The Marked Girl by Lindsey Klingele Page A

hands, which ripped the creamer packet into tinier and tinier pieces.
    â€œIn my world, the wraths are more easily recognizable. Big, ugly things with horns and teeth and claws . . . they’ve plagued our lands for centuries, for as long as anyone can remember. We have never been able to defeat them completely, but we are—or were—able to keep them away from our cities and rule the realm in relative peace. I do not know if they followed us here or were in this world all along, but . . . they are different here. They walk around looking like men, and most people cannot even tell that they are different at all. . . .” Cedric looked up. “But you could. You saw its eyes? Its face?”
    Liv recalled the all-black eyes of the man in the alley. Something had felt wrong about his face, deep-down, in-the-gut wrong.
    â€œHe looked . . . like there was something the matter with him,” she finally conceded. “But you’re saying he was some sort of . . . monster? Like an actual monster, of the horror-movie variety?” It was hard to keep the skepticism from her voice.
    â€œThe wraths started hunting us shortly after we came through the portal. We did not know who they were at first, because they look so different here. But they are the same evil creatures from our realm. At least, they smell the same. What I do not understand is what they are doing here, or why they are tracking us.”
    Cedric stopped talking when the waitress came back and set down two plates, each heaped with food. Liv pushed the waffles toward Cedric and pulled the plate of hash browns to herself. She moved the potatoes around on the plate with her fork, but she wasn’t as hungry as she had been a few minutes ago. Cedric, on the other hand, had no such problem. He took one bite of the waffles and closed his eyes, as if savoring the taste. When he opened them again, he dove back into the food with a fury, cutting through it so hard that his knife made a screeching noise against the plate.
    â€œWhy do you think he attacked me?”
    Cedric tilted his head, swallowing before speaking again. “It must have thought you were one of us. I do not know why, but I am sorry for it.”
    â€œYeah, me too,” Liv said, touching the strip of paper towel still wrapped around her hand. Whether or not Cedric truly believed in his weird delusion, the man in the alley had certainly meant business. He’d wanted to hurt Liv for real. Sheremembered the gleaming blade that Cedric had wielded with such skill. She swallowed, trying to sound casual. “And your . . . knife thing?”
    â€œI . . . acquired it,” Cedric said. “After losing the only sword we had. Getting it back will be helpful for fighting the wraths off, though it will not kill them. Only silver can do that. I used to have a whole arsenal of my own back in Caelum; you should see it, beautiful things—”
    Cedric stopped when he saw Liv’s expression. “But here, we could not find anything like that. We have only managed to find a few knives in the museum, and paltry ones at that, old and made of steel.” Cedric stuck a giant forkful of food in his mouth and chewed, then swallowed it down in a giant lump. “What did you say this was called again?”
    â€œWaffles?”
    â€œWaffles,” he repeated, savoring the word. “Amazing.”
    â€œYeah,” Liv responded, thrown. She felt a dizziness overtake her again, and realized she was having a hard time keeping track of Cedric’s tale. She nodded to his plate.
    â€œYou should put syrup on them.”
    Liv grabbed the syrup carafe and poured some onto his waffles in a long string. Cedric watched her carefully before shoving a syrupy forkful in his mouth. When his lips closed around the bite, he actually closed his eyes and let out a light mmmm noise.
    When he opened his eyes, he looked directly at Liv and gave a small smile. “You do not believe me,