“It makes a sick kind of sense. Someone gave him power over the ghost but didn’t give him the ghost itself. That way when I asked if she was his, he could say no and I wouldn’t detect a lie.”
“That sounds like Aelita’s way of thinking.”
Blackburn pats his pockets in a way I recognize. I toss him the Maledictions. He looks at the pack. Doesn’t like that he doesn’t recognize the brand. But beggars take what they can get. He takes one and tosses the pack back.
“People tell me that the Imp killed people who weren’t dreamers. Did you or Aelita order that?”
He shakes his head and lights the cigarette. Coughs and starts to put it out. Brigitte takes it from him and puffs gently like she’s teaching him how it’s done.
“I never ordered her to kill.”
“Jimmy, I was Blackburn’s friend but I didn’t know about any of this until today. Please believe me.”
I have to think for a minute.
Blackburn goes to where his wife is sitting, takes her hand, and holds it in both of his.
“I do.”
She says, “I think I know why other people were killed.”
“Go on.”
“If I’d known about Teddy, I swear I would have told you myself. I thought he was dead.”
“Why?”
“Because I stabbed him almost three months ago. I didn’t know he was alive until Saragossa told me he’d been at the synod.”
“Why did you stab him?”
Brigitte looks away. I’ve never seen her uncomfortable like this before.
“He wanted to eat me,” she says, shrugging. “Teddy is a ghoul. He eats the dead but he’d never eaten a revenant. Though I wasn’t a real zombie, I was as close as was left in the world and he wanted me. I thought I killed him.”
“Amanda said Teddy had been mugged. It’s what he must have told people. Does anyone else know about this?”
“I don’t think so.”
I flash on the ragged kids in the Tenebrae. So scared they form gangs and avoid other ghosts. I see their knife slashes and crescent-moon wounds. Bite marks.
I get up and feel my ribs. The armor saved me but something wet inside is sloshing against something else and it’s hard to breathe. That’s okay. Teddy doesn’t look like a sprinter. If he runs, I’ll take his little golf cart and chase him around the graveyards until his heart explodes.
“I’ll come with you,” says Brigitte. “I’ve felt dead inside and I thought it was the bite. It wasn’t. It was losing the hunt. When you killed off all the undead, my life lost meaning. Now, fighting again, I feel alive. Let me come with you and we’ll kill Teddy together.”
Sure. Candy wouldn’t mind the woman who kissed me in the bar tagging along. Maybe they can have some girl talk about shoes on the way to Malibu.
“If you want back in the game, that’s fine by me. But Teddy I can handle. I need you to get these idiots somewhere safe. If Aelita comes back, I don’t want her taking the royal assholes hostage.”
She nods.
“Just makes sure Teddy dies this time.”
“That I can promise. I’m cutting him into little pieces and burying him with the Imp. Let’s see how they enjoy each other in the Tenebrae.”
I look back at Blackburn.
“I’m sorry about your wife’s soul. I don’t know what to do about it, but if I come up with anything, I’ll let you know.”