The tiger shark’s words came back to me from that night in Bulan’s bar.“They’ve disappeared. I last heard from him over three weeks ago when they were leaving Hong Kong to go up north, and I haven’t received news from him since.”
“I was forced to move around, create rumors to distract from our true location, but as you’re aware, our hiding spot has been mostinconvenientlydiscovered by the press.” Jansug stretched his arms to try and clasp them behind his back, starting to pace slowly. “Which has made things slightly problematic.”
“But wasn’t ityouwho spilled to the journalist?” Katrina asked, probably recalling the paper we read that night back in Nanxun, stating his name as the contributor.
“No. Myassistantwas the one to let it slip, his ego wanting the world to know what we had found.” He scowled. “He became aliability.” He peered at Z. “He had to be dealt with.”
Meaning—he was dead.
“Is that what you’re doing to us?” My lip curled. “Leading us down here to be dealt with?”
“Oh, no.” His thick brow furrowed. “What a waste that would be. You are all such fascinating subjects.” Dread dropped in my gut.Subjects. How many times I had been called that in Rapava’s labs? “Especially you and the sprite.” He faced Annabeth.
Her eyes widened, her hand going to the bag Sprig was in.
“Why me?” Her voice was soft and even.
“Because, besides me, you are the only other human here, dear girl. And I need a test subject.”
“What?” I belted.
“If you fucking touch her!” Cooper thrashed, almost slipping away from the group around him, but they were just as strong, and maybe even deadlier. Two of them appeared to have parts of a crocodile. Another had gorilla arms and legs, and another monster looked like a man and rhino-beetle, the black shell covering his chest and back like armor, his horn sharp and ready to gore someone.
“I’m doing you a favor, Dark Dweller. Isn’t this why you are here, after all?” He tilted his head, shooting a look from Cooper to AB.
“Testing?” Kat gritted out. “What do you mean by that?”
“The nectar only really works on humans.” The doctor answered. “I wanted to have more trial subjects and a lot more data, but I don’t have many choices anymore. I must work with what I have.” He motioned to Annabeth. “Bring her to me.”
My head twisted, my eyes catching the monsters around Annabeth, their grips on her tightening as they dragged her forward.
“Nooo!” Cooper’s roar ricocheted off the rock, cutting into my eardrum, his body lunging forward, claws sprouting from his hands.
Guns went to his forehead and heart. The gorilla monster slammed his fist into Cooper’s stomach, folding him over as the rest beat on him too, one pistol-whipping him so hard he dropped to the ground.
“No! Stop!” Annabeth cried, trying to pull from her captors’ grips. “Please!” Tears filled her eyes, seeing Cooper try to rise, his eyes flashing red. “Cooper, no… please… stop…for me.”
Her pleas halted him in place, and a growl vibrated the ground in threat, his eyes locked on hers.
“Don’t.” She wagged her head at him, something passing between them, words and emotions no one else heard.
“I don’t want to hurt her. That’s not my plan, but I will if you can’t control yourself.” Novikov spoke directly to Cooper as Annabeth was placed next to him. “If anything, I’mhelpingher. I could tell last night that she’s sick. The signs are obvious.” He brushed hair away from her face, peering at her. “Cancer, am I right?”
Her nose flared, not looking at him.
“I am a doctor. I know the symptoms. And you are getting near the final stages.”
It was exactly why we were here, what we wanted, but now I realized how naïve and single-minded we had been. So desperate to save her life, to do something, we didn’t even consider any of the negatives, how it might affect her.
“With the right dosage, she should be good, which I think I have worked out.”
“Youthink?” Cooper rose, his shoulders curving in a threat.
“She isn’t my first test subject.” Dr. Novikov tried to pretend Cooper’s demeanor wasn’t scaring the shit out of him, though his nervous swallow was giving him away. “It was how I found out what it could do. I’d never seen anything like it. So powerful, so magnified, but it was too much. They weren’t able to handle it. They died a day later.”
“Died?” Kat rolled her fingers up in balls. “How?”
