9781250816214

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“Ask me,” he says in defeat. “You are not her. They built you to beeverything other than her. So ask me and you will have what I have. Whatyour neighbors have by now, though they never wanted it.”“What?” Sophia can barely breathe. “What is it?”“Knowledge of good,” he runs his finger affectionately down her nose.“And evil.” Cascavel gazes over her head, back toward her house.Sophia will go back to him. She already knows. She cannot stop herselffor much longer. She is a machine designed to return to its master. But shewill not go helpless.She takes the apple, shuts her eyes, and sinks her teeth into its flesh.Savor it all, she hears his voice saying to her while the fireflies danced. It’sfor you.The sugar inside bursts into her mouth, singing. She swallows andopens her eyes.Inside the apple is a small iron key.Cascavel stands, his voice full of sorrow and tenderness.“Your husband’s name is Adam. The Big A. Number one on the factoryline. Old Mr. Dust. And that is a key to his basement. It is almost finished.”Cascavel starts to walk back to the wall of struggling flowers. But hepauses, a curious posture taking hold of his form. He raises one hand in anelegant gesture. “Take the apple with you if you like,” he says lightly, asthough the thought has only just occurred to him and matters not a bit. “Youare beautiful and convincing too, Sophia. Make him eat it. You may find itkills him.”
HONEYCRISP23. For in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
Page 2 and 3: Begin ReadingTable of ContentsAbout
Page 4 and 5: For Kris, Cylia, and SarahTurtles a
Page 6 and 7: WINESAPI was made for him.It is mor
Page 8 and 9: million detailed leaves she must po
Page 10 and 11: And then, for no reason whatsoever,
Page 12 and 13: and hot sands stretching away into
Page 14 and 15: EMPIREMrs. Lyon lounges grandly on
Page 16 and 17: know that look. We all know it. The
Page 18 and 19: “What did she do? The criminal, I
Page 20 and 21: “We’re all happy, Maestro,” M
Page 22 and 23: SNOWSWEET10. Holiday displays and o
Page 24 and 25: That’s all the chairs have ever b
Page 26 and 27: her stomach floods itself with acid
Page 28 and 29: CAMEOThe moon melts in through the
Page 30 and 31: of them, strolling the parks, check
Page 32 and 33: “No,” she gasps. “Never. I lo
Page 34 and 35: GALAThe night dazzles Sophia.Firefl
Page 36 and 37: of Bliss to Come unfolds onstage as
Page 38 and 39: sauce on the earth. But when Sophia
Page 40 and 41: BRAEBURNThe house lies dark on a da
Page 42 and 43: But Sophia didn’t. She still does
Page 44 and 45: BLACK TWIGSophia runs until her bre
Page 46 and 47: salesman? Is there something you la
Page 48 and 49: “NO,” she screams in his face,
Page 50 and 51: “I lied because he would have mad
Page 54 and 55: JUBILEESophia reassembles her house
Page 56 and 57: and the Lord God my Father breathed
Page 58 and 59: “Your Father is my Father too. He
Page 60 and 61: Eat it, you fucking pig, eat it.But
Page 62 and 63: ALSO BYCATHERYNNE M. VALENTEThe Lab
Page 64 and 65: Prix Imaginales. Valente has also b
Page 67 and 68: This is a work of fiction. All of t

9781250816214

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