He put his arm around her.
'Come on,' he said. 'I'll walk you home.'
Holy Wood's own magic, now rootless and fading, crackled across the landscape, looking for pathways to earth itself.
Click . . .
It was early evening. The reddened light of the setting sun filled the windows of Harga's House of Ribs, which was nearly deserted at this time of day.
Detritus and Ruby sat awkwardly on human-size chairs.
The only other person around was Sham Harp himself,
smearing the dirt more evenly around the vacant tables with a cloth and whistling vaguely.
'Ur,' Detritus ventured.
'Yes?' said Ruby, expectantly.
'Ur. Nuffin,' said Detritus. He felt out of place here, but Ruby had insisted. He kept feeling she wanted him to say something, but all he could think of was hitting her with a brick.
Harga stopped whistling.
Detritus felt his head twist around. His mouth opened.
'Play it again, Sham,' said Holy Wood.
There was a crashing chord. The back wall of the House of Ribs moved aside into whatever dimension these things go, and an indistinct but unmistakable orchestra occupied the space normally filled by Harp's kitchen and the noisome alley behind it.
Ruby's dress became a waterfall of sequins. The other tables whirled away.
Detritus adjusted an unexpected tuxedo, and cleared his throat.
'Dere may being trouble ahead?' he began, the words flowing straight from somewhere else into his vocal chords.
He took Ruby's hand. A gold-tipped cane hit his left ear. A black silk hat materialized at high speed and bounced off his elbow. He ignored them.
'But while dere moonlight, an' music?'
He faltered. The golden words were fading. The walls came back. The tables reappeared. The sequins flared and died.
'Um,' said Detritus, suddenly.
She was watching him intently.
'Ur. Sorry,' he said. 'Dunno what come over me, there.'
Harga strode up to the table.
'What was all that?' he began. Without shifting her gaze, Ruby shot out a treetrunk arm, spun him around, and pushed him through the wall.
'Kiss me, you mad fool,' she said.
Detritus' brow wrinkled. 'What?' he said.
Ruby sighed. Well, so much for the human way.
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