Kill the Dead

“You weren’t holding back because you thought you could cut a deal with Mason?” “Make a deal with the guy who blew me up and left me like this? He’s right at the top of my people-to-trust list.” “Okay. Thanks for coming clean.” “You’re taking it pretty well.” “No. I’m not.” I head for a shadow next to the closet door, stop, and turn back to Kasabian. “No one’s going to look out for us but us. We’re just bugs on God’s windshield. You need to get serious and work with me on this or we’re both going to end up in Tartarus.” “What the Hell is in Tartarus? Even the Codex doesn’t say.” “I don’t know, but I figure anything that scares Hellions ought to scare me. We need to talk some more, but I need some alone time to clear my head.” “Me, too.” “By the way, what happened out back? I wouldn’t have left you out there.” “Yeah, you would have.” “Only if I thought you were going to dick me around forever. Then yeah, but only then.” “Lucky me some schmuck lost a hand.” “You were wrong, see? Turns out it was a good omen.” Kasabian scuttles around and hits the eject button on the DVD player. “You got enough devil movies for tonight?” “Suddenly I’m out of the mood for those. Maybe I’ll watch The Great Silence.” “Do one more devil movie. Bedazzled. The original. It makes facing down Lucifer easier if you picture him in a Brit burger joint in a silly cape.” “Maybe I’ll do that.” “I’ll be going by Bamboo House later. Want me to bring you back something?” “A burrito. Carnitas. Hot. Not those old-lady ones you get. Lots of salsa and green peppers.” “Anything else, boss?” “Thanks for not doing a slice-and-dice when I told you about Mason cooking up a new key.” “You’ve got good timing. I was going to try and not kill all those other people out in the world, but that’s on hold since they’re trying to kill me. That means you get to be my no-kill project.” “Lucky me.” “Lucky us. We might be doomed, but we’re not in pieces in a Dumpster.”

I STEP OUT of a shadow into the hallway by Vidocq’s apartment. Vidocq and Allegra’s. I need to start thinking about it that way. I love the old man, but the thought of him rattling around in there alone used to bother me. Now that he’s with Allegra, it’s different. I don’t know why. Yeah, I do. I don’t want that place to be something else Mason has ruined. I knock on the apartment door and Allegra answers. She looks at me. “Since when do you knock?”