is to prevent anyone from finding me with a tracking spell, but it blocks all magic – including that of Osseal, it seems.'
'Maybe,' Devona said, 'but I'm not sure that's the only reason.' She was still looking out into the street. 'Have you two noticed something about which dead are attacking?'
Overkill frowned, though she didn't lower her weapon. 'What do you mean?'
I turned to look at the mayhem once more and this time I saw what Devona was talking about. It was so obvious that I felt stupid for not having realized it before.
'Only Victor Baron's creations are attacking,' I said.
Overkill swept her gaze up and down the street as she more closely examined the fighting taking place.
'Maybe it just seems like that,' she said. 'There's more of Baron's flesh tech in the Sprawl than there are other types of dead.' Still, she sounded doubtful.
'This may not be the Boneyard, but there are numerous ghosts, revenants, liches, reanimated skeletons, zombies and the like around,' Devona said. 'Do you see any out there?'
'No,' Overkill admitted. 'So if it's true, and only Baron's monsters have gone crazy, what does that mean?'
'It means that whoever stole Osseal is using it to control only Baron's creations, and he's making them attack,' I said.
The thought would've chilled my blood if I had any running through my veins. Baron's fleshtech was everywhere in Nekropolis, and I thought of all the businesses that employed his monsters, all the vehicles that incorporated his technology – voxes, Mind's Eye projectors, the Overwatchers in Tenebrus, even David's ravens… I imagined the scenes of death we were witnessing being played out all over the city, in clubs, bars, restaurants and homes.
And then, as if my thoughts were a cue, a chorus of piercing shrieks filled the air around us, and we looked at each other as we tried to determine where the deafening noise originated from.
'It's our voxes!' Devona shouted, though I could barely understand what she said, so loud was the din issuing from our phones.
The three of us pulled out our voxes and flipped open their covers. Their mouths were wide open and screaming at top volume, but once they were exposed they began snapping and gnashing their teeth, as if desperate to bite us.
Without consulting one another, the three of us dashed our voxes to the ground and then stomped on them. The plastic cases broke and pieces of electronic components spilled out, along with copious amounts of blood. Voxes incorporate Victor Baron's fleshtech and it seemed they were just as susceptible to the influence of Osseal as any other reanimated creature.
'Who would want to make Baron's creatures riot?' Devona asked.
'Who else but Baron himself?' I said. 'For years there's been talk of making him the sixth Darklord, but Father Dis has always refused. So Baron worked hard to spread his creations throughout Nekropolis, getting his army in place so that when the time was right, they could strike. Now with Dis and the Darklords still sleeping to recharge their energies after the last Renewal Ceremony, that time has finally come.'
Overkill opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Jigsaw Jones – who'd just finished snapping a witch's spine by slamming her against his knee – turned to look at me. He discarded the screaming witch and came striding toward us. His scarred flesh was splattered with blood from his victims and from the expression of violent lust on his face, he was looking to add even more gore to his collection. I wondered if Jigsaw Jones and the rest of Baron's creations were listening to a mystic melody that only they could hear, music that drove them to go forth and kill.
Overkill turned her P-90 away from me and trained it on the approaching wrestler.
'Hold on,' I said. I drew my. 45, aimed, and put a bullet through Jones' right eye. His head jerked back, blood sprayed the air, and he staggered backward. He didn't go down, though, so I sent a second bullet to follow the first through the same hole, and that did the trick. Jones hit the ground like a giant slab of scarred, bloodied beef.
I felt bad for having to put the big lug down. After all, I'd made more than a few darkgems betting on him over the years and I knew his homicidal rage wasn't his fault. Still, in Nekropolis, kill or be killed isn't just a saying. It's a way of life.
I turned to Overkill. 'No point in wasting ammo we might need later.'
'That was good shooting,' she said.
'Being dead means my hands don't shake. Makes my aim steadier.'
'Still, that was impressive,' Overkill insisted. 'I'm not sure I could've done it.' She looked at me then, reappraisal in her gaze, as if she were somehow seeing me differently.
I wasn't sure how to take it, and it made me uncomfortable. Devona didn't like it either, for she gave Overkill a hard look as she stepped forward and took my hand.
'We can't keep standing out in the open like this,' Devona said. 'Come on.'
Without waiting for either Overkill or me to reply, she started leading me around the side of Nosferatomes and into the alley between the bookstore and Matango. Overkill followed, frowning slightly, though I couldn't guess what she might be thinking. The alley was blessedly free of Victor Baron's creations eager to tear us apart, and if only for the moment, we were safe.
'I still have a hard time believing Baron's behind this,' Overkill said. 'I mean, he's already rich and powerful. What more could he want?'
'The operative word in your question is more,' I said. 'What else is left for someone like him to want? Power can be like a drug, Overkill, and its addicts need ever greater doses in order to get the high they crave.'
'Christina,' she said.
I frowned. 'Excuse me?'
'My real name. It's Christina. Christina Butts, actually.'
'Seriously?' Devona said.
Overkill's finger tightened on the trigger of her P-90. 'You got a problem with that?'
'Not at all,' Devona said in an overly sweet tone.
'Look, I don't know what's going on between you two, but can you at least put it on hold until we can figure out what the hell is happening out there?' I gestured toward the mouth of the alley where the sounds of violent mayhem continued to filter in from the street.
'Nothing is going on!' Devona and Overkill said in unison and then turned to glare at each other.
I sighed. 'Let's get back to business. Baron is the perfect suspect. Who else has the know how to cut off my head, animate my body, and use it to steal Osseal from Edrigu?'
Devona gave Overkill a last dirty look before turning to me. 'I get how he found out about the mark on your hand. He doubtless saw Acantha's interview with you at Sinsation. But how did he know it could get you – I mean your body – past Edrigu's security at the Reliquary?'
'And how did he find out about Osseal and what it could do?' Overkill put in, as if she were determined not to be left out of the conversation.
'Baron's a couple centuries old, and he's extremely intelligent and well connected,' I said. 'He might've found out about Osseal any number of ways. Maybe from research into different reanimation techniques or maybe from Edrigu himself. He told me that Edrigu is one of his best clients. However Baron learned about Osseal, he probably learned about Edrigu's mark the same way. He just needed to find someone who possessed the mark that he could use.'
'And when he saw Acantha's interview, he knew he'd finally found what he'd been waiting for,' Devona said.
'But Baron didn't do the job himself,' I said. 'After he saw the interview, he sent a pair of Bonegetters to track me down and collect my body. And they probably used one of Baron's hi-tech vivisection tools to sever my head from my body. That's how they did the job so swiftly. And I think I know who it was, too. Remember those two we saw at the Foundry? Burke and Hare? They seemed awfully smirky to me, as if they were sharing a private joke. Now I know why. They were having a laugh at my expense, knowing I had no idea they were the ones who'd cut off my head.'
'It all makes sense,' Overkill said. 'More or less. But one thing I don't get. From what I gather, you went to Victor Baron to have your head reattached. Why didn't he just have his men dispose of your body when he was
