Norden squinted at the amulet. Then he shook the meter one more time, frowning, and stuck it in his pocket. “I’m done here anyway,” he said. “Captain,” he called to Bergonzi across the room, “I’m heading back to headquarters to write up my report. C’mon, Sykes.” The zombie shambled over to him, and the two of them left together.
When Norden was gone, Roxana winked at me. “Jamming spell,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“Captain Bergonzi would’ve reined him in, but there’s no point in creating an awkward situation with the Goon Squad.”
Especially not with that particular Goon.
Roxana put the amulet in her purse. “What does it mean,” she asked, tilting her head, “to have that Hellion bound to you?”
“I don’t know.” I’d thought that the demon’s mark had given Difethwr power over me, but apparently it went both ways. Hellion power corrupts, as Baldwin had proved, but could my own power affect the demon? I rubbed the demon mark and flexed the fingers of my right hand. Still nothing. “I don’t know,” I repeated. “But I’ll do my damnedest to make sure it stays in Hell where it belongs.”
I WAS HOME BEFORE TEN. JULIET WAS OUT, BUT THAT WAS no surprise. Halloween was a major feast night for her. I took a long shower to wash away the grime and any last traces of Harpy. Then I threw Baldwin’s sorcerer’s robe in the trash and put on some normal clothes: tan leather jeans and a thick brown ribbed turtleneck. Feeling a little more like myself, I picked up the phone and called Gwen.
“Vicky! Thank God. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. How’s Maria?”
“She’ll be fine.” Gwen’s voice held a strained note, suggesting that “fine” might be a long-term goal.
“Can I talk to her?”
A long pause answered my question.
“She doesn’t want to talk to me,” I said at last.
“She’s just a little girl,” Gwen said. “She needs some time.”
“Yes, sure. Of course. So how about I come out next weekend and treat the kids to a movie?”
Another pause. “Let me call you, Vic. When I’m sure the time is right.”
All of a sudden, my eyes were stinging. I wiped them on my sleeve. “I understand. Well, keep in touch, okay?”
“You know I will. And I’m really glad you’re okay. We all are.”
I wondered if that meant Maria. Two days ago, I’d been her hero. After what had happened today, how could she see me as anything but a monster—a real one? I said good-bye to my sister and started to hang up.
“Wait!” she said.
I waited. Gwen took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say thanks. For going up there and bringing my baby home.”
“Oh, Gwen. How could I have done anything else?”
As I hung up, I wiped my eyes again. The phone was still in my hand, and I needed to make a decision. I had to find out about Daniel. I’d asked Bergonzi if there was any news from New Hampshire. He either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me, acting like he had no clue what I was talking about. I’d have to call Daniel’s apartment, talk to his wife. But I’d do it in the morning. By norm hours, it was too late to call now.
There’d be a lot, in fact, to face tomorrow. Maybe too much. What had happened to Daniel. Whether I’d be able to rebuild my relationship with my sister’s family. Where I stood with Kane. And most of all, how I was going to handle my new, deeper bond with the biggest, baddest Hellion out there. I could drive myself crazy trying not to think about all that now. Or I could go out and get Axel to pour me a shot or two of tequila. Just enough to chase away my own demons, just for tonight.
I pulled on a jacket and headed for Creature Comforts.
The New Combat Zone was surprisingly busy for ten thirty. I’d never seen so many zombies on the streets here. Norms, either, for that matter. They traveled in groups, zombies and humans walking together, talking and laughing. It was like a big party.
Creature Comforts was packed. I could barely get in the door. Just like on the streets, the crowd was all zombies and norms. Humans did hang out at Creature Comforts—vampire junkies and thrill-seekers—but never this many, and hardly ever any zombies. What was going on? Poor Axel ran up and down the bar, pouring and serving drinks as fast as his long legs could carry him.
Before I could figure out what was going on, a cheer resounded and the crowd started singing: “For she’s a jolly good zombie . . .” At the back of the room, some guys hoisted a zombie into the air and set her on a table. My God, it was Tina. And she was holding my sword.
With energy I didn’t know I had left to summon, I pushed my way through the crowd. Tina waved the heavy sword around like a conductor’s baton, in time with the music. She was smiling and laughing. When she saw me, she waved. “Hi, Vicky!”
“We need to talk,” I shouted over the noise.
She nodded, then went back to conducting the song. When it was finished, the room burst into applause. Tina bowed to all sides, then climbed down from the table. “I’ve got a booth over there,” she said, pointing. I followed. She plopped herself onto a red vinyl seat, next to her friend Jenna.
“I want my sword back,” I said, sitting across from them. “Now. You had no right to take it.”
Jenna popped her gum. Tina opened her mouth like she was going to argue, but then she handed me the sword of Saint Michael across the table, hilt first.
“This has been the best night
No promise to leave my stuff alone. “Did you hear what happened? We saved the parade!”
I was so flabbergasted that the lecture I’d been preparing flew right out of my head. “You saved—? What happened?”
“Well, like I told you in my phone message, me and Jenna had this amazing idea for our Halloween costumes. Do you like them?”
Both girls were dressed in head-to-toe black leather. “What are you supposed to be?”
Tina rolled her eyes. “We’re demon slayers. Duh.”
I thought of Maria in her Aunt Vicky costume and had to blink a couple of times. “Yeah,” I said, “it’s all the rage.”
“It is? Well, anyway, now you know why I needed the sword. And Jenna needed a weapon, too. So we snuck out of Deadtown today and went that that store in Allston, the one you told me about.”
“You snuck out of Deadtown? Without a permit? You are so lucky you didn’t get snatched by the Removal Squad.”
Tina shook her head. “Uh-uh. We were safe. We went as zombies.” This sent her and Jenna both into peals of laughter so severe that Jenna almost swallowed her gum. “This year, all the blood bags—I mean humans— wanted to be zombies. It’s the most popular costume. So we got two rubber zombie masks and wore them when we went out. Brilliant, huh? They protected us from the sunlight, and everyone thought we were norms goofing around in costumes.”
“You risked an awful lot.” But I had to admit it was a clever plan.
“So, like, we took the T out to Allston and found the place. Oh my God, it was so cool. We got guns and bronze bullets and swords and daggers—”
“You walked in there wearing rubber masks and they sold you all that?”
Tina shut her mouth. Jenna said, “ ’Course not. We boosted it.”
I shot them both a stern look. “I’ll take it all back for you next week.”
Jenna looked ready to argue, but Tina hit her under the table.