Spectacle
In this riveting sequel to New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent's acclaimed novel Menagerie, Delilah Marlow will discover that there is no crueler cage than the confines of the human mind…When their coup of Metzger's Menagerie is discovered, Delilah and her fellow cryptids find their newly won freedom brutally stripped away as they are sold into The Savage Spectacle, a private collection of "exotic wildlife." Specializing in ruthless cryptid cage matches, safari-style creature hunts and living party favors, the Spectacle's owner, Willem Vandekamp, caters to the forbidden fetishes of the wealthy and powerful. At the Spectacle, any wish can be granted—for the right price.But Vandekamp's closely guarded client list isn't the only secret being kept at the Spectacle. Beneath the beauty and brutality of life in the collection lie much darker truths, and no one is more determined than Delilah to strip the masks from the human monsters and drag all dark things into the light.
Читать Spectacle онлайн беплатно
In this riveting sequel to New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincentâs acclaimed novel Menagerie, Delilah Marlow will discover that there is no crueler cage than the confines of the human mind...
When their coup of Metzgerâs Menagerie is discovered, Delilah and her fellow cryptids find their newly won freedom brutally stripped away as they are sold into The Savage Spectacle, a private collection of âexotic wildlife.â Specializing in ruthless cryptid cage matches, safari-style creature hunts and living party favors, the Spectacleâs owner, Willem Vandekamp, caters to the forbidden fetishes of the wealthy and powerful. At the Spectacle, any wish can be grantedâfor the right price.
But Vandekampâs closely guarded client list isnât the only secret being kept at the Spectacle. Beneath the beauty and brutality of life in the collection lie much darker truths, and no one is more determined than Delilah to strip the masks from the human monsters and drag all dark things into the light.
âWell-paced, readable and imaginative.â
âNew York Times on Menagerie
âA dark tale of exploited and abused others, expertly told by Vincent.â
âLibrary Journal, starred review
âVincent summons bold and vivid imagery with her writing.â
âKirkus Reviews
âAs depicted by Vincent, Delilah is magnificent in her defiance of injustice, and the well-wrought background for her world sets the stage for her future adventures in this captivating new fantasy series.â
âPublishers Weekly
âVincent creates a fantastic world that is destined to pique your curiosity... As Delilah Marlow slowly uncovers a side of herself that she never knew existed, youâll sympathize with her...desperate to see her succeed.â
âRT Book Reviews
âThe promising opener in a new series...a fast-paced story of vengeance and justice.â
âThe Roanoke Times
âAmazing world-building and a captivating cast of characters. My new favorite Rachel Vincent book.â
â#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong
Also by
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent and MIRA Books
The Menagerie Series
MENAGERIE
The Shifters
STRAY
ROGUE PRIDE PREY SHIFT ALPHA
Unbound
BLOOD BOUND
SHADOW BOUND OATH BOUND
For more titles by Rachel Vincent, visit her website at rachelvincent.com.
This is for everyone who followed me down the dark and twisted tunnel that is Menagerie.
Welcome back.
Contents
Twenty-seven years ago
A scream broke through the surface of Tabithaâs dreams like an oar slicing through calm water, and she sat straight up in bed, still half-submerged in that other world. Heart pounding, she slid one small hand beneath her mattress, grasping for the handle of the knife her mother had hidden there.
Just in case.
Because if there were another reaping, parents could not be trusted. Children would have to protect themselves.
Tabithaâs fingers found the blade of the knife instead, and the cut was a sharp, immediate pain. The clarity of the stingânot muddled like blunt blows that left bruisesâdrew her thoughts into focus and vanquished the fog of sleep. She sucked on the cut without truly noticing the familiar, coppery taste of blood. Then she slid off the bed and lifted her thin mattress, bedding and all, and seized the knife the proper way.
Just like her mother had shown her.
Another scream sliced through the night, startling crickets and cicadas into silence, and Tabitha whirled toward the source of the sound. The open window over her nightstand.
She pushed the sheer curtain aside and bent to stare through the gap beneath the old, cloudy glass and the flaking windowsill.
Candlelight flickered in the barn.
Tabitha straightened her pale green nightgown, covering an old bruise on her leg, then headed for the hall clutching the knife. No one knew what a second reaping would look like, but Tabitha knew where to stab. Her mother had shown her which soft bits of flesh would be most vulnerable to her blade, should he come into her room at night, and Tabitha remembered every lesson.
What she did not remember was that the first lesson had come three years ago, almost a year before the reaping.
In the hall, Tabitha passed the bathroom and peeked into Isabelleâs room on her way toward the stairs. Isabelleâs bed was empty. Her sheet was thrown back and her slippers were missing.
